A modest increase in Chilean copper export values last month appears to be masking declining output as the top-producing nation grapples with falling grades and under-performing mines.
January’s shipments of $4.55 billion represent a 7.9% increase on year-earlier levels, according to central bank data released Monday. But average prices surged 34% over that span.
If confirmed later this month, lower production in a country that accounts for a quarter of the world’s mined copper would underscore global supply setbacks that helped push prices to a series of records in January, before easing in early February. Output in Chile declined on an annual basis in each of the last five months of 2025.
Chilean copper mines have been hit by setbacks at projects that are key to tapping richer areas of deposits, while a mine run by Capstone Copper Corp. struggled with a strike and the giant Quebrada Blanca mine is battling waste-storage issues.
(By James Attwood)