Chile has the world's largest copper reserves. Its deposits are concentrated mainly in the north, especially across the Atacama Desert and the Andes, where enormous porphyry-copper systems formed through ancient volcanic and tectonic activity.
Copper has shaped Chilean history and economics for more than a century. Chuquicamata became one of the world's best-known copper mines, while the state-owned Codelco was created in 1976 after the industry was nationalized. Today, mines such as Escondida, Collahuasi, El Teniente and Los Bronces help make Chile the leading copper-mining country.
The word “reserves” is important: it means copper considered economically recoverable under current conditions, not every atom of copper known to exist. Recent U.S. Geological Survey estimates place Chile's reserves at roughly 190 million metric tons, ahead of Peru. Chile is also the world's leading copper producer, but production rankings and reserve rankings are separate measures. Copper remains central to Chile's exports, government revenue and global supplies for electrical wiring, construction, renewable energy and electric vehicles.