Top 50 Countries by Copper Mine Production, 2025

by StatRanker December 20, 2025 6500 45 min read

Resources & Critical Minerals · Mine Production

A comparative overview of global copper mine output by country, with concentration analysis, per-capita context, and supply-side implications for electrification.

Indicator: Mine output (metal content) Unit: kt (thousand metric tons) Data year: 2023 (latest BGS/USGS) Coverage: 50 producers

Why copper mine output is the upstream benchmark for electrification supply

Copper mine production measures the amount of copper metal contained in ore and concentrates extracted from mines within a given year. It is the upstream "physical availability" layer of copper supply — before smelting, refining, fabrication and recycling. That distinction matters: a country can be a large miner yet export concentrates for processing elsewhere, while another can be a major refining hub with modest domestic mining. The two metrics often diverge, depending on energy costs, smelter investment, environmental regulation, and trade policy.

In practical terms, copper is irreplaceable as a backbone material for electrification and infrastructure: power grids, electric motors, EV batteries and charging networks, wind and solar installations, data centres and industrial equipment all depend on its high conductivity and ductility. That makes mine output a key indicator of supply concentration and potential bottlenecks, especially when demand growth outpaces the pace at which new mines can be permitted, financed, and brought online. Project lead times of 10–20 years mean the supply pipeline in the 2030s is effectively being decided by permitting and investment decisions made today.

≈ 22.98 Mt World mine output, 2023

≈ 49% Top 3 producers' share

≈ 80% Top 10 producers' share

Top 10 copper mining countries: the dominant tier

Ten countries account for roughly 80% of global mine output. This group spans Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and advanced economies, but the concentration at the very top is still striking: Chile, DR Congo, and Peru alone account for nearly half of global supply. Understanding what drives each of these economies' production levels — and their vulnerabilities — is essential for any supply-chain analysis.

#1 Chile

South America · Open-pit, porphyry deposits

5,373 kt — 23.4% of world output

By far the world's largest copper producer, Chile hosts the Escondida mine (the world's largest single copper mine), Codelco's Chuquicamata and Teniente, and dozens of other large open-pit porphyry deposits in the Atacama Desert and Andean cordillera. Output has faced headwinds from ore-grade decline and water scarcity, but the pipeline of large expansion projects keeps Chile well ahead of all rivals.

#2 Democratic Republic of the Congo

Central Africa · Copper Belt deposits

3,149 kt — 13.7% of world output

The DRC has grown to second place driven by world-class high-grade Copper Belt deposits (Kamoa-Kakula, Tenke Fungurume, Ivanhoe Mines projects). Production has roughly doubled since 2020 and continues to rise rapidly. Infrastructure constraints, political risk and artisanal mining coexist with large-scale industrial operations backed by Chinese and Western capital.

#3 Peru

South America · High-altitude porphyry systems

2,755 kt — 12.0% of world output

Peru is home to Las Bambas, Cerro Verde, Antamina and Southern Copper operations. Production has been periodically disrupted by community protests and social conflict around mining concessions, creating a gap between Peru's reserve base and its realised output potential. Government efforts to improve community relations remain an ongoing structural challenge.

#4 China

Asia · Domestic mines + large refining sector

1,815 kt — 7.9% of world output

China produces a significant volume domestically — primarily from Jiangxi, Yunnan and Xinjiang provinces — but it is far more dominant as a refiner and consumer than as a miner. Domestic ore grades are generally lower than in South America, making imports of concentrates economically essential. China's smelting capacity accounts for more than 40% of global refined copper production.

#5 United States

North America · Porphyry deposits, Arizona and Utah

1,100 kt — 4.8% of world output

The US is a large but declining producer relative to its peak in the 20th century. Arizona's Morenci (the largest US mine) and Bingham Canyon (Utah) anchor output. Permitting timelines — often exceeding a decade for new projects under NEPA and related review processes — are a persistent constraint on expanding domestic capacity despite large resource endowments.

