Copper steadies as traders weigh Codelco collapse

Copper futures hovered around $4.40 per pound on Friday, holding steady and set to close the week little changed as traders weighed the market impact of the shutdown at Codelco’s largest mine in Chile following a deadly accident.

The state-owned miner has formally sought regulatory approval to resume partial operations at its flagship El Teniente site after last week’s tunnel collapse, which killed six workers and prompted a full suspension of mining activities for safety inspections.

Furthermore, El Teniente — the world’s largest underground copper mine — produced over 300,000 metric tons in 2024, making its output a key pillar of global supply. A prolonged closure could tighten the market, though the immediate impact has been tempered by existing stockpiles and steady flows from other producers.

Despite the recent stability, copper prices remain near four-month lows after tumbling more than 20% last week, pressured by trade policy developments in the United States. President Donald Trump announced that refined copper would be excluded from a new round of tariffs, easing concerns over direct import costs for US buyers.

Instead, the measures will target semi-finished copper products such as wires, pipes, and tubes, while leaving imports of ore, cathodes, and concentrates — the primary copper forms entering the US — unaffected.

The decision has shifted short-term price dynamics by reducing the likelihood of an immediate demand shock in the US refined copper market, but it has also fueled uncertainty over longer-term trade flows and downstream manufacturing demand.

In the meantime, the El Teniente incident underscores the fragility of global supply chains, particularly as Chile remains the world’s largest copper producer, and any sustained production disruptions could quickly ripple through pricing and availability worldwide.