Chilean copper mine accident causes production interruption, impacting copper supply.

The Chilean National Copper Corporation has stopped ore processing at its largest copper mine in Chile. This decision was made after a deadly tunnel collapse accident occurred on July 31, leading to the suspension of underground mining activities. The state-owned Codelco announced on Tuesday that the ore stockpile at the El Teniente mine has been depleted, forcing several facilities including the Caletones smelting plant to be put into maintenance mode. Approximately 5,000 workers have been reassigned to surface facilities to inspect equipment for damage and assess the possibility of restarting operations. The collapse accident, which resulted in the deaths of six workers, is expected to have a quick impact on the global market. It is estimated that the production shutdown will reduce copper output by approximately 30,000 tons per month, equivalent to a quarter of Codelco's total production. "The situation is very serious right now and investigations are ongoing," said Michael Cuoco, head of metals at StoneX Financial Inc. "I believe the likelihood of the mine reopening before the investigations are complete is extremely low." Despite this, the reaction of copper prices to the production shutdown in Chile has been relatively mild, as investors are also grappling with the impact of U.S. tariff actions. Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.4% on Wednesday, closing at $9,676 per ton.