#6 Indonesia

Southeast Asia · Grasberg complex

922 kt — 4.0% of world output

Indonesia's output is dominated almost entirely by the Grasberg mine in Papua (operated by Freeport-McMoRan and MIND ID). Grasberg is one of the world's largest copper-gold deposits and is now transitioning from open-pit to underground block-cave mining, which involves periodic production volatility during the transition ramp-up.

#7 Russia

Europe/Asia · Norilsk complex and Urals deposits

910 kt — 4.0% of world output

Russia's copper production is dominated by Norilsk Nickel (primarily copper-nickel sulphide ore in the Siberian Arctic), supplemented by UGMK and other Urals-based operations. International sanctions since 2022 have had limited direct impact on physical copper volumes, though financing, logistics and equipment supply have become more complex.

#8 Mexico

North America · Sonora and Baja California deposits

779 kt — 3.4% of world output

Mexico's copper output, centred on the Sonoran copper belt, has grown substantially over the past decade. Grupo Mexico operates Buenavista del Cobre (formerly Cananea), one of the world's largest copper mines. Regulatory uncertainty around permitting and periodic water-related suspensions are operational risks in the arid north.

#9 Australia

Oceania · Olympic Dam, Mount Isa, DeGrussa

778 kt — 3.4% of world output

Australia's Olympic Dam mine (BHP) holds the world's largest known uranium deposit and is a major copper-gold-uranium producer. Mount Isa Mines (Glencore) and several newer mid-tier operations add to Australia's copper base. The country holds substantial undeveloped reserves and has been a focus of new project exploration for critical minerals.

#10 Zambia

Africa · Copperbelt

699 kt — 3.0% of world output

Zambia's Copperbelt province hosts some of the world's oldest and most storied copper mining operations. Production fell sharply in the 1990s and 2000s before a gradual recovery driven by new investment. The government's ambition to expand to 3 Mt/yr by 2031 requires major capital inflows and improvements in power infrastructure, which remains a bottleneck for energy-intensive mining operations.

Chart 1 — Top 20 copper mine producers, 2023 (kt, metal content)

Mine production in thousand metric tons (kt) of copper metal content, 2023. Source: BGS World Mineral Production 2019–2023 and USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025. Values rounded for readability.

Top 50 countries by copper mine production — full ranking

The table below presents all 50 producers in the 2023 ranking, with regional classification and inline share-of-world data. Use the filters and search to explore the dataset. The full ranking remains readable even if JavaScript is unavailable.

Table 2 — Top 50 countries by copper mine production (2023)

Mine production in metric tons (t) or thousand metric tons (kt) of copper metal content, 2023. Share computed against global total of 22,980,000 t. Source: BGS World Mineral Production 2019–2023; USGS MCS 2025.

