MINING.com Editor | May 14, 2021 | 12:34 pm
The world’s largest copper mine, Escondida in Chile, as seen from space. Image from Google Earth.
Copper, the highly conductive red metal vital to the manufacturing of products essential to the electrification of the world’s energy systems is also used in heating, cooling, electronics, power generation and transmission, automotive applications and has antimicrobial abilities.
Demand from the green energy transition has sparked a rally on copper markets. The world’s top 10 biggest copper mines in terms of 2020 production compiled by MINING.COM and sister company
MiningIntelligence will play a major part in setting prices for the next decade.
World’s top 10 biggest copper mines
Freeport-McMoRan and Sumitomo Metal Mining s Morenci copper mine 80 km due northeast of Safford, Arizona. Credit: Freeport Arizona
Copper, the highly conductive red metal vital to the manufacturing of products essential to the electrification of the world’s energy systems is also used in heating, cooling, electronics, power generation and transmission, automotive applications and has antimicrobial abilities.
Demand from the green energy transition has sparked a rally on copper markets. The world’s top 10 biggest copper mines in terms of 2020 production compiled by MINING.COM and sister company
MiningIntelligence will play a major part in setting prices for the next decade.
[production of the world s top 10 copper mining companies is expected to rise by 18.5 per cent in 2021. Freeport is expected to increase production by 18.5 per cent.] production of the world s top 10 copper mining companies rose slightly by 0.2 per cent to 11.76 million tons in 2020, according to GlobalData, a British 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 content below was translated by Tencent automatically for reference.
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.
Copper production from top 10 companies to bounce back in 2021 – report
Grasberg is responsible for more than a quarter of Freeport’s total output. (
Production from the world’s top 10 copper mining companies decreased in 2020, albeit by a marginal 0.2% to 11.76 million tonnes, according to UK-based analytics firm GlobalData.
Although the initial impact of the covid-19 pandemic on global mining operations was immense, six of the 10 largest copper producers still succeeded in increasing output for the year.
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The highest increase in copper production was by Canada’s First Quantum, which, despite all the challenges, reported 10.4% growth in 2020. The company’s Sentinel mine in Zambia and Cobre Panama were key contributors to this growth. While the latter remained under care and maintenance between April and August, it delivered record production levels during the subsequent months.
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Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX) announced the publication of its 2020 Annual Report on Sustainability detailing its environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance during the year. FCX has a long history of robust ESG programs and is continuously striving to embrace evolving stakeholder expectations and best practices. This report marks FCX’s 20th year of reporting on its sustainability progress and FCX’s first year reporting in alignment with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Metals & Mining framework.
Richard C. Adkerson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said: “I am pleased to share our 2020 Annual Report on Sustainability, which details our ESG performance and initiatives in this important area. FCX embraces responsible production as central to our strategy of being foremost in the global copper industry. As a leading responsible copper producer, we are well positioned to support accelerating demand for copper, which is crit