Chile's Cochilco Projects Higher Global Copper Output for 2024

---

Written by Amir Richani for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Chile will see its copper production bounce back this year while the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) becomes the world's second-largest producer and Peru moves into third position. The demand for the red metal is also projected to increase this year.

The Chilean Copper Commission, better known as Cochilco, issued its global production and demand report this week, projecting higher copper output and demand for 2024. This year, the agency foresees a global mining copper output of 22.79 million tons, 5.8% more than the projected 2023 volumes, with an average price of $3.85 per pound.

For next year, Cochilco expects global copper production of 23.5 million tons and a price of $3.90 per pound.

Chile, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Peru will remain the world's top copper producers in 2024. However, the DRC is expected to take over the second spot with a projected output of 2.96 million tons, representing an increase of 12.5% compared to its volumes last year.

The African country has maintained strong growth rates, helping it snatch the second place from Peru. For its part, Peru is expected to boost its production by 6% this year, reaching 2.72 million tons.

Meanwhile, Chile has a projected copper output of 5.63 million tons for 2024, about 5.7% more than last year. Between January and October of 2023, which is the latest available data, Chile had copper production of 4.6 million tons, about 1.6% less than the same period in 2022. Cochilco projects Chile's output in 2023 to be 0.5% less than in 2022.

The drop has been driven by lower output from Anglo American Sur (Santiago, Chile) (-13.3%) and Codelco (Santiago) (-8.2%). Codelco has been experiencing production drops due to delays in new projects and operational problems. Despite Codelco's negative performance, Chile's copper volumes will be able to grow this year thanks to various projects coming online.

Based on a presentation last year, Codelco will be able to reach its previous output of 1.7 million tons by 2030 with the completion of a handful of new projects that have been delayed. The company's copper production guidance for 2023 was set at 1.31 million to 1.35 million tons.

On another front, Cochilco projects a demand for refined copper of 26.1 million tons for this year, about 3.2% more than in 2023, with China experiencing a hike of 1.1% while the rest of the world would be at 4.7%.

The Asian giant will account for 56.4% of the global copper demand, followed by Europe and the United States, representing 16.2% and 7%, respectively.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).