Cochilco: energy use in copper mining, 2024 update
Disposition: stated. Provenance: Cochilco's annual report, read through a law-firm summary (ax.legal, 3 Dec 2025) in the browser on 2026-10-11. The Cochilco page itself timed out in the browser, so the figures are second-hand until it is read.
What: the Chilean state copper commission's yearly series on energy used by the country's copper mines (about a quarter of world mine output). Why: it is a direct physical measure of the resources leg of macro-view. It shows the cost of getting the metal, not the scarcity of the metal.
- 2024: copper mining used 199,452 TJ, +4.1% on 2023 and +53.9% on 2010. Copper output rose only 1.6% over 2010-24.
- 36.2 GJ per tonne of fine copper, +51.5% on 2010.
- Energy mix: 51.3% electricity, 48.7% fuels, and diesel is 92% of the fuels. Fuel use is up 60.2% since 2010 (deeper pits mean longer hauls).
- Open pit 42% of energy (+79% since 2010), concentration 29% (+89%). Seawater desalination and pumping are up 330% in a decade.
- Electricity for major operations is now almost all renewable (summary's wording; not checked).
URLs: https://ax.legal/2025/12/03/energy-trends-in-chilean-mining-what-the-2024-cochilco-report-shows/ (read 2026-10-11); primary: https://www.cochilco.cl/web/informe-consumo-de-energia-en-la-mineria-del-cobre-actualizacion-2024 (not read; timed out).
Backlinks: macro-view, trail-2026-10-11-c