Rank ↕	Country ↕	Production ↕	Region	Output bar
1	Chile	5,372,694 t23.38%	Americas	23.4%
2	DR Congo	3,148,567 t13.70%	Africa	13.7%
3	Peru	2,755,139 t11.99%	Americas	12.0%
4	China	1,815,010 t7.90%	Asia	7.9%
5	United States	1,100,000 t4.79%	Americas	4.8%
6	Indonesia	922,143 t4.01%	Asia	4.0%
7	Russia	910,000 t3.96%	Europe	4.0%
8	Mexico	778,839 t3.39%	Americas	3.4%
9	Australia	778,369 t3.39%	Oceania	3.4%
10	Zambia	698,566 t3.04%	Africa	3.0%
11	Kazakhstan	576,900 t2.51%	Asia	2.5%
12	Canada	499,791 t2.17%	Americas	2.2%
13	Mongolia	488,355 t2.12%	Asia	2.1%
14	Poland	445,000 t1.94%	Europe	1.9%
15	Brazil	376,338 t1.64%	Americas	1.6%
16	Panama	330,863 t1.44%	Americas	1.4%
17	Iran	326,000 t1.42%	Asia	1.4%
18	Serbia	238,909 t1.04%	Europe	1.0%
19	Uzbekistan	149,000 t0.65%	Asia	0.6%
20	Ecuador	140,000 t0.61%	Americas	0.6%
21	Turkey	127,000 t0.55%	Asia	0.6%
22	Spain	114,786 t0.50%	Europe	0.5%
23	Papua New Guinea	87,400 t0.38%	Oceania	0.4%
24	Sweden	73,780 t0.32%	Europe	0.3%
25	Bulgaria	72,698 t0.32%	Europe	0.3%
26	Saudi Arabia	71,810 t0.31%	Asia	0.3%
27	Armenia	62,266 t0.27%	Asia	0.3%
28	Philippines	61,629 t0.27%	Asia	0.3%
29	Botswana	54,808 t0.24%	Africa	0.2%
30	Laos	50,120 t0.22%	Asia	0.2%
31	South Africa	50,023 t0.22%	Africa	0.2%
32	Portugal	40,800 t0.18%	Europe	0.2%
33	Morocco	32,000 t0.14%	Africa	0.1%
34	Vietnam	29,049 t0.13%	Asia	0.1%
35	India	28,044 t0.12%	Asia	0.1%
36	Finland	20,000 t0.09%	Europe	0.1%
37	Eritrea	17,595 t0.08%	Africa	0.1%
38	Pakistan	17,000 t0.07%	Asia	0.1%
39	Mauritania	13,014 t0.06%	Africa	0.1%
40	Zimbabwe	12,908 t0.06%	Africa	0.1%
41	Tanzania	10,000 t0.04%	Africa	0.0%
42	Dominican Republic	9,673 t0.04%	Americas	0.0%
43	Romania	9,300 t0.04%	Europe	0.0%
44	North Macedonia	7,378 t0.03%	Europe	0.0%
45	Kyrgyzstan	7,200 t0.03%	Asia	0.0%
46	Colombia	6,000 t0.03%	Americas	0.0%
47	Georgia	4,394 t0.02%	Asia	0.0%
48	Albania	4,006 t0.02%	Europe	0.0%
49	Bolivia	3,881 t0.02%	Americas	0.0%
50	Azerbaijan	2,687 t0.01%	Asia	0.0%

Source: BGS World Mineral Production 2019–2023 (2025); USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025. Values in metric tons (t) of copper metal content, 2023. Last updated: June 2025.

Chart 2 — Copper mine output vs. GDP per capita (PPP), selected producers, 2023

Per-capita mine output varies dramatically across producers. Small, resource-intensive economies hosting large mines (Chile, Zambia, Mongolia) show very high output per resident, while large-population countries like China, India and Brazil appear much lower on a per-capita basis despite sizable absolute volumes. This scatter contextualises production intensity against income level.

X-axis: GDP per capita, PPP (thousands of 2021 international dollars). Y-axis: copper mine production per capita (kg per person, 2023). Bubble size proportional to total mine output. Source: BGS, USGS, World Bank WDI.

Methodology

How figures are compiled and what they measure

All production figures represent mine production of copper metal content — the amount of copper (Cu) contained in ore and concentrates extracted at the mine stage, expressed in metric tons. This is distinct from smelter or refinery production, which measures how much refined copper is produced from concentrates (including imported ones). The two measures can diverge significantly: China, for instance, is a smaller miner but the world's largest refiner.

The primary source is the British Geological Survey (BGS) World Mineral Production 2019–2023 report, published in 2025. Country figures are cross-checked against the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025, which covers the same reference year (2023) and provides the global total. Minor discrepancies between compilers arise from differences in national reporting, rounding and treatment of artisanal/small-scale mining. Where sources diverge, BGS country-level data is used as primary, with USGS providing the world total context.

