Updated on 23 October 2026. The largest copper mine in the world is Escondida, in Chile's Antofagasta Region: it produced 1,347,600 tonnes of copper in 2025, according to the annual ranking by MINING.COM published in May 2026. That is almost three times the output of the second, Grasberg, in Indonesia (460,400 tonnes), and close to 6% of all the copper mined on the planet.
The ten largest copper mines produced about 4.9 million tonnes in 2025, more than a fifth of global mine production. Chile has four of the fourteen largest: Escondida, Collahuasi, El Teniente and Los Pelambres.
Ranking of the largest copper mines in the world
The table ranks the mines by their copper production in 2025, in thousands of tonnes of contained copper:
| # | Mine | Country | Main owners | 2025 production (thousand t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Escondida | Chile | BHP, Rio Tinto, Mitsubishi, JX Advanced Metals | 1,347.6 |
| 2 | Grasberg | Indonesia | Freeport-McMoRan and the Indonesian state | 460.4 |
| 3 | Las Bambas | Peru | MMG, CITIC and others | 411.3 |
| 4 | Buenavista | Mexico | Southern Copper | 409.4 |
| 5 | Collahuasi | Chile | Glencore, Anglo American, Mitsui | 404.1 |
| 6 | KGHM (Polish mines) | Poland | KGHM Polska Miedź | 401.1 |
| 7 | Cerro Verde | Peru | Freeport-McMoRan, Sumitomo, Buenaventura | 391.5 |
| 8 | Kamoa-Kakula | DR Congo | Ivanhoe Mines, Zijin Mining and the Congolese state | 385.8 |
| 9 | Antamina | Peru | BHP, Glencore, Teck, Mitsubishi | 368.0 |
| 10 | Oyu Tolgoi | Mongolia | Rio Tinto and the Mongolian state | 345.1 |
| 11 | Morenci | United States | Freeport-McMoRan | 313.1 |
| 12 | El Teniente | Chile | Codelco | 310.1 |
| 13 | Quellaveco | Peru | Anglo American | 309.9 |
| 14 | Los Pelambres | Chile | Antofagasta Minerals | 295.4 |
Sources: MINING.COM, May 2026 ranking (positions 1 to 10 and mentions of Morenci, Quellaveco and Los Pelambres); Codelco, restated 2025 results (El Teniente). See the methodology at the end.
Peru has four mines in the table, the same as Chile, but none comes close to Escondida. The Chilean mine alone produces more than the next two combined, and more copper than entire countries such as Canada or Poland, according to USGS country production data.
Escondida, the largest copper mine in the world
Escondida is an open pit deposit located at about 3,100 metres above sea level in the Atacama Desert. It is operated by BHP, which owns 57.5%; the rest belongs to Rio Tinto (30%) and a group of Japanese companies led by Mitsubishi and JX Advanced Metals. It began production in 1990 and has since been the planet's largest copper producer.
Its scale is hard to grasp: with 1.35 million tonnes in 2025, Escondida contributed close to a quarter of the 5.3 million tonnes Chile produced that year, according to the USGS. But it is also the mine that most explains the recent fall in Chilean output: between January and August 2026 it produced 797,500 tonnes, 11.4% less than a year earlier, according to Cochilco, due to lower ore grades, as we reported in the article on the fall in copper production.
| Fact | Escondida |
|---|---|
| Location | Antofagasta Region, Chile, at about 3,100 m above sea level |
| Type | Open pit, with concentrator and cathode plants |
| Operator | BHP (57.5%) |
| Other owners | Rio Tinto (30%), Japanese group led by Mitsubishi and JX Advanced Metals (12.5%) |
| Start of production | 1990 |
| 2025 production | 1,347,600 tonnes |
| January-August 2026 production | 797,500 tonnes (-11.4%) |
Sources: BHP (ownership stakes), MINING.COM (2025 production) and Cochilco (January-August 2026). Escondida uses desalinated seawater for its processes and is one of the country's largest electricity consumers.
Chile's other large copper mines
Besides Escondida, Chile has three other mines among the world's fourteen largest, and several more that exceed 200,000 tonnes a year:
- Collahuasi (Tarapacá Region), owned by Glencore, Anglo American and Mitsui, with 404,100 tonnes in 2025. In April 2026 it completed a seawater pumping system, part of a US$1 billion infrastructure project.
