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The Largest Copper Mines in the World by Capacity

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largest copper mines

The Largest Copper Mines in the World

Copper is one of the most-used metals in the world, for good reason.

Global copper production has expanded with populations and economies, especially in China, which consumed 54% of the world’s refined copper in 2020. Copper’s demand comes from various industries, ranging from construction to renewable energy.

But before copper reaches its array of end-uses, miners have to extract and refine from deposits within the ground. So where are the world’s largest copper mines, and just how large are they?

Types of Copper Deposits

The location of mines ultimately depends on the occurrence and discovery of copper deposits. There are two main types of copper deposits:

  • Porphyry deposits:
    These are copper ore bodies formed from hydrothermal fluids from magma chambers that lie deep below the deposit.
  • Sediment-hosted deposits:
    These deposits are formed when copper-bearing fluids mix with permeable sedimentary and volcanic rocks.

Copper is primarily sourced from porphyry deposits, which are concentrated in the Americas. Therefore, many of the world’s largest copper mines operate in this region.

Top 20 Copper Mines by Capacity

North, South, and Central America collectively host 15 of the 20 largest copper mines. These three regions combine the capacity for nearly 36% of global copper production in 2020.

RankMineCountryAnnual Production
Capacity (tonnes)
Capacity as a %
Global Production†
1EscondidaChile 🇨🇱 1,400,0007.0%
2CollahuasiChile 🇨🇱 610,0003.1%
3Buenavista del CobreMexico 🇲🇽 525,0002.6%
4MorenciU.S. 🇺🇸 520,0002.6%
5Cerro Verde IIPeru 🇵🇪 500,0002.5%
6*AntaminaPeru 🇵🇪 450,0002.3%
6*Polar DivisionRussia 🇷🇺 450,0002.3%
8Las BambasPeru 🇵🇪 430,0002.2%
9GrasbergIndonesia 🇮🇩 400,0002.0%
10El TenienteChile 🇨🇱 399,0002.0%
11*ChuquicamataChile 🇨🇱 370,0001.9%
11*Los BroncesChile 🇨🇱 370,0001.9%
11*Los PelambresChile 🇨🇱 370,0001.9%
14KansanshiZambia 🇿🇲 340,0001.7%
15Radomiro TomicChile 🇨🇱 330,0001.7%
16*KamotoCongo 🇨🇩300,0001.5%
16*Cobre PanamaPanama 🇵🇦 300,0001.5%
18Bingham CanyonU.S. 🇺🇸 280,0001.4%
19ToquepalaPeru 🇵🇪 265,0001.3%
20SentinelZambia 🇿🇲 260,0001.3%

*Mines with equal capacities have the same rankings. †2020

The Escondida Mine in Chile is by far the world’s largest copper mine. Its annual capacity of 1.4 million tonnes means that it can produce more copper than the second and third-largest mines combined.

Porphyry copper deposits are often characterized by lower grade ores and are mined in open pits. As a result, some of the top copper mines are also among the world’s largest open pits. The Bingham Canyon Mine (seen below) in Utah, United States, is the deepest open pit with a depth of 1.2 km. It’s also the largest man-made excavation on Earth, spanning 4 km wide.

Chuquicamata and Escondida are the second and third-deepest open pits, respectively.

Indonesia’s Grasberg Mine is another notable name on this list. It produces both gold and copper on a massive scale and has the world’s largest known reserve of gold and the second-largest reserve of copper.

Overall, the top 20 mines have the capacity to produce nearly nine million tonnes of copper annually—representing 44% of global production in 2020. However, with demand for refined copper expected to rise 31% between 2020 and 2030, these existing sources of supply might not be enough.

Falling Grades, Rising Demand: New Mines on the Block?

According to the International Energy Agency, average copper ore grades in Chile have declined by 30% in the last 15 years. Since Chile’s mines produce more than one-fourth of the world’s copper, these falling ore grades could be a cause for concern—especially with a deficit looming over the market for refined copper.

New copper mining projects are becoming more valuable and it wouldn’t be surprising to see fresh names on the list of the largest copper mines. For example, the Kamoa-Kakula Mine, which started production in May 2021, is expected to churn out 800,000 tonnes of copper annually after expansion. That would make it the second-largest copper mine by capacity.

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Misc

Charted: The End-of-Life Recycling Rates of Select Metals

End-of-life recycling rates measure the percentage of a material that is recovered at the end of its useful life, rather than being disposed of or incinerated.

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A chart ranking the end-of-life recycling rates (EOL-RR) of commonly used metals in the economy, per 2021 data from the International Energy Agency.

Charted: The End-of-Life Recycling Rates of Select Metals

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on Apple or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

We visualize the end-of-life recycling rates (EOL-RR) of commonly used metals in the economy. Data is sourced from the International Energy Agency, last updated in 2021.

