BHP's Escondida Resumes Operations Amid Tight Copper Market
The world's largest copper mine, BHP's Escondida in Chile, has resumed operations after a fatal accident halted activity. The mine's president, Alejandro Tapia, confirmed the fatality and stated that the company is assessing conditions for a gradual resumption of activities.
The timing is significant as it comes amid tight inventories and strong demand in the copper market. COMEX copper reached a record $6.83 per pound before easing to $6.76 per pound on Friday morning.
Copper stockpiles at the Shanghai Futures Exchange stand at about 47,000 tonnes, near a cyclical low ahead of China's Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day Golden Week.
The underlying supply picture is tight, with global mine production running at an annualized 23 million tonnes in July, down 4% from June. Refined demand rose 3% from a year earlier to an annualized 29 million tonnes, while refined supply slipped 1% to 28.4 million tonnes.
BHP produced about 2 million tonnes of copper across its portfolio in its latest financial year, with copper generating more than half of the miner's underlying EBITDA for the first time.