Quote from chief_editor on May 5, 2025, 8:59 am

Copper's conductivity and durability make it a core material for renewable energy systems, electric vehicles and grid infrastructure. According to forecasts, driven by decarbonization policies and the popularization of electric vehicles, global copper demand will reach 50 million tons per year in 2050. To achieve the net zero emission goal, a cumulative mining investment of US$2.1 trillion will be required by 2050, highlighting the strategic value of this mineral. This article ranks the top 10 mines in the world according to copper production in 2024.

𝟏. 𝐄𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐚 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐞 (𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞)

Escondida copper mine will produce 1.28 million tons in 2024 (up 16% year-on-year), thanks to improved ore recovery and a $2 billion concentrator upgrade project. The mine accounts for about 5% of the global copper supply and has proven reserves that can sustain mining for more than 50 years. Its production in the first quarter of 2025 increased by 10% month-on-month, showing operational resilience. As the world's largest copper mine, Escondida has more than 10,000 employees and processes about 1.3 million tons of ore per day through three concentrators. Despite its large scale, the mine is facing the challenge of declining ore grades, with copper content falling from more than 1.5% to about 0.8%.

The main operator of the Escondida mine is BHP, and the other two major shareholders are Rio Tinto and Japan's JECOCorp. Escondida is a copper mine discovered in Antofagasta, Chile on March 14, 1981. It ranks third in the world in open-pit mining, second only to Bingham and Chuquicamata. The pit of Escondida is 3.5km long from east to west and 3.2km long from north to south, with a mining depth of 800m. Escondida's production accounts for 5% of the world's total copper production, producing more than 1 million tons of metal each year. In the first half of 2024, Escondida's copper production accounted for 23.7% of Chile's copper production, producing 614,400 tons of copper.

BHP expects the global copper deficit to reach 10 million tons within a decade, and has invested at least $11 billion in copper projects, including $5 billion to replace the concentrator at the Escondida mine in Chile to cope with the problem of declining ore grades. In addition, as Chile's copper production has been declining in recent years, BHP has launched a series of studies and is considering converting the Escondida mine to underground mining. It is not clear which mining rock mechanics companies are involved in this feasibility study.

𝟐. 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐠 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐞 (𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐚)

Jointly operated by Freeport McMoRan and PT Mining Industries, the Grasberg copper mine produced 816,466 tonnes in 2024, recovering from a flood and mudslide disaster that destroyed its beneficiation complex in 2023. The mine is transitioning from open pit to underground mining to access deep, high-grade ore, but faces continued risk of seismic activity. Grasberg is known for its ultra-high-grade ore, with an average copper grade of 1.1%, and the offset value of its associated gold significantly reduces production costs. The mine is located in a remote area of Papua Province at an altitude of 4,100 meters, posing special logistical challenges.

𝟑. 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡𝐮𝐚𝐬𝐢 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐞 (𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞)

Production fell 2.5% to 558,636 tons in 2024, highlighting the challenge of maintaining stable production at mature deposits. Controlling parties Glencore and Anglo American are exploring hydrogen energy transportation systems to reduce dependence on diesel equipment. After 21 years of continuous operation, Collahuasi still maintains the most efficient water use index in the global copper industry, achieving a process water reuse rate of over 85% in the arid Atacama region. The mine's recent $1.3 billion mine life extension project aims to maintain existing production capacity until 2040. The Collahuasi copper mine is located in the first region, about 175 kilometers southeast of Iquique City, at an altitude of 4,500 meters. It was put into production in 1998 and produced 435,000 tons of copper in 1999. The service life of this mine is until 2088.

𝟒. 𝐊𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐚-𝐊𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐥𝐚 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐞 (𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐨)

The Kamoa-Kakula copper mine, jointly owned by Ivanhoe Mines, Zijin Mining, the Congolese government and Crystal River Global, will produce 437,061 tons in 2024, an increase of 11% from 2023. This newly commissioned mine has quickly become one of the world's top copper mines. The mine is recognized as the world's largest copper mine with the lowest carbon emission intensity. It relies on hydroelectric power to produce only 0.19 tons of carbon dioxide per ton of copper, which is about 80% lower than the industry average.

𝟓. 𝐁𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐞 (𝐌𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐜𝐨)

Production in 2024 will reach 433,000 tons, up 4% from 416,600 tons in 2023. The mine is wholly owned by Grupo Mexico's Southern Copper and remains the oldest continuously operating copper mine in North America, with mining history dating back to 1899. The mine has undergone multiple modernizations, and the latest $3.5 billion expansion project includes new leaching facilities and a cutting-edge concentrator, increasing annual production capacity by 175,000 tons.

𝟔. 𝐂𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐞 (𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐮)

Production fell 3.71% to 430,459 tons in 2024. The mine is jointly operated by Freeport-McMoRan, Buenaventura and Sumitomo Corporation and has one of the world's largest beneficiation facilities, with an average daily ore processing capacity of 409,500 tons. Located in Peru's southern copper belt, the Cerro Verde copper mine has successfully responded to periodic social unrest and water shortage challenges by implementing community development plans and building a wastewater treatment plant that combines mine operations with water supply to the city of Arequipa. Cerro Verde's production fell 5.4% year-on-year as of October, and the decline in ore grade affected sales in 2024. The Cerro Verde mine is a large open-pit copper-molybdenum mine located approximately 32 kilometers southwest of Arequipa, Peru. The mine has been in operation since 1976 and has an estimated reserve of 4.63 billion tons with a copper grade of 0.4%. It is currently operated by Freeport-McMoRan. Once the expansion project is completed in 2015, Cerro Verde will be able to produce about 1 billion pounds of copper and 23 million pounds of molybdenum per year, which would rank the mine among the world's top five copper producers.

