en.Wedoany.com Reported - Chile, one of the world's largest copper producers, is facing an ambitious goal: increasing refined copper production by one million tons annually. According to data from the Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco), national refined copper production in 2025 was 5.415 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 1.6%. Among producers, BHP's Escondida copper mine produced 1.345 million tons, surpassing Codelco's 1.334 million tons for the first time to become the largest single producer.
Achieving a one-million-ton production increase means building a new mine of top global scale. Given the continuous decline in ore grades (currently averaging 0.5% to 0.7% for large mines), at a 0.6% grade, approximately 170 million tons of ore would need to be processed annually, equivalent to a concentrator plant processing 460,000 tons per day. Currently, only a few mines such as Escondida, Collahuasi, and Chuquicamata have reached this scale.
In terms of investment, referencing recent projects, building one million tons of new capacity requires US$12 to US$18 billion, involving four key elements: energy, water, permitting, and human resources. Northern Chile has abundant solar and wind energy resources but requires supporting energy storage; investment in desalination facilities often exceeds US$2 billion; the administrative approval cycle takes 8 to 12 years, with efforts underway to shorten it by 30%. Additionally, direct employment requires 4,000 to 6,000 people, making the labor gap impossible to ignore.
Cochilco's 2025-2034 investment portfolio totals US$104.55 billion, of which 81% are brownfield projects. The three main pathways include: expanding existing mines (contributing 600,000 to 900,000 tons/year), developing greenfield projects (300,000 to 400,000 tons/year), and using block caving methods to extract deep resources. Current copper prices are at historical highs (US$13,000 per ton on the London Metal Exchange in early 2026), providing economic feasibility for projects, but former Mining Minister Williams cautioned that market volatility risks still exist.
Chile's goal of producing one million tons of refined copper annually is technically and financially feasible, but challenges such as permit modernization, stable decarbonized energy, desalination, and workforce training must be addressed simultaneously. This target will become a key indicator for measuring the competitiveness of Chile's mining industry.
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