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SANTIAGO, March 31 (Reuters) – Chile, the world’s top copper producer, saw its output of the red metal fall off sharply in February, government statistics agency INE said on Wednesday, dragged down by a decline in the extraction and processing of the country’s key export.
Chile’s copper mines produced 430,100 tonnes in February, a decline of 4.8%, INE said. The agency attributed the drop to falling ore grades, a common problem at Chile’s sprawling but aging mines.
Copper accounts for around half of the South American nation’s exports and is vital to its economic output.
Non-metalic mining, spearheaded by battery metal lithium carbonate, grew 0.9% year-on-year, the agency said, a notable exception to falling output in the mine sector.
Overall manufacturing output dropped 0.6% year-on-year in February, INE said, pressured by a 4.2% fall in the production of food products.
Chile’s economy has been hard hit by a growing second wave of coronavirus cases in recent weeks, leading to widespread lockdowns and tightening restrictions throughout the country. The important mining sector has largely weathered the storm and maintained output, though production from some of its mines has wavered in recent months as restrictions linger. (Reporting by Dave Sherwood; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Will Dunham)
