BHP Group expects a global copper deficit of 10 million metric tons a decade from now, a shortfall that is driving its plans to spend at least $11 billion at the world’s biggest copper mine, Escondida, and other projects in Chile.
BHP detailed to investors this week plans to spend $10.7 billion to $14.7 billion within about 10 years to extract more copper from Escondida and the smaller Spence mine, and restart the Cerro Colorado mine. The world’s biggest listed miner’s annual production is set to fall by around 300,000 tons to 1.6 million tons by the end of the decade, largely driven by a slump at Escondida that is expected to peak in 2025.
Other top copper miners are facing similar challenges to increase output at aging mines. Those difficulties are hitting just as demand for copper, an essential metal for production of electric-vehicle batteries and construction of data centers, is expected to grow.
For the rest of this article: https://www.xm.com/au/research/markets/allNews/reuters/bhp-bets-billions-on-chile-mines-to-face-global-copper-crunch-53974548