Cochilco forecasts Chile's 2018 copper output up 4.3%

Chilean copper commission Cochilco forecast on Friday that Chile would produce 5.76-million tonnes of the red metal in 2018, up 4.3% from 2017, while estimating copper prices at $3.06 per pound this year. The projections follow a difficult year for the world's top copper producer in 2017, after workers at BHP's Escondida copper mine, the world's largest, walked off the job for a month and a half, putting a dent in Chile's economy and sending shock waves through the market.