ℹ️ EOL-RR is the percentage of a material or product that is recycled or recovered at the end of its useful life, rather than being disposed of in landfills or incinerated.

Tracking recycling rates helps manage resources better and make smarter policies, guiding efforts to cut down on waste.

Ranked: The End of Life Recycling Rates of Select Metals

Gold has an 86% recycling rate according to the latest available data. Per the Boston Consulting Group, one-third of total gold supply was met through recycling between 1995–2014.

MetalEnd-of-life recycling
rate (2021)
🔍 Used In
Gold86%💍 Jewelry / Electronics
Platinum/Palladium60%🔬 Optical fibers / Dental fillings
Nickel60%🔋 Batteries / Turbine blades
Silver50%💍 Jewelry / Mirrors
Copper46%🔌 Electrical wiring / Industrial equipment
Aluminum42%✈️ Aeroplane parts / Cans
Chromium34%🍽️ Stainless steel / Leather tanning
Zinc33%🔗 Galvanizing metal / Making rubber
Cobalt32%🔋 Batteries / Turbine engines
Lithium0.5%🔋 Batteries / Pacemakers
REEs0.2%📱 Mobile phones / Hard drives

Note: Figures are rounded.

Several factors can influence metal recycling rates. According to this International Resource Panel report, metals that are used in large quantities (steel) or have a high value (gold) tend to have higher recycling rates.

However, for materials used in small quantities in complex products (rare earth elements in electronics), recycling becomes far more challenging.

Finally, a metal’s EOL-RR is strongly influenced by the least efficient link in the recycling chain, which is typically how it’s initially collected.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed this post, check out Critical Materials: Where China, the EU, and the U.S. Overlap which shows how critical materials are classified within different jurisdictions.

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Misc

Companies with the Most Fossil Fuel and Cement CO2 Emissions

Half of the world’s total fossil fuel and cement carbon dioxide emissions in 2023 came from just 36 companies.

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Half of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions in 2023 came from just 36 companies. Here, we chart the world's biggest polluters.

Companies with the Most Fossil Fuel and Cement CO2 Emissions

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Key Takeaways

  • Half of the world’s fossil fuel and cement carbon dioxide emissions in 2023 came from just 36 entities, according to a report by the Carbon Majors Project
  • If Saudi Aramco were a country, it would be the fourth-largest polluter in the world, after China, the U.S., and India.
  • Five publicly traded oil companies—ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, TotalEnergies, and BP—together accounted for 5% of global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels.

Chinese Companies Dominate the List

This graphic is based on Carbon Majors, a database of historical production data from 180 of the world’s largest oil, gas, coal, and cement producers representing 169 active and 11 inactive entities.

In 2023, the top 20 highest carbon-producing entities were responsible for 17.5 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO₂e) in emissions, accounting for 40.8% of global fossil fuel and cement CO₂ emissions. The list is largely dominated by state-owned companies, with 16 of the top 20 being state-controlled. Notably, eight Chinese entities contributed to 17.3% of global fossil fuel and cement CO₂ emissions in 2023.

EntityTotal emissions (MtCO2e)Global CO2 emissions (%)
1Saudi Aramco4.4%
2Coal India3.7%
3CHN Energy3.7%
4Jinneng Group2.9%
5Cement industry of China2.8%
6National Iranian Oil Company2.8%
7Gazprom2.3%
8Rosneft1.9%
9Shandong Energy1.7%
10China National Coal Group1.7%
11Abu Dhabi National Oil Company1.6%
12CNPC1.6%
13Shaanxi Coal and Chemical Industry Group1.6%
14Iraq National Oil Company1.3%
15Shanxi Coking Coal Group1.3%
16ExxonMobil1.3%
17Sonatrach1.2%
18Chevron1.1%
19Kuwait Petroleum Corp.1.0%
20Petrobras1.0%
21Shell0.9%
22Pemex0.9%
23TotalEnergies0.8%
24QatarEnergy0.8%
25Lukoil0.8%
26BP0.8%
27Glencore0.7%
28China Huaneng Group0.7%
29Luan Chemical Group0.7%
30Equinor0.7%
31Peabody Energy0.7%
32Nigerian National Petroleum Corp.0.6%
33CNOOC0.6%
34ConocoPhillips0.6%
35Eni0.6%
36Petronas0.5%

Coal continued to be the largest source of emissions in 2023, representing 41.1% of emissions in the database and continuing a steady upward trend since 2016. Coal emissions grew by 1.9% (258 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent – MtCO₂e) from 2022, while cement saw the largest relative increase at 6.5% (82 MtCO₂e), driven by expanding production.

In contrast, natural gas emissions fell by 3.7% (164 MtCO₂e), and oil emissions remained stable with only a slight increase of 0.3% (73 MtCO₂e).

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic that shows greenhouse gas emissions by sector in 2023, according to data was compiled by the United Nations. The power sector remains the largest emissions contributor.

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