Copper futures climbed above $6.70 per pound on Wednesday, nearing record highs as labor unrest and severe weather disrupted mining operations in Chile, the world’s largest copper producer. Workers at BHP Group’s giant Escondida mine are poised to strike after union leaders said wage talks broke down ahead of the midnight deadline. In parallel, two unions at Antofagasta Plc’s Centinela mine have also initiated strike action.
Separately, two workers were killed on Sunday when an avalanche hit Codelco’s major El Teniente mine, where open-pit operations had already been halted due to adverse weather conditions. On the demand side, increasing orders for data centers, semiconductor manufacturing, and battery storage systems—driven by artificial intelligence applications and electric vehicles across Asia—continued to strengthen the outlook for copper.
