Codelco says production under irregular circumstances amounts to 42,100 tons

Chairman ​of the board of Chile's ‌state ​copper miner Codelco said on Thursday that artificially inflated production detected in its reports ‌would amount to 42,100 metric tons. Bernardo Fontaine added at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting that in a second case reported by the company, ‌the impact on stock would amount to 17,000 metric tons, ‌equivalent to between $120 million and $140 million.

The company has already ordered audits and dismissed nine people across three mines and its corporate offices as it probes whether ⁠production ​figures were ⁠overstated. The reporting scandal undermines the credibility of the turnaround Codelco has sought since ⁠output sank to two-decade lows in 2022 and 2023, and raises ​doubts about its targets in coming years.

Codelco is one of the ⁠world's largest copper producers, making its contribution critical to global supply just ⁠as ​demand is expected to rise on the back of electrification, power grids, electric vehicles and AI data centers. The company's copper ⁠production in 2026 is expected to be closer to 1.2 million ⁠metric tons, ⁠while its output over the next four years will be around 1.3 million metric tons, Fontaine added.