The president of the board of directors of the state copper company Codelco, Máximo Pacheco, assured that the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will replace Peru as the second world supplier of copper in 2023, while Chile remains in first place.
According to information collected by Reuters, the Chilean Codelco highlighted the rapid progress of copper production in the African nation, which hopes to multiply its performance in the coming years thanks to the Kamoa-Kakula deposit.
“The first is Chile, the second is Congo, which surpassed Peru […] There is greater mine production coming from Africa,” Pacheco said.
Production of the red metal in the DRC is expected to advance 11% this year, above the 2.6 million MT recorded in 2022. Data provided by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) attributes growth to Peru and Chile. in mineral production of only 4% and 2%, respectively.
In addition, copper production in the Congo would have shown growth of around 7% so far this year, according to the November report by the International Copper Study Group.
For our country, the same report, which collects figures until September, indicates that “the actions of local communities continued to impact production in several mines.” However, despite these limitations, Peruvian mining production increased by 16%.
“This increase was mainly due to additional production from Quellaveco (on order in July 2022), the continued increase at Mina Justa and the improvement of production at Cuajone and Las Bambas after the temporary interruption last year,” reports International Copper Study Group.
Source: Larepublica
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