Chile Copper Industry Lowers Production Target and Reveals Inflation

On November 5, Chile time, Codelco held an extraordinary shareholders' meeting in Santiago. According to foreign media reports, Chairman Fontaine stated that copper production in 2026 is expected to be slightly above 1.2 million mt, below the target of approximately 1.34 million mt set at the beginning of the year. Average annual copper production over the next four years is expected to be around 1.3 million mt. Fontaine had previously indicated that the original target of producing 1.7 million mt annually by 2030 would be difficult to achieve.

The company's preliminary investigation shows that copper production was overstated by 24,000 mt in 2024 and by a net 18,100 mt in 2025, totaling 42,100 mt over the two years. The irregularities included prematurely counting materials that did not meet finished product standards as production, as well as duplicate entries. Duplicate entries resulted in an overstatement of copper inventories by 15,200 mt Cu.