The World Copper Factbook 2019 International Copper Study Group 5 Copper Today C C o o p p p p e e r r P P r r o o d d u u c c t t i i o o n n H H i i g g h h l l i i g g h h t t s s Preliminary figures indicate that global copper mine productio n in 2018 r e ached 206 million tonnes Th e largest prod u c e r of mined c o pper was Chile 58 million tonnes Smelter production in 2018 reached around 201 million tonnes China was the largest prod ucer of blist e r anode in 2018 86 million tonnes Refinery Production in 2018 increased to 241 million tonnes incl uding 40 million tonnes of seconda ry refined production China was the largest pro ducer C C o o p p p p e e r r U U s s a a g g e e H H i i g g h h l l i i g g h h t t s s Refined copper usag e usage by semis plants or the first users of copper in 2018 reached 245 milli on tonnes Chi n a was also the largest consumer of refi ned copper in 2018 with appa rent usag e of around 125 million tonnes According to the International Copper Associat ion ICA equip m ent was the largest cop p e r end use sector in 2018 followed by building construction and infrastructure New copper applications be in g de ve lope d incl ude antimicrobia l copper touch surfac es lead fr ee br a s s plumbing hi gh tech copper wire heat exchangers and new consumer p r oducts as well Th e global de man d for cop p e r conti n ues to grow world refined usage has more than tripled in the la st 50 years thanks to ex panding se ctor s such as electrical and electronic products building construction industrial machinery and equipment transportation equipm en t and consumer and general pro ducts Some of the highlights of 2018 copper production an d usag e are listed be low In the chapters that follow more in dept h information is present e d on copper production trade usag e and recycling For the most up to date inform ation on the global copp er market pleas e visit our websit e at wwwicsgor g Images co urte sy of CD A and Luis Hernan He rreros from wwwvisnucl Copyright An glo American Faen a Los Bron ces y Mant os Bl ancos Chile