Chile seeks to diversify copper buyers with $100B mining plan

Chile's foreign minister Francisco Perez Mackenna announced at a Bloomberg summit in Singapore that the country aims to attract approximately US$100 billion in mining investment over the next decade to broaden its copper buyer base beyond China. He stated that the market is too concentrated and that Chile needs to reduce its exposure to Chinese demand, though China will remain a very important client. China currently consumes about 58% of the world's copper and takes more than half of Chilean shipments. Chile produced 5.3 million tonnes of copper in 2025, roughly a quarter of global output, making it the largest producer. Central bank figures through June show that dependence on China falls almost entirely on unprocessed ore.