SANTIAGO, April 12 (Reuters) – The global copper industry will be rocked by more disruptions this year than in 2018, contributing to a supply deficit as demand for the red metal continues to grow, the top executive of Chilean miner Antofagasta told Reuters.
Antofagasta CEO Ivan Arriagada said labor strife, extreme weather and unexpected project delays will knock as much as a million tonnes off the year’s total copper production, versus 600,000 the previous year.
“We think this year there will be bigger disruptions than last, which was unusually tranquil,” said Arriagada in an interview on the sidelines of CRU’s World Copper Conference in Santiago.
Heavy rains in northern Chile’s arid desert and two months of sustained protests by indigenous communities at MMG Ltd’s Las Bambas mine in Peru are already weighing heavily on potential supply from South America, Arriagada said, bolstering the metal’s price amid continuing global trade tensions.
“We’re going to have a supply deficit that will begin to show itself in the next 24 months, which will not only support the current copper price but also, send it upwards,” said Arriagada.
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