Copper Reserves: Top 5 Countries

1. Chile

Copper reserves: 190 million MT

Chile has the largest copper reserves of any country by far, with 190 million metric tons (MT) as of 2022. That's nearly twice the reserves of Australia, which comes in at the number two spot. Chile’s reserves guarantee copper production for roughly the next 100 years at the current extraction rate.

Chile is also the world’s largest copper producer, having produced some 5.2 million MT of copper from mines in 2022. Copper plays a significant role in the Chilean economy, with an estimated 20 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product attributed to copper production. The steady rise in copper prices has made Chile’s economy one of the strongest and most robust in Latin America.

BHP’s (ASX:BHP,LSE:BHP,NYSE:BHP) Escondida is the largest copper-producing mine in the world, and supply disruptions at the site — for example, due to wage negotiations — can affect copper prices.

2. Australia

Copper reserves: 97 million MT

At 97 million MT, Australia has the second largest copper reserves next to Chile, housing around 11 percent of global reserves.

According to the Australian government’s copper fact sheet, the nation’s copper resources are largely concentrated at the Olympic Dam copper-uranium-gold deposit in South Australia and at the Mount Isa copper-lead-zinc deposit in Queensland. Other important copper resources in the country are at the Northparkes copper-gold, CSA copper-lead-zinc and Girilambone copper deposits in New South Wales; the Ernest Henry, Osborne and Mammoth copper and copper-gold deposits at Selwyn in Queensland; the copper-zinc deposits at Golden Grove; and the Nifty copper deposit in Western Australia.

3. Peru

Copper reserves: 81 million MT

Peru holds 81 million MT, or 9.1 percent, of the world’s copper reserves. In 2022, the country maintained its position as the second largest producer (tied with the Democratic Republic of Congo), with national copper output of 2.2 million MT.

Peru’s largest copper reserves can be found at the Antamina, Toquepala, Cerro Verde, Cuajone and Tintaya mines. The Antamina mine in Ancash is operated by Antamina, a joint venture owned by BHP, Glencore (LSE:GLEN,OTC Pink:GLNCF), Teck Resources (TSX:TECK.A,TSX:TECK.B,NYSE:TECK) and Mitsubishi (OTC Pink:MSBHY,TSE:8306). Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) operates the Toquepala and Cuajone mines, Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) operates Cerro Verde in Arequipa and Glencore operates the Tintaya mine.

4. Russia

Copper reserves: 62 million MT

Though the country isn’t particularly known for its copper production, Russia’s status in terms of copper reserves makes it a top global competitor. Its reserves are docketed at 62 million MT, but 2022 production was low, coming in at just 1 million MT. One of the biggest copper operations in Russia is the Udokan deposit in Siberia, which is currently owned by Udokan Copper, previously named Baikal Mining Company.

The deposit made headlines a few years back when it was revealed that the company was looking to raise US$1.25 billion to develop a mining and metallurgical plant at the project. It is now under construction and is expected to come online in 2023. Udokan alone hosts significant total reserves of 26.7 million MT of copper.

5. Mexico

Copper reserves: 53 million MT

While Mexico is well known for silver mining, the country also has a strong presence in copper reserves. The nation comes in as the fifth largest on this list with reserves of 53 million MT.

Mexico’s copper output numbers have also grown; in 2022, the country produced 740,000 MT. One of the biggest copper mines in Mexico is Grupo Mexico’s (OTC Pink:GMBXF,BMV:GMEXICOB) Buenavista del Cobre operation in Sonora. Also referred to as Cananea, it has been in operation since 1899.