RANKED: Top 10 copper mining projects in the world

Frik Els | November 29, 2019 | 4:34 pm

According to the US Geological Survey to date, roughly 700 million tonnes tons of copper have been produced around the world.

This would fit into a cube measuring about 430 meters on a side and at today’s price would be worth more than $4 trillion. Around 21 million tonnes of copper is mined each year.

The USGS estimates identified deposits contain an estimated 2.1 billion tonnes of copper with porphyry deposits accounting for 1.8 billion tonnes. That brings the total amount of discovered copper to 2.8 billion tonnes. This would fit into a cube measuring 680 meters on a side.

Of the identified copper that has yet to be taken out of the ground, about 65% is found in just five countries: Chile, Australia, Peru, Mexico, and the United States.

MINING.COM and sister company Mining Intelligence compiled a list of the top 10 largest copper deposits currently under development and ranked them according to proven and probable reserves, a measure of economically mineable ore occurring in the mineral deposit.

1. Udokan – Russia

15 Mt contained Cu

Udokan is the largest undeveloped copper deposit in Russia and one of the biggest in the world. Image: Baikal Mining

With approximately 15 million tonnes of contained copper, Udokan is considered the largest undeveloped copper deposit in Russia and the biggest in the world in terms of proven and probable reserves. It is owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov’s Baikal Mining Company.

2. Kamoa-Kakula – Democratic Republic of Congo

11.3 Mt contained Cu

Ivanhoe to produce first copper concentrate from giant DRC mine in a year
Exploration drilling at Kamao North (Image courtesy of Ivanhoe Mines)

Kamoa-Kakula is a high-grade copper project with targeted annual production of more than 700,000 tonnes at its peak. First production from phase one of the project could be as early as end-2021. The project is a joint venture between Vancouver’s Ivanhoe Mines, China’s Zijin Mining Group and the DRC government.

3. El Arco – Mexico

10.8 Mt contained Cu

Southern Copper El Arco
The arch of Cabo San Lucas at the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula. The arch is locally known as ‘El Arco.’ Wikimedia Commons

The El Arco deposit in Baja California is owned by Southern Copper Corp., a unit of Mexican conglomerate Grupo México. The project has the potential to become a 190,000-tonne copper and 105,000-ounce gold mine but likely not before 2025 as the company focuses on another major project called Tia Maria.

4. Nueva Unión – Chile

8.2 Mt contained Cu

Nueva Union project in Chile. Photo by Teck Resources

Located in the Atacama region of Chile, Nueva Unión is one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold-molybdenum projects in the Americas. It is a 50/50 joint venture between Teck and Newmont Goldcorp. Annual copper production is estimated at 224,000 tonnes during first 5 years of production.

5. Quellaveco – Peru

7.6 Mt contained Cu

Mitsubishi ups stake in Anglo’s Quellaveco copper project in $600-million deal
Quellaveco mining camp. (Image courtesy of Anglo American Peru)

Anglo American’s Quellaveco copper project is a proposed open-pit mine located in the Moquegua region of Peru. First production at Quellaveco is expected in 2022, with production capacity of 300,000 tonnes annually in the first 10 years of operation.

6. Frieda River – Papua New Guinea

6.3 Mt contained Cu

Image source: SEPIK Capital

Jointly owned by Cobalt 27’s Highlands Pacific and a Chinese company, Frieda River represents one of the biggest copper-gold deposits in the Asia-Pacific region. The mine is estimated to produce 175,000 tonnes of copper and 230,000 ounces of gold during a 33-year mine life.

7. Agua Rica – Argentina

5.6 Mt contained Cu

Agua Rica is located in the northwestern Argentinean province of Catamarca. (Image courtesy of Sandstorm Gold)

Situated in Catamarca province, northwest Argentina, the Agua Rica gold-copper project is jointly owned by Canada’s Yamana Gold, Swiss commodities trader Glencore and the world’s largest gold miner Newmont Goldcorp. The companies signed an agreement this year to develop the project using infrastructure and facilities at their existing ventures in the country.

