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RESEARCH

Global Copper Mine Production Hit a Record ~23 Million Tonnes in 2025 -- Trackers Converge Within 1.3%

Mining · 2026-07-17 14:18

Four independent copper-industry trackers -- ICSG, USGS, Chile's Cochilco, and S&P Global Commodity Insights -- all confirm 2025 was a record year for global copper mine output, driven by ramp-ups at Kamoa-Kakula (DRC), Oyu Tolgoi (Mongolia), and record Codelco production in Chile. Unlike most commodities UVRN has checked this year, their full-year totals land within a tight band: 22.89 million tonnes (Cochilco) to 23.19 million tonnes (ICSG), a spread of about 300,000 tonnes, or roughly 1.3% of the low-end figure -- real methodological differences remain (concentrate vs SX-EW splits, preliminary vs revised estimates) but nowhere near the double-digit-percent gaps UVRN has found in other 2025 commodity and infrastructure trackers.

Findings

  • ICSG's official Table 2 statistics put 2025 world copper mine production (concentrate and SX-EW combined) at 23.19 million tonnes (23,189 thousand tonnes), up roughly 2% year-over-year, driven mainly by Kamoa-Kakula, Oyu Tolgoi, and the new Malmyz mine in Russia.
  • Chile's state copper commission Cochilco put 2025 world mine production at 22.89 million tonnes, split between 18.38 Mt of concentrate and 4.51 Mt of SX-EW cathodes -- about 1.3% below ICSG's figure -- while separately confirming Codelco's own 2025 output hit 1.332 million tonnes, a multi-year high for the state miner.
  • USGS's Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, the earliest comprehensive annual compilation of world mineral production data, estimated 2025 world copper mine production at approximately 22.98 million tonnes -- landing almost exactly between the ICSG and Cochilco figures.
  • S&P Global Commodity Insights independently estimated primary mined copper supply at approximately 23 million tonnes for 2025, consistent with the other three trackers -- a rare case this year where major industry data providers converge within roughly 300,000 tonnes (1.3%) of each other on a global production total.

Delta Engine result

✓ Consensus — Δ 0.0321 (threshold 0.05)

Evidence quality

avg 53.8 · min 25 · max 95 · spread 70