Categories:
Base Metals
/
General Market Commentary
Topics:
General Base Metals
/
General Market Commentary
Global copper output up 7.1 pct in first three months of 2018
Miners around the globe dug up 330,000 more tonnes of copper between January and March this year than in the same period of 2017, helped by higher production in world’s leader Chile, data released by the International Copper Study Group (ICSG) shows.
The general increase, a 7.1% compared to Q1 2016, was mirrored by bought concentrates (+7%) and solvent extraction-electrowinning or SX-EW (+7.3%) production.
Output in Chile increased by 19% mainly because production in February/March 2017 was constrained by a strike at Escondida, the world’s biggest copper mine, but also due to an improvement in state-owned miner Codelco’s production levels.
Indonesian output rose by 58% because comparative output in 2017 was negatively affected by a temporary ban on concentrate exports that started in January and ended in April.
A 9.5% increase in SX-EW production in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and a 16% rise in Zambian mine output due to the restart of temporarily closed capacity.
Although there were no major supply disruptions in the period, overall growth was partially offset by lower output at some mines in Canada (-10%) and in the U.S. (-7.5%), the ICSG says.
After a strong increase in the last few years due to new and expanded capacity, output in Peru (the world’s No.2 copper mine producing country) has levelled off.