News on May 26: according to the preliminary data released by the international copper research organization (ICSG) in the may express, the world copper output in the first quarter of 2022 increased by 2.6% year-on-year, of which the output of copper concentrate increased by about 2.2% year-on-year, and the output of hydrometallurgical electrolytic copper increased by 4.7% year-on-year.

At the beginning of 2022, the production of copper ore in several countries was still restricted, because the government implemented the epidemic related restriction measures, and the number of people infected with the Omicron variant virus in many countries continued to be high. However, the global output growth benefited from the additional output brought by the new copper mine production or copper mine production increase and the base effect of lower output in the first quarter of 2021.

As a reference, in 2021, the world's copper output increased by 2.2% year-on-year, of which the output of copper concentrate increased by about 3.7% year-on-year, and the output of hydrometallurgical electrolytic copper decreased by 3.9% year-on-year.

In Chile, the world's top copper producer, the output in the first quarter of 2022 decreased by 7% year-on-year, of which the output of copper concentrate decreased by 9% and the output of electrolytic copper remained basically unchanged. The output of several copper mines in the country decreased because of the high turnover rate caused by the Omicron epidemic, the decline of ore grade and the reduction of water supply due to long-term drought.

In Peru, the second largest producer, the output in the first quarter of 2022 increased by about 4.3% year-on-year, mainly because Peru's mining industry was still recovering from the epidemic blockade at the beginning of last year. If compared with January 2019 before the outbreak, the output will decrease by 6% year-on-year.

In the first quarter of 2022, Indonesia's production increased by 40% year-on-year, as the production of underground mine of Glasgow copper mine continued to increase.

Production in the Democratic Republic of the Congo also increased by 30 per cent, as new kamoa copper mine was put into operation, as well as other new mines or copper mine expansion.