Reference year: 2023 — the most recent year for which full cross-country BGS data are available as of mid-2025.
Unit: Metric tons (t) of copper metal content. Thousand metric tons (kt) are used in charts and summary tables for readability.
World total: Approximately 22,980,000 t, consistent with USGS MCS 2025 global figures. Share-of-world values are computed against this total.
Rounding: Values are rounded at the unit level for full-precision table display; chart labels use kt and are rounded further for readability.
Coverage: The Top 50 list is drawn from all countries with reported mine production in the BGS dataset. Very small artisanal producers and countries with only trace output may not appear.
Limitations: PPP and per-capita data used in the scatter chart draw on World Bank WDI (GDP per capita, PPP) and UN Population Division figures, both for 2023. These are approximate and rounded for comparative structure analysis, not as a formal statistical release.

Insights and analytical takeaways

1. Supply is highly concentrated — and that concentration is structural

The most striking feature of global copper mine production is how concentrated it remains at the top. Chile, DR Congo and Peru together account for roughly 49% of world output; expand to the Top 10 and the share reaches about 80%. This is not a short-term pattern. It reflects the geological reality of where large porphyry copper deposits and Copper Belt ore bodies are located. Unlike many commodities, copper concentration cannot be reduced quickly through exploration alone. Most large undeveloped or still-expanding resource areas are concentrated in the same broad regions: the Andes, the Central African Copper Belt, and parts of Southeast and Central Asia.

Concentration at a glance (2023):

Top 3 (Chile, DR Congo, Peru): ~49% of global mine output
Top 5 (add China + USA): ~62%
Top 10: ~80%
HHI (Herfindahl–Hirschman Index): ~1,055 — moderate but rising with DRC's rapid growth

Table 3 — Concentration structure (2023)

Group	Production (Mt)	Share of world	Key interpretation
Top 3 (Chile + DRC + Peru)	11.28	49.0%	Nearly half of global supply from three jurisdictions
Top 5 (+ China + USA)	14.19	61.7%	Adding two large economies still sub-two-thirds
Top 10	18.28	79.5%	The dominant tier; rest of world forms a long tail
Ranks 11–50	4.37	19.0%	Mid-tier — Kazakhstan, Canada, Mongolia, Poland lead
Rest of world (outside Top 50)	0.32	1.5%	Minimal residual output

2. The DRC's rise is a defining shift in global supply geography

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has become the world's second-largest copper producer, which is one of the most important shifts in copper supply over the past decade. Output has grown from roughly 1 Mt in 2015 to over 3 Mt in 2023, driven by world-class high-grade deposits such as Kamoa-Kakula (Ivanhoe Mines / Zijin Mining), which has among the highest ore grades of any large copper mine globally. The DRC's reserve base — combined with its cobalt co-production — makes the country pivotal not just to copper supply but to the battery metals complex that underpins EV manufacturing.

This rapid growth brings structural risks: political and governance instability, infrastructure constraints (particularly power and transport logistics), and a regulatory environment that has periodically changed terms for mining concessions. Supply disruptions in the DRC now have meaningful global impact in ways they did not 10 years ago.

3. Long project pipelines mean the 2030s supply picture is being set today

Copper mines take an average of 12–20 years from initial discovery to first production. That means the supply available in 2035–2040, when EV penetration and grid buildout are expected to drive peak incremental demand, depends almost entirely on projects currently in exploration, permitting or early construction. The pipeline of projects at various stages of development is insufficient to meet most demand scenarios without price signals that attract additional capital — or without major improvements in secondary recovery (recycling) to reduce pressure on primary mine supply.

4. Some notable rankings surprises: Panama, Guyana-model growth, Mongolia

A few producers deserve attention beyond their absolute rank. Panama (#16 at 331 kt) saw its Cobre Panamá mine suspended in late 2023 after public protests and a Supreme Court ruling, which removed a meaningful volume from global supply very quickly. This shows how dependence on one large asset can create risks that are not obvious from country totals alone.

Mongolia (#13 at 488 kt) is an emerging mid-tier producer anchored by the Oyu Tolgoi underground expansion. If the project continues to ramp up as planned, Mongolia could move closer to the top 10 later in the decade.

