Posted on 12 Aug 2025
Chilean state-owned miner Codelco has partially resumed operations at the El Teniente copper mine after halting mining following a fatal accident.
Santiago’s labour directorate and the mining agency Sernageomin authorised the partial and gradual restart of underground operations. During the first shift at the weekend, ore shipments to the processing plant were around 50% lower than usual. The smelter is also operational, Kallanish writes.
Investigations are ongoing to identify the causes of a tunnel collapse that killed six people at the end of July. It was likely a result of mining activity rather than a natural shift in tectonic plates, Bloomberg reported, citing an anonymous source with direct knowledge of the matter.
Copper prices have since been on the rise due to El Teniente’s size, which accounted for nearly 7% of Chile’s entire production last year. The London Metal Exchange three-month closing price was $9,672/t on Monday, up by 1.5% from the day after the incident.
The market is already facing a supply crunch amid strong demand and other unplanned disruptions, such as the closure of Ivanhoe Mines’ Kamoa-Kakula complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The project is partly shuttered due to seismic activity that seems to be induced by mining, raising concerns about its viability.
Supply disruptions accounted for 5.7% of global production last year, up from 5% in 2014. According to ANZ Research, they could be over 6% this year, which analysts say “highlights the increasingly difficult operating conditions” for copper miners, whose outlook does not improve as mines go deeper, exacerbating worsening copper grades and mine depletion.
“Over the longer term this will constrain supply growth, creating ongoing tightness in the copper market. In the short term, we could see spot prices pick up as mine supply disruptions bite,” ANZ analysts comment. “This will also put downward pressure on treatment charges. China’s demand for refined copper imports will likely grow.”
The bank’s short-term price target is $9,700/t, potentially reaching $10,000/t over the next 12 months.
Source:Kallanish
