Chile Copper Mines Deliver Worst Quarter in at Least Two Decades

Chile’s copper output slumped to its lowest quarterly level in at least two decades as accidents and wild weather compounded operational setbacks and the effects of deteriorating ore quality in the top-producing nation.

Production totaled 1.16 million metric tons in the third quarter, down 12% from a year earlier and 8.7% from the previous three months, according to calculations based on monthly data from Chile’s statistics agency INE. It was the lowest quarterly total in data going back to late 2006.

The result underscores the scale of a downturn that has affected several of Chile’s biggest mines, with an 8.6% decline in the first nine months putting the country on course for its weakest year in decades. The slide in a country that accounts for more than a fifth of global mined copper is tightening supply just as electrification demand accelerates.