8. Wafi-Golpu – Papua New Guinea

4.9 Mt contained Cu

Image courtesy of Wafi-Golpu Joint Venture

The Wafi-Golpu joint venture operated by Australia’s Newcrest Mining and South-Africa-based Harmony Gold is an advanced exploration project located in the Morobe province of  Papua New Guinea. Annual production is expected to peak in 2025 at 320,000 ounces of gold and 150,000 tonnes of copper.

9. Namosi – Fiji

4.9 Mt contained Cu

Image source: Namosi Joint Venture

Namosi is being advanced by Newcrest Mining and is located in the Namosi and Naitasiri provinces of Fiji. Exploration is currently focused on the Waisoi copper-gold project, currently in pre-feasibility phase.

10. Galeno – Peru

3.3 Mt contained Cu

Cajamarca Peru
City of Cajamarca, Peru. Image: Wikimedia Commons

Galeno is a copper-gold project currently in the feasibility stage, situated in the northern region of Cajamarca, Peru. It is jointly owned by China Minmetals and Jiangxi Copper.

Runner’s up

Large projects that fall outside the top ten include Vancouver-based Teck Resources and Newmont Goldcorp’s Galore Creek project in British Columbia, another Teck property Schaft Creek also in BC, Rosemont in Arizona which is being advanced by Hudbay Minerals and Pumpkin Hollow owned by Nevada Copper which is set to go into production before the end of 2019.

Resolution Copper, the massive project in Arizona jointly owned by Rio Tinto and BHP, has no reserves outlined yet, although resources come in at more than 10m tonnes contained copper measured and indicated.

Long time number two project under development Cobre Panama, owned by Canadian copper giant First Quantum Minerals, went into commercial production in October and now counts among the top 20 largest copper mines in the world. At maximum capacity the mine could reach output of 375,000 tonnes per year.

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13 Comments

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  • Sophie Castillo

    Northern Dynasty’s Pebble project has 25.9 Mt contained Cu in Measured and Indicated Resources. That should be your first runner up.

    • Frik Els

      Thanks for the comment Sophie. We considered projects with proven and probable reserves for the ranking. Pebble can also be considered primarily a gold project (70moz!). That said Pebble deserves a mention here – Frik

  • The Miner

    You may want to fact check some of the data as it is dated or incorrect. Starting here with the Frieda River Project will give you the actual owners amongst other items such as contained Cu.
    https://friedariver.com/

    • Frik Els

      Thanks for getting in touch The Miner. Cobalt 27 acquired Highlands Pacific (which owns 20% of Frieda River) in May this year. PanAust Limited to which I presume you are referring to as the “actual owners” is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Guangdong Rising Asset Management.

  • Tom Bowens

    You forgot Malmyzh in the Russian Far East. 5,2mm Tonnes Cu and 9mm oz Au.

    • Frik Els

      You’re right Tom, Malmyzh at the very least deserves an honourable mention here. We did not include it in our rankings because only inferred resources have been estimated and the Russian GKZ system can’t be readily compared to NI 43-101 or Jorc.

  • Tatai Katato

    Please we need to work on that new mining, fast track any delays

  • Chris Dratz

    3 typos/inconsistent totals in the first few paragraphs. Also, the last picture is definitely not Cajamarca Peru. This article makes me wonder if any of the data or stories published by Mining.com are actually accurate….

    • Frik Els

      Thanks for keeping us on our toes Chris. That was indeed the wrong Cajamarca, we’ve updated the picture. Not sure about the typos/inconsistent numbers in the intro? 700m tonnes mined plus 2.1bn identified deposits total 2.8bn ever discovered – Frik

  • Julio Martinez

    I think the project El Molino refers to El Galeno project located in Cajamarca Peru,

    • Frik Els

      Thanks Julio, the El Molino concession contained parts of the Galeno deposit which was consolidated by its previous owners Northern Peru Copper Corp. I’ve made the change..

  • Ike Eslao

    Tampakan not big enough?

  • Bruce Marsh

    You forgot Freeport and the Grasberg as well as their Cerro Verde project in Peru and Morenci mine in Arizona. Freeport is the world’s largest private copper miner for a reason.