ICSG World Copper Factbook 2021 Spotlights Key Market Trends

The refined copper usage reached 25 million tonnes during the year.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The International Copper Study Group (ICSG) announced publication of ‘The World Copper Factbook 2021’. It provides highlights of 2020 copper production and usage. Furthermore, it contains in-depth information on copper production, trade, usage and recycling.

According to ICSG, preliminary figures suggest that global copper mine production reached 20.6 million tonnes in 2020. Chile emerged as the largest producer of mined copper, with a total production of 5.7 million tonnes. The smelter production during the year totalled 21 million tonnes, with China being the largest producer of blister and anode. Meantime, the refinery production increased to 24.5 million tonnes, including 3.9 million tonnes of secondary refined production.

Copper Forecast to Defend Current Price Levels in the Near Term

The refined copper usage reached 25 million tonnes during the year. The largest consumer of refined copper in 2020 was China, whose apparent usage totalled around 14.4 million tonnes. The largest copper end-use sector was equipment, followed by building construction and infrastructure.

The total resources, including identified and undiscovered, amounted to 5,600 Mt in 2020. Meantime, the copper reserves amounted to 870 Mt. During the period from 2010 to 2020, copper reserves have grown by 240 million tonnes to 870,000 million tonnes.