Chile’s copper industry could see a production reduction of 6.5pc, or 380,000mt, this year because of the pandemic.
The projection was made using the 15- to 30-day reduction in mining activity in the country upon the COVID-19 outbreak, Cristián Cifuentes, research coordinator at the Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco), said during a webinar entitled “Outlook: copper market and mining projects”.
Chile’s copper production is expected to reach 5.87mn mt this year, while production in 2021 is expected to rise on an annual basis by 0.7pc to 5.91mn mt, according to Cochilco.
Since the Chilean copper industry started applying measures to counter COVID-19’s spread, about 32pc of Chilean copper production has been compromised, Cifuentes said without disclosing the volume. He added that the potential fiscal impact on mining revenues may be $704mn in 2020.
Overall, the Chilean mining industry may reduce its production by 59.2pc this year because of the pandemic, said Cifuentes.
Chile’s copper production increased in April by 3.5pc to 474,880mt from 458,600mt during the same month in 2019, according to the latest figures from the National Statistical Institute.
Chile has lowered its price guidance for copper by 45¢/lb to $2.40/lb. Copper prices reached $2.47/lb on June 4, declining by 0.85pc from a day earlier, according to Cochilco data.