Companies

Mitsubishi to See More Copper from Chile, as Local Mines Merge into Global Titan

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
Mitsubishi Corp. logo

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:52 JST, September 17, 2025

Mitsubishi Corp. will soon see its copper mining operations expand in Chile, as two mines there combine to achieve one of the highest production levels in the world. The company aims to expand its interests in copper, which is seeing rising demand globally.

Anglo American Sur S.A. (AAS), which Mitsubishi holds a 20.44% stake in, has reached a final agreement to integrate operations from 2030 between its copper mine in southern Chile and the adjacent mine operated by Chile’s state-owned copper company, Codelco.

The two mines extract from a shared ore body. By streamlining mining plans and sharing copper ore sorting facilities, they expect to increase production.

The two mines hold at least around 60 million tons of copper, accounting for about 2% of the world’s deposits. While they produced a combined 350,000 tons in 2024, integrated operations will enable an additional 120,000 tons of annual production. This would place the mines among the top five operations globally.

The produced copper will be split 50-50 between AAS and Codelco, with Mitsubishi’s share expected to increase by about 12,000 tons annually. Mitsui & Co. also has a stake in AAS.

Copper is used in EV motors and power grids for renewables, which has led to expectations of growing demand over the medium to long term. However, in recent years, many mines have run out of high-grade copper, and rising development costs due to higher material costs, among other factors, are making it difficult to develop new mines. To ensure a stable supply, countries are trying to expand existing mines and improve mining efficiency.

With Chinese companies developing large copper mines in Africa and elsewhere, Japanese trading houses and major non-ferrous metal companies face an urgent need to expand their interests and diversify their regions of procurement.

Mitsubishi has also invested about $600 million (about ¥88 billion) to help develop a copper mine in the United States, and is aiming for production to begin around 2029. Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. announced in May that it was joining a copper and gold project in Australia and would buy a 30% stake.