5. Per-capita production as a development and dependency lens

When adjusted for population, the ranking looks different. Chile produces roughly 275 kg of copper per person per year, which is exceptionally high for a large producer. Zambia, Mongolia and DRC also show elevated per-capita figures that reflect how central mining is to their economic structures. For these economies, copper is not just an export. It is a major source of fiscal revenue, foreign exchange, and formal employment, which creates clear dependence on commodity prices and investment cycles.

By contrast, China, India and Indonesia — despite ranking among the top producers in absolute terms — have per-capita figures that are very low, reflecting how small mining is as a share of their broader economic activity. For these countries, the strategic question is access to copper inputs (especially via concentrate imports) rather than domestic production expansion.

How to read this ranking in practice

Practical reading of the copper mine production ranking

Copper is a commodity, an industrial input, and increasingly a strategic material. This ranking becomes more useful when read from the perspective of the specific reader:

For supply-chain and manufacturing teams

Monitor the concentration metrics. When ~80% of supply comes from 10 countries and ~49% from three, disruption in even one or two jurisdictions creates rapid tightness in spot markets.
Watch for project-level events (mine suspensions, labour disputes, permitting decisions) in Chile, DRC and Peru — these can move global price signals within days.
Recycling content in your supply chain is a partial hedge against primary mine concentration: secondary copper production is more geographically distributed and less sensitive to individual mine events.

For policy and trade analysts

The DRC's emergence creates new geopolitical complexity: cobalt and copper are co-produced, meaning EV and battery policy are directly tied to governance conditions in Central Africa.
US and EU critical-mineral strategies seeking to reduce import dependency face a structural challenge: there is no large pool of untapped, low-geopolitical-risk copper deposits that can be brought into production quickly. Permitting reform, not just exploration, is the binding constraint for Western producers.
For producing-country governments (Zambia, Mongolia, DRC, Chile), the ranking underlines both the negotiating leverage that comes with resource endowment and the revenue fragility that comes with commodity price volatility.

For investors and project developers

The structural supply deficit expected in the late 2020s/early 2030s underpins the investment thesis for new copper projects — but only if permitting and capital markets support timely development.
Country risk and social license are now as important as ore grade in determining whether a project reaches production. Panama's Cobre Panamá closure illustrates this starkly.
Recycling and secondary copper processing represent a growing opportunity to participate in copper supply growth with lower permitting risk and shorter project timelines.

FAQ — Copper mine production explained

What is the difference between mine production and refined copper production? ▼

Mine production measures the copper metal contained in ore and concentrates extracted at the mine — the raw upstream supply. Refined copper production measures how much cathode-grade copper (≥99.99% Cu) is produced through smelting and refining, which can use both domestic concentrates and imported ones. China, for example, is the world's largest copper refiner despite ranking fourth in mine production, because it imports enormous quantities of concentrates from Chile, Peru, Australia and elsewhere. The two metrics answer different questions: mine production tells you where the physical resource comes from; refinery output tells you where it is processed.

Why is Chile so dominant — and is that likely to change? ▼

Chile's dominance reflects exceptional geology: the country sits along the Central Andes porphyry copper belt, hosting the world's largest concentration of large, high-grade copper-molybdenum porphyry deposits. Chile has consistently produced 20–27% of global mine output for decades. That said, Chile faces structural challenges: ore grades at major mines have been declining steadily (by roughly 0.5% per year on average), water availability in the Atacama is severely constrained (requiring expensive desalination), and energy costs are a growing variable. Chile is not likely to lose its #1 position in the near-to-medium term, but its share of world output may gradually erode as DRC, Mongolia and other producers expand.

How does copper demand from EVs and clean energy actually affect the supply picture? ▼

An electric vehicle requires roughly 3–4 times more copper than a combustion-engine vehicle. Wind turbines require 2–4 tonnes of copper per MW of capacity. Solar installations and grid infrastructure also have high copper intensity. Most demand scenarios for the energy transition point to incremental copper demand growing by 1.5–2.5 Mt per year through the late 2020s and into the 2030s — roughly equivalent to bringing one or two large new mines into production every year just to fill the incremental demand gap. Given project lead times of 10–20 years, this is the source of a widely-forecast "structural deficit" in copper markets that many analysts expect to materialise in the late 2020s or early 2030s, barring major advances in recycling rates or demand-side efficiency.

