The collapse of Chile's largest copper mine triggered a chain reaction, tightening global supply and causing copper prices to rise for two consecutive times.

Chile's national copper giant, Codelco, is facing a major operational challenge as its El Teniente copper mine collapsed due to earthquake activity, resulting in the death of six people and halting production. As Codelco's largest single mine, the mine produced 356,000 tons in 2023, accounting for over a quarter of the company's total production, equivalent to over a month's worth of refined copper imports for China. Underground operations at the mine have been fully suspended, and an investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing, but the duration of the shutdown and its impact on the annual production target are not yet clear. The London Metal Exchange (LME) copper price has risen for the second consecutive day following this news, reaching $9688 per ton by 14:48 Beijing time, up 0.5%. Earlier, the LME copper price hit its lowest closing level since early June on Thursday due to the policy impact of the United States excluding refined copper from a new round of import tariffs. The global copper smelting industry is currently facing fierce resource competition, with smelting and processing fees continuing to be in deep negative territory. Some smelting plants in the Philippines and Japan have taken production cuts or shutdown measures, and despite the high capacity in the Chinese market, some believe that its production is close to its limit. The market is also paying attention to other sudden mine shutdown events, including operational fluctuations at the Kamoa-Kakula copper mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Despite optimism expressed by executives at Ivanhoe Mines on Friday about capacity recovery, multiple supply disruptions are exacerbating investors' concerns about copper supply stability. Other metal varieties showed a general rise on Monday, with the weakening US dollar being the main driving factor. Singapore iron ore futures prices rose by 1.23% to $101.23 per ton, partially recovering from the largest weekly decline since April; aluminum, zinc, and other industrial metal prices also rose simultaneously. This accident, combined with global supply chain tensions, may have a sustained impact on the short-term metal market landscape.