Chile’s copper output up 9.8% in February, Codelco production dips

Copper production in Chile rose 9.8% on an annual basis to 417,000 metric tons in February even as state-run Codelco’s output dipped, the country’s copper commission Cochilco said on Thursday.

Despite the overall rise, production at Chile’s embattled copper giant Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, dipped 1.6% to 103,700 tons.

February’s rise in production was helped by a 34.1% year-on-year rise from BHP’s flagship Escondida mine, the world’s largest copper mine, which saw production reach 97,500 tons in February

Collahuasi, another major copper mine in Chile jointly run by Glencore and Anglo American, saw production rise 2.5% to 45,200 tons year-on-year in the month.

(By Fabian Andres Cambero; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Sandra Maler)