Escondida Mine in Antofagasta, Chile, was the largest copper-producing mine in the South and Central America, producing approximately 141.81 million metric tons per annum (mmtpa) of Run-of-Mine (ROM) in 2021 and an estimated 1,011 thousand tonnes of Copper in 2021. The Escondida Mine is owned by BHP and is due to operate until 2041. The second largest copper-producing mine with an estimated copper production of 630 thousand tonnes and 102.43 mmtpa of ROM, was the Collahuasi Mine located in Antofagasta, Chile. The Collahuasi Mine is owned by Glencore Plc, and is due to operate until 2041.
El Teniente Mine located in Cachapoal, Chile was the third-largest mine, the Cerro Verde Mine located in Arequipa, Peru was the fourth-largest mine and the Las Bambas Project located in Apurimac, Peru was the fifth-largest mine, with an estimated copper production of 463 thousand tonnes, 402.3 thousand tonnes and 383.6 thousand tonnes, respectively, in 2021. The El Teniente Mine, the Cerro Verde Mine and the Las Bambas Project had an estimated ROM production of 64.09 mmtpa, 162.25 mmtpa and 59.88 mmtpa respectively. The El Teniente Mine is owned by Corporacion Nacional del Cobre de Chile which is due to operate until 2072, the Cerro Verde Mine is owned by Freeport-McMoRan Inc which is due to operate until 2051 and the Las Bambas Project is owned by China Minmetals Corp which is due to operate until 2038.
The five largest copper mines, i.e., Escondida Mine, Collahuasi Mine, El Teniente Mine, Cerro Verde Mine, and Las Bambas Project, cumulatively produced approximately 2,889.9 thousand tonnes of copper, 530.46 mmtpa of ROM in 2021.
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