The highest step of the Cerro Verde mine is 2810m in elevation, and the final pit bottom elevation is 1523m, so the mining depth will be 1287m, which is roughly the same as the mining depth of the Cuajone mine, making it the deepest open-pit mine in the world. The current mining depth has exceeded 600m. The final design scale of the mine is 5.3km long and 2.8km wide. The Cerro Verde mine is divided into 13 geotechnical domains, and the ramp angle (ISA) of each domain varies according to the quality of the rock mass, ranging from 38° to 52°.

𝟕. 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐞 (𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐮)

Production in 2024 fell by 2.13% to 413,000 tons. The mine is jointly owned by Glencore, BHP Billiton, Teck Resources and Mitsubishi Group. Its key associated products such as zinc, silver and molybdenum have significantly optimized the cost structure. The mine is located at an altitude of 4,300 meters in the Peruvian Andes. The complex characteristics of the ore deposit require the use of advanced ore sorting technology and selective processing solutions to maximize the comprehensive recovery benefits of multi-metal resources. The Antamina Copper Mine is located in the Ancash region of the Andes Mountains in north-central Peru, at an altitude of 4,300 meters. It is one of the world's largest copper-zinc mines (skarn deposits) and the largest copper-zinc mine in Peru. Its by-products include molybdenum and silver. The mine is known for its rich mineral resources and efficient production capacity. The Antamina Copper Mine is operated by the Peruvian company Antamina and is a joint venture established by several multinational companies, including

(1) Teck Resources with a 22.5% interest

(2) BHP Billiton with a 33.75% interest

(3) Glencore with a 33.75% interest

(4) Mitsubishi Corporation with a 10% interest

The Antamina copper mine has very impressive reserves, with measured ore reserves of about 561 million tons, a copper grade of 1.23%, a zinc grade of 1.03%, and copper production of about 138,000 tons in 2023. The initial investment in the Antamina project was about $2.3 billion, and a 31% expansion was carried out in 2010 to increase processing capacity. The mine was originally scheduled to close in 2028, but last year it planned to expand the mine and planned to invest $2 billion to extend the mine life to 2036. It has been waiting for approval from Peru's environmental regulator for a year. On February 15, 2024, Peru’s environmental regulator, the National Environmental Certification Service for Sustainable Investments (SENACE), granted the Antamina mine its long-awaited license, enabling it to launch a $2 billion expansion plan to extend the mine’s production life from 2028 to 2036, including the expansion of the open pit and spoil dump and the optimization of the tailings pond: (1) the mining area will be increased by 25% and the open pit will be deepened by 150 meters, which means that 173,000 tons of ore can be mined and 742,000 tons of waste rock can be processed per day; (2) the primary ore crushing station will be replaced and a new crusher will be installed; and (3) the tailings pond will be expanded.

To cope with the challenges brought by the high altitude, the mine uses advanced equipment and technology, including large excavators and automated transportation systems, to improve production efficiency and reduce unit production costs. In addition, the mine design takes into account earthquake risks to ensure safe operation in potential earthquake events.

𝟖. 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐤𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐞 (𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐨)

Tenke Fungurume Mine is the largest copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The expansion project implemented by China Molybdenum Corporation (CMOC) at a cost of US$2.51 billion doubled its production capacity, with production reaching about 400,000 tons in 2024, a significant increase of 42.7% year-on-year. However, the dispute with Congolese state-owned mining company Gécamines over royalties highlights local jurisdictional risks. The mine uses leaching-extraction-electrowinning (L-SX-EW) technology to process ultra-high-grade oxide ore with an average copper grade of 2.3%, directly producing cathode copper, eliminating the traditional smelting process.

𝟗. 𝐊𝐆𝐇𝐌 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐬𝐤𝐚 𝐌𝐢𝐞𝐝𝐳 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐞 (𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝)

In 2024, KGHM's integrated operations in Poland are expected to produce about 395,160 tons, maintaining stable production compared to 2023. As the only representative of Europe on this list, these deep mines extract ore from depths of more than 1,200 meters. KGHM's operations have unique geological characteristics and contain a large amount of silver ore, making it one of the world's largest producers of silver as a by-product. The company adopts a vertically integrated business model, covering the entire industrial chain of mining, processing in concentrators, smelting in smelters and refining in refineries. KGHM ranks 9th in the [2024 Global Mining Company Best Employer Ranking], and its main mines are located in Poland and Chile, such as Rudna and Franke.

𝟏𝟎. 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐞 (𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚)

In 2024, copper production at Norilsk Nickel's Polar Division mine is expected to increase by about 6.3% to 345,000 tons. These mines in the Russian Arctic are primarily nickel-mining, with copper as an important byproduct. The mines operate in an extreme Arctic environment with temperatures as low as -40°C, facing unique challenges such as permafrost, limited access and short construction periods.