Top copper miner Chile gets back to pre-pandemic output levels
Mines including those operated by Codelco and BHP Group churned out 492,804 tonnes in October.
Copper output in Chile, the world’s largest producer of the metal, fell 2.6% on a year-on-year basis to 439,277 tonnes in September, the country’s statistics agency, INE, said on Friday.
INE said the drop was due to lower-grade ore and less processing during the period. Some copper deposits have also been impacted by less availability of water and operational problems.
Global mining giants like Glencore, BHP, Anglo American, Antofagasta and state-owned Codelco all operate in Chile.
Chile’s non-metallic mining output rose 11.4% on a year-on-year basis in September due to higher production of lithium carbonate.
Manufacturing output in the country dropped 3.4% in the month, INE added, due to a drop in manufacturing of chemical products and substances.
The agency specifically noted a drop in potassium chloride production, which is used as a fertilizer, as being responsible for the result.
A drop in output of paper and paper products as well as wine from fresh fruits, except sparkling wine, also contributed to the drop in manufacturing, according to the agency.
(By Fabian Andres Cambero, Gabriel Araujo and Alexander Villegas; Editing by Steven Grattan and Paul Simao)
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