To make the list, the cut-off for 2022 was 245kt, versus 232kt in 2021 and 221kt in 2020. The order of the mines also changed, with mention going to Codelco’s Chuquicamata which saw production fall from 319kt in 2021 to 268kt in 2022, but it was not the only one with declining output.
In terms of countries where the very largest copper mines are located, the list is almost unchanged from 2021. For 2022, on GMR’s analysis, some 8 mines were in Chile, 4 in Peru, 2 in the DRC, and 1 each in Indonesia, Mexico, Panama, Poland, Russia, and the USA.
Having 12 out of the 20 in Chile and Peru once again shows the importance to copper of those two nations (and ignoring many mines that did not make the cut-off into the list).
The 2022 Top 20 collective total was 8.03Mt, as mentioned, which was down very slightly on the 8.05Mt seen in 2021, but up on 2020 and 2019.
The biggest Top 20 volume recently was 8.25Mt seen in 2018, and that was almost totally due to Escondida having a great year with 1.23Mt of copper produced. (Does anyone remember the promise by BHP and RIO for an average of 1.2Mt a year?).
Source: GMR
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