Antofagasta Plans US$900 Million Investment to Extend Zaldívar Mine Life to 2051

South America remains the cornerstone of global copper supply, with Chile and Peru collectively accounting for more than one-third of global mined copper production. As electrification, grid modernisation, renewable energy deployment and AI-driven infrastructure investment continue to reinforce long-term copper demand growth, policy developments across the region are becoming increasingly important determinants of future supply availability.

Recently, new orders for copper plate/sheet and strip downstream decreased, and demand-side prosperity weakened. The market moved past the previous state of undersupplied spot copper plate/sheet and strip and shortages of certain specifications. The shipment pace of enterprises stabilized, overall inventories returned to normal levels, and the tight supply situation ended completely.

According to SMM, the operating rate of the copper plate/sheet and strip industry pulled back slightly MoM in May, but still surged YoY, with the overall production base of the industry remaining at a high level. Earlier, market demand was released in a concentrated manner, and enterprises’ order intake increased significantly, leading to ample accumulated orders on hand awaiting delivery and sufficient order visibility. This effectively supported enterprises in maintaining a high production schedule pace in May. However, entering mid-to-late May, new market orders gradually decreased and demand weakened marginally. Enterprises had largely used up their previously ample orders on hand, and new orders were insufficient to sustain the high production schedule pace. Most producers chose to sc