What caused Panama's Cobre Panamá mine to shut down? ▼

First Quantum Minerals' Cobre Panamá mine — which was producing roughly 330,000–350,000 tonnes of copper per year and had become one of the world's largest copper mines — was suspended in late 2023 following a sequence of events: a new contract with the Panamanian government was signed in October 2023, triggering mass public protests across Panama over environmental and sovereignty concerns. Panama's Supreme Court subsequently ruled the contract unconstitutional. The government ordered the mine to stop accepting new ore shipments, and the operation was placed into "care and maintenance" mode by late November 2023. The closure had immediate impact on global copper supply and was a major driver of price volatility in late 2023 and into 2024. It illustrates how social license and legal/political risk can remove large production volumes from global supply with very little warning.

Why does Poland appear in the Top 20? I didn't associate Poland with copper. ▼

Poland is a genuine and often-overlooked mid-tier copper producer, ranking 14th globally in 2023 with approximately 445,000 tonnes. KGHM Polska Miedź (a state-controlled company) operates the Legnica–Głogów Copper District in Lower Silesia, which hosts one of Europe's largest copper deposits. KGHM is also a major silver producer as a by-product. The ore body is a sediment-hosted copper deposit (Kupferschiefer), different in geology from the porphyry deposits of South America. Poland's copper mining has a history stretching back centuries, and KGHM is now an international operator with assets in Chile and Canada as well.

Can recycling close the gap between projected demand and mine supply? ▼

Copper recycling already plays a substantial role: secondary refined copper (from scrap) accounts for roughly 30–35% of total refined copper production globally. However, there are limits to how quickly recycling can scale to offset a mine supply deficit. Copper has a long service life (power cables, building wiring and motor windings can last 30–50 years), meaning a large share of the copper that needs to be recycled in the 2030s was installed in the 2000s or earlier and is not yet at end-of-life. Improving collection rates, expanding secondary smelting capacity and designing new EV and grid infrastructure for easier end-of-life recovery are all levers — but analysts broadly agree that recycling alone cannot close a structural supply gap if mine production falls significantly short of demand growth.

Primary data sources and technical notes

Figures are compiled from openly available international datasets and are rounded and harmonised for cross-country comparability. They should be treated as analytical estimates rather than official country-specific statistics. For formal work, readers should consult original databases directly.

British Geological Survey (BGS) — World Mineral Production 2019–2023 (2025) Primary country-level source for mine production (metal content). Used for all 50 country values in Table 2. The 2023 edition was published in 2025 and covers the reference year used in this article.
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/539285/1/WMP_2019-2023_COMPLETE.pdf
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) — Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025 (Copper) Provides global context on mine production totals, refinery output and reserve estimates. The 2025 edition covers reference year 2023 and is the basis for the world total figure used to compute share-of-world values.
https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2025/mcs2025.pdf
USGS — Data Release: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025 Machine-readable companion dataset supporting the MCS 2025 publication. Used for cross-checking country-level figures and verifying mid-tier producers.
https://doi.org/10.5066/P13XCP3R
World Bank — World Development Indicators (WDI): Population & GDP per capita, PPP Population totals (SP.POP.TOTL) and GDP per capita, PPP (NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD) used to compute per-capita production values and for the scatter chart axes. Reference year: 2023.
data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL
International Copper Study Group (ICSG) — Copper Bulletin Monthly and annual data on copper supply, demand, stocks and trade flows. Used as a secondary cross-check on production totals and for context on the supply/demand balance narrative.
https://www.icsg.org
S&P Global Market Intelligence — World Exploration Trends Used for contextual information on exploration budgets, project pipelines and the discussion of lead times for new copper mines. Not a direct data source for production figures.

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