- El Teniente (O'Higgins Region), owned by Codelco, the world's largest underground copper mine, with 310,100 tonnes in 2025, 13% less than in 2024 because of restrictions after the fatal accident of 31 July 2025.
- Los Pelambres (Coquimbo Region), owned by Antofagasta Minerals, with 295,400 tonnes.
- Radomiro Tomic (Codelco), with about 295,000 tonnes, and Chuquicamata (Codelco), with 245,500 tonnes according to the company's restated figures.
Codelco, the state-owned company, produced a total of 1,307,570 tonnes in 2025 across its divisions, after correcting 26,875 tonnes it had reported as produced without complying with its internal rules.
The copper mines on the rise
The ranking changes from year to year because of accidents, conflicts and new expansions. According to MINING.COM, at Grasberg a slide that released about 800,000 tonnes of mud forced output cuts, and Freeport expects to return to full capacity in early 2028. Kamoa-Kakula, in the Congo, was halted for three weeks in 2025 by seismic activity that flooded the underground mine.
Las Bambas, in Peru, regained its pace after the 2024 road blockades, and Antamina expects an increase of almost 20% in 2026. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the fastest-growing copper country: it is already the world's second largest producer, behind Chile, as shown in the ranking of the largest copper producers.
The market watches these mines closely because copper is key to the energy transition: it is needed for electric cars, solar and wind farms and transmission lines. With supply growing slowly, the price reached records above US$14,000 per tonne in London this year, as we reported in the article on the copper price.
Chile's largest copper mines in 2026
In 2026, the order of Chile's large mines holds, but almost all are producing less. These are the January-August figures from the Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco):
| Mine or company | January-August 2026 (tonnes) | January-August 2025 (tonnes) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Escondida (BHP) | 797,500 | 900,000 | -11.4% |
| Collahuasi | 249,900 | 259,100 | -3.6% |
| Los Pelambres | 195,100 | 200,500 | -2.7% |
| El Teniente (Codelco) | 170,600 | — | -20.3% |
| Spence (BHP) | 131,200 | 176,100 | -25.5% |
| Codelco (all divisions) | 833,400 | 900,700 | -7.5% |
| Chile total | 3,248,000 | 3,518,300 | -7.7% |
Source: Cochilco, January to August 2026 production, published by Electrominería on 19 October 2026.
In eight months Escondida produced almost as much as all of Codelco's divisions combined: 797,500 against 833,400 tonnes. The fall is explained by lower ore grades, meaning less copper per tonne of rock, by maintenance at the plants and by the extreme winter weather, which forced several operations to stop.
On these figures, Escondida is almost certain to remain the largest copper mine in the world in 2026, although with lower output than in 2025. The gap with Grasberg, which has not yet recovered its capacity, is still hundreds of thousands of tonnes. The 2026 ranking will be published in mid-2027, when companies report their annual results.
Methodology
The ranking uses each mine's 2025 copper production, in tonnes of contained copper, published by MINING.COM in May 2026 for the top ten places and for Morenci, Quellaveco and Los Pelambres. El Teniente was added to that list, with the figure from Codelco's 2025 results, because its output places it 12th. MINING.COM does not detail the source of each figure; some mines, such as Tenke Fungurume in the Congo, do not appear on its list because their owners report production jointly with other operations. This ranking will be updated on this same page when 2026 data are published.
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See advertising optionsFrequently asked questions
What is the largest copper mine in the world?
Escondida, in Chile, with 1,347,600 tonnes produced in 2025, almost three times more than the second, Grasberg.
Who owns the Escondida mine?
It is operated by BHP, with 57.5%. Rio Tinto has 30% and a Japanese group led by Mitsubishi, 12.5%.
What is the largest underground copper mine in the world?
El Teniente, owned by Codelco, in the O'Higgins Region, with 310,100 tonnes in 2025.
How many of the largest copper mines are in Chile?
Four of the fourteen largest: Escondida, Collahuasi, El Teniente and Los Pelambres.
How to cite this data
Energía Futura (2026). The largest copper mine in the world 2026: ranking of the biggest mines. Based on data from MINING.COM (May 2026) and Codelco. Available at https://energiafutura.cl/en/news/the-largest-copper-mine-in-the-world-2026-ranking-of-the-biggest-mines. The cover chart may be reproduced crediting Energía Futura and linking to this page.
