Production by the world's top 10 copper mining companies rose slightly by 0.2 per cent to 11.76 million tonnes in 2020, according to GlobalData, a UK analysis firm.
Despite the initial impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the global mining industry, six of the 10 largest copper producers managed to increase production that year.
The biggest increase in copper production was Canada's first Quantum, which reported 10.4% growth in 2020, despite challenges. The company's Sentinel mine in Zambia and Cobre mine in Panama are major contributors to this growth. Although the latter was still under maintenance and maintenance between April and August, it reached record production levels in the following months.
Although Codelco reported more than 3400 cases of activity in July 2020, its production increased by only 1.2 per cent in 2020. As part of the covid-19 initiative, the company has implemented a four-phase plan to ensure the health and safety of its employees while avoiding any significant impact on its copper production. " Said Vinneth Bajaj, deputy project manager of GlobalData.
Although the overall impact was small, production fell at Glencore (8.2%), Antofagasta (4.7%), BHP Billiton (3.9%) and Freeport McMoran (1.3%). The reduction in operating staff, ore grade reduction and production stoppage caused by maintenance due to the adoption of covid-19 measures were the main interfering factors for production during the year.
The free port McMoran (Freeport McMoRan) is expected to show strong growth, with total production expected to be 1,723.6 kilotons in 2021, an increase of 18.5 per cent over 2020, thanks to the start of its recently expanded Grasberg mine in Indonesia. In addition, First Quantum is expected to grow by about 9.1 per cent, and Jiangxi Copper's cathode copper production is expected to grow by 5.3 per cent. Production from other operating mines, such as Escondida,Collahuasi,El Teniente,Cerro Verde,Buenavista and Antamina, is also expected to increase, Vinneth added.
GlobalData estimates that copper production in the top 10 companies is expected to rebound by 3.8% to 12.2 million tons by 2021.
According to SMM, Glencore produced 301.2 kilotons in the first quarter of 2021, up 2.69 from the same period last year; Freeport produced 412.78 kilotons, up 24.49 from the same period last year; and the first quantum production was 205 kilotons, up 5 percent from the same period last year. However, BHP Billiton, MMG and other production declined in the first quarter.
