Copper production from Chile's Codelco, the world's largest producer of the red metal, reached 1.328 million metric tons last year, according to an internal document seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

Chile's state-owned Codelco reported a modest increase in copper production for 2024, with output rising by 3,000 to 4,000 metric tons from the previous year. Although small, the production growth has raised hopes that the mining giant will stage a turnaround and help alleviate anticipated copper shortages by the decade's end.

Copper production at Chile's Codelco, the world's largest producer of the metal, was "slightly higher" in 2024 when compared to the previous year, Chairman Maximo Pacheco said in an interview with a local newspaper on Monday.

Chile’s state-owned copper producer Codelco may have turned the corner in its quests to stop an ongoing decline in production at its century-old operations as preliminary data indicates that output for 2024 rose by 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes, bringing the total to 1.329 million tonnes.

In a year marked by both challenges and achievements, Codelco, one of the world’s leading copper producers, has seen a modest increase in its copper production for 2024. This positive development was shared by Chairman Maximo Pacheco in an interview with the local newspaper Diario Financiero.