Chile copper production increases 6.1pc in May

SANTIAGO: Chilean copper production increased by 6.1 percent in May from a year earlier to 494,500 tonnes in its best monthly performance so far this year, driven by the country's largest mines, Chilean copper commission Cochilco said on Tuesday.

Chile, the world's largest copper producer, added 2.36 million tonnes between January and May, a year-on-year increase of 13.5 percent.

State-owned Codelco produced 681,000 tonnes in May, a year-on-year increase of 2.4 percent, while mining company Escondida, controlled by BHP, more than doubled its year-on-year production to 545,600 tons between January and May.