(Bloomberg) — Codelco expects to produce slightly more copper in 2026 than last year as the Chilean state-owned miner battles to put a string of operational and project setbacks in the rear-view mirror.
The sprawling mines operated by Codelco in Chile are budgeted to churn out 1.344 million metric tons this year, compared with 1.333 million tons last year, Chief Executive Officer Ruben Alvarado told reporters in Santiago Friday. The company’s official guidance range is 1.331 million to 1.357 million tons.
Executive Chairman Máximo Pacheco is battling to revive output after production sank to a 25-year low amid declining ore grades and delays and cost overruns at several projects designed to tap richer areas of deposits. Making that task more challenging are ongoing restrictions around a section of its biggest mine that collapsed in July, killing six workers.
Pacheco, the 73-year-old former energy minister whose term as chairman ends in May, wants to get output back to pre-pandemic levels of about 1.7 million tons, potentially reclaiming the mantle of the world’s top copper producer from BHP Group.
That recovery would be welcomed by a copper market in which supply is expected to struggle to keep pace with demand amid an artificial intelligence-driven data center boom and the shift toward electric vehicles.
Codelco met its 2025 target thanks to a bumper December, when output surged more than 40% versus November. Production fell back sharply in January.
But while output from its own mines rose slightly last year, overall production — including its share from mines operated by other companies — fell slightly to 1.44 million tons.
Codelco also provided early estimates on the cost impact of disruptions emanating from the Middle East conflict, with Chief Financial Officer Alejandro Sanhueza pegging them at about 5%.
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