Soaring demand for copper will help drive mergers, BHP CEO says
Demand for copper, a key element in the energy transition, is set to rise by 70% to 100% by 2050, Mike Henry said
Chile’s Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, on Thursday posted a 65% drop in its pre-tax profit for the first nine months of the year, pulled down by lower production and higher operating costs.
Codelco’s pre-tax profit over that period totaled $917 million.
The state-owned miner, whose credit rating was recently downgraded amid lower prices and copper output, added that copper production between January through September fell 9% to 966,000 tonnes.
Core earnings over the nine month period totaled $3.24 billion, a 31% drop from the year-earlier period, while production costs spiked nearly 30% to reach $2.04 per pound.
The state copper producer announced earlier this month a leadership shakeup, just weeks after a new chief executive took office as the company takes a lead on negotiations with private lithium miners to increase state control over the industry.
(By Fabian Cambero; Editing by David Alire Garcia)
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