Visualizing Copper Production by Country in 2023
May 15, 2024

By  Graphics/Design: Sam Parker

Visualizing Copper Production by Country in 2023


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Copper is considered an essential metal for the clean energy transition because it is a great conductor of electricity.


As a result, governments around the world have been encouraging the construction of new mines, and mining companies have been seeking new projects and acquiring existing mines to meet the growing demand.


In this graphic, we illustrate global copper production in 2023, based on data from the U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, as of January 2024.


Most Copper Comes from South America


Chile and Peru account for one-third of the world’s copper output.

Country Region 2023E Production (Million Tonnes)
🇦🇺 Australia Oceania 0.8
🇨🇦 Canada North America 0.5
🇨🇩 Congo (Kinshasa) Africa 2.5
🇨🇱 Chile South America 5.0
🇨🇳 China Asia 1.7
🇮🇩 Indonesia Asia 0.8
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan Asia 0.6
🇲🇽 Mexico North America 0.7
🇵🇪 Peru South America 2.6
🇵🇱 Poland Europe 0.4
🇷🇺 Russia Europe/Asia 0.9
🇺🇸 United States North America 1.1
🇿🇲 Zambia Africa 0.8
🌍 Rest of World -- 3.1
World total (rounded) -- 21.5

Chile is also home to the two largest mines in the world, Escondida and Collahuasi.


Meanwhile, African countries have rapidly increased their production. The Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, transitioned from being a secondary copper producer in the late 1990s to becoming the third-largest producer by 2023.


Part of the growth in copper mining in Africa is attributed to high investment from China. Chinese mining companies represent 8% of Africa’s total output in the mining sector.


Within its territory, China has also seen a 277% growth in copper production over the last three decades.


In the U.S., Arizona is the leading copper-producing state, accounting for approximately 70% of domestic output. Copper is also mined in Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.


Copyright © 2024 Visual Capitalist

November 18, 2025
TORONTO, Nov. 18, 2025 - VVC Exploration Corporation, dba VVC Resources ("VVC" or the "Company") (TSX-V: VVC; OTC: VVCVF) announces that, after a project review, it has strategically restructured its mining projects in Mexico. This project review encompassed multiple considerations, including ongoing maintenance costs, permitting authorizations, political climate, safety, upside potential and financeability of each project and probability of achieving the projects potential. After this review, the Company has decided to: Exit the Gloria Copper Project located near Samalayuca, State of Chihuahua, Mexico. This long-standing project of the Company is expensive to maintain and is in an area that has become more politically volatile with uncertain safety. The geological potential of the project is not in question, but the ability to achieve that potential is unclear. Focus all mining exploration activity on the Cumeral Gold Project. Cumeral is the Company’s highly prospective gold project in north central Sonora Mexico. This project, while not as advanced as the Gloria Copper Project, has a huge upside potential. It is in an area where there is strong local support for the project and a higher likelihood of permitting and implementation success. The Cumeral Gold Project is a 1,665-hectare property in northern Sonora near Imuris which exhibits quartz-vein–hosted gold in a detachment-fault/orogenic setting with a documented NNW–SSE mineralized trend of ~4 km. Historical work reported that ~36% of 407 grab/chip samples assayed 0.1–10 g/t Au; soil surveys outlined additional anomalies (47 samples >0.020 ppm Au); and air-track drilling intersected broad, near-surface intervals of 0.21–0.44 g/t Au over 6–26 m in key target areas. The Company will continue activities on the Cumeral Gold Project. Rationale and Next Steps The Company’s decision reflects consideration of cost discipline, safety and risk management. The exit from the Gloria Copper Project will reduce future cash outlays for care, maintenance, and permitting at amid uncertainty over permit viability and broader political conditions in Chihuahua State. Capital and management resources will be reallocated to the Cumeral Gold Project exploration, and to development of the Company’s helium/natural gas project in the Central Kansas Uplift (CKU) Project where existing infrastructure and near-term activities offer a clearer path to execution. « There are opportunity costs in every project, » said Jim Culver, CEO. « Exiting the Gloria Copper Project will allow the Company to concentrate resources on projects with an obvious direct and timely route to advancing development while maintaining discipline on risk and spending. » About VVC Resources VVC engages in the exploration, development, and management of natural resources - specializing in scarce and increasingly valuable materials needed to meet the growing, high-tech demands of industries such as manufacturing, technology, medicine, space travel, and the expanding green economy. Our portfolio includes a diverse set of multi-asset high-growth projects, comprising: Helium & industrial gas production in western U.S.; Gold & associated metals operations in northern Mexico; and Strategic investments in carbon sequestration and other green energy technologies. VVC is a Canada-based, publicly-traded company on the TSXV (TSX-V:VVC). To learn more, visit our website at: www.vvcresources.com. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. 
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October 9, 2025
TORONTO, Oct. 09, 2025 - VVC Exploration Corporation, dba VVC Resources ("VVC" or the "Company") (TSX-V: VVC; OTC: VVCVF) announces that Plateau Helium Corporation ("PHC"), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, has completed the purchase of the Ithaca 1-17 well together with approximately five miles of associated pipeline located in Rush county, Kansas in a prolific helium, gas and oil area known as the Central Kansas Uplift (CKU). The acquisition was initiated in April 2025 and PHC took possession in July 2025. As previously disclosed in our May 30, June 26 and September 2025 MD&As, PHC has a 50% operating interest in the well. The CKU Project targets helium-rich natural gas within multiple stacked reservoirs in Rush and Pawnee Counties, Kansas, where PHC has now assembled a meaningful lease position, acquired one producing property (Ithaca 1-17) and associated gas gathering system, and identified multiple development well locations. The acquisition of an existing gas gathering system serves to lower initial development cost while expediting the time needed to commence gas/helium sales and provide cashflow. « Building on a producing asset while securing midstream capacity is a practical way to de-risk our development program in the CKU, » said Bill Kerrigan, President of VVC and PHC. « The Ithaca 1-17 well and pipeline give us a backbone to bring wells online more efficiently. » About VVC Resources VVC engages in the exploration, development, and management of natural resources - specializing in scarce and increasingly valuable materials needed to meet the growing, high-tech demands of industries such as manufacturing, technology, medicine, space travel, and the expanding green economy. Our portfolio includes a diverse set of multi-asset, high-growth projects, comprising: Helium & industrial gas production in western U.S.; Gold & associated metals operations in northern Mexico; and Strategic investments in carbon sequestration and other green energy technologies. VVC is a Canada-based, publicly-traded company on the TSXV (TSX-V:VVC). To learn more, visit our website at: www.vvcresources.com.  Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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