The mining industry in Chile, Peru, and China is likely to remain sluggish over the next three months but will improve after that according to a study titled “mining signs” published by the Center for Copper and Mining Studies (Cesco) and the mining consulting firm Vantaz Group on Apr 14.
Mining in the three countries is likely to face headwinds related to increasing the industry’s competitiveness, the number of exploration projects, promoting greater inclusion and diversity, and moving towards mining with a lower carbon footprint the study noted. About 168 senior mining executives from Chile, Peru, and China, among other countries, were surveyed between March and April for this study.
Stable production, prices expected
Mining investments are expected to remain stable over the next three months according to 70pc of the respondents, while more than half expect input prices to increase and 40pc expect them to remain stable. Looking at copper mining, 32pc of the respondents expect prices to increase in the next three months, while 64pc said they would remain stable. In terms of output, 21pc of executives surveyed said copper production will rise in the next three months while 70pc said it would be stable.
Scenario to 12 months
Over the next 12 months, 73.2pc of the executives surveyed expect input prices to produce mining products to increase, while 24.4pc believe they will remain stable. For the same time frame, 60.7pc expects mining investments to increase. In the copper mining sector, 42.9pc believe copper prices will rise while 38.1pc expect them to remain at current levels. Around 53pc of the respondents indicated that copper production would increase while the balance expected it to remain stable this year.
Copper prices reached $4,167/lb on Thursday, up by 1.96pc compared to the prior day, according to the Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco).