Chile's mining sector expands in July as copper production up 1%

(Kitco News) - According to Chile's National Institute of Statistics (INE), the country's industrial production index (IPI) contracted by 1.7% in July 2023 y-o-y due to a decline in Chile's manufacturing and electricity, gas and water sectors, while mining sector expanded.

INE said that the domestic mining sector (IPMin index) increased by 0.6% in July 2023 y-o-y, primarily due to higher activity registered in the country’s metallic mining subsector, which grew by 0.6% due to the increase in the extraction and processing of copper.

According to the report, Chile, the world's largest producer of copper, mined 434,089 tonnes of copper in July 2023, which is an increase of 1% compared to 430,028 tonnes mined in July 2022.

Meanwhile, Chile's manufacturing production index (IPMan) decreased by 3.9% in July 2023 compared to the same month of the previous year, primarily due to the decline in manufacturing of food products.

The agency added that the country's electricity, gas and water production index (IPEGA) fell by 0.8% in July 2023 compared to July 2022 due to a decline in electricity generation.

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For Kitco News