Mining News
Top 10 largest copper mining companies in Q2 2023 - report
 |
Get all the essential market news and expert opinions in one place with our daily newsletter. Receive a comprehensive recap of the day's top stories directly to your inbox. Sign up here! |
(Kitco News) - Chile's Codelco was the world's largest copper mining company in Q2 2023 (based on attributable copper tonnes), followed by BHP and Freeport-McMoRan. The top 10 copper producers mined 2,294 ktonnes of copper in Q2 2023, down 2% compared to Q2 2022.
Kitco ranked the top 10 largest copper mining companies worldwide based on their reported attributable copper production in Q2 2023.
1. Codelco, 332 ktonnes. Production at the Chilean mining giant Codelco, the world's largest copper mining company, declined 16% year-on-year to 332 thousand tonnes (incl. Codelco's stake in El Abra and Anglo American Sur) in Q2 2023. The company said the decline in production was mainly driven by operational difficulties due to "adverse weather conditions" in June, as well as maintenance activities, primarily in central southern operations.
Additionally, lower ore grades at Ministro Hales and Gabriela Mistral operations, along with reduced mineral processing at the Chuquicamata open pit, significantly affected production.
2. BHP, 328 ktonnes. BHP is second with 328 thousand tonnes of copper (attributable) mined in Q2 2023, up 5% compared to Q2 2022. The company said that its Q2 2023 copper production increased primarily due to inclusion of two months of production from Prominent Hill, Carrapateena and Carajas (BHP completed the acquisition of OZ Minerals on 2 May 2023).
3. Freeport-McMoRan, 324 ktonnes. Freeport-McMoRan landed third as the company's attributable ("less noncontrolling interests") copper production amounted to 324 thousand tonnes in Q2 2023, which is a decline of 17% compared to Q2 2022, primarily due to lower ore grades at the company's operations in North America.
4. Zijin Mining, 248 ktonnes. China's Zijin Mining, which controls the largest volumes of copper and gold resources overseas among Chinese companies, ranked fourth, with its mine-produced copper of 248 thousand tonnes reported for Q2 2023, up 15% from Q2 2022.
5. Glencore, 244 ktonnes. Glencore sits fifth. The company's Q2 2023 own sourced copper production of 244 thousand tonnes was 3% lower than in Q2 2022 primarily due to expected mining sequences at Collahuasi and Antamina, as well as lower copper by-products outside the company's copper department.
6. Southern Copper, 228 ktonnes. Southern Copper (part of Grupo Mexico) is sixth. The company's mined copper production in Q2 2023 registered an increase of 9.6% year-over-year and amounted to 228 ktonnes. The company said that its quarterly production results reflect higher output at all of its operations.
7. First Quantum, 187 ktonnes. First Quantum sits seventh. The company's copper production in Q2 2023 was 187 thousand tonnes, down 3% compared to Q2 2022.
8. Anglo American, 141 ktonnes. Anglo American moved up in the ranking as its attributable copper production increased by 44% y-o-y to 141 thousand tonnes in Q2 2023, primarily due to the ramp-up of production from its new Quellaveco mine in Peru.
9. Rio Tinto, 131 ktonnes. Rio Tinto is ninth as its Q2 2023 attributable mined copper production of 131 thousand tonnes was 4% higher than in Q2 2022.
10. KGHM, 131 ktonnes. Polish mining giant KGHM landed tenth in Q2 2023. The company's production of payable copper was 5% lower compared to Q2 2022 and amounted to 131 thousand tonnes.
|
|
South Africa's mining sector contracts 3.6% in July; mineral sales down 24.7% |
