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# [AFRICA] Copper: Escondida Strike Threat Pushes Prices to 18-Month Highs
- URL: https://businessoi.media/en/afrique-cuivre-le-spectre-de-la-greve-a-escondida-propulse-les-prix-a-leur-plus-haut-depuis-18-mois-en/
- Published: 2026-10-14T13:43:07.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-14T13:43:07.000Z
- Description: Copper crossed $6.70 per pound on October 14 — an 18-month high — after wage talks broke down at BHP's Escondida mine in Chile. Zambia and DRC stand to gain; Indian Ocean island economies face higher import costs.
- Author: Emmanuel TAOCHY
- Tags: Afrique, Économie, finance, Clôture, #en

**Copper crossed $6.70 per pound on Wednesday October 14, reaching its highest level in 18 months. The trigger: the breakdown of wage talks at BHP's Escondida mine in Chile, which alone produces roughly 8% of the world's copper supply. Africa — the continent with the largest known reserves — is at the centre of global attention.**

## Escondida: the world's largest copper mine under pressure

The Escondida mine, operated by BHP in Chile's Atacama Desert, produces around 1.1 million tonnes of copper a year. Wage negotiations with unions collapsed on October 14, opening the door to a work stoppage that could remove up to 500,000 tonnes from global supply in the event of a prolonged strike. According to Bloomberg, workers are demanding an 8% pay rise and a $20,000 per-employee bonus — terms BHP management has rejected. A union vote is expected to break the deadlock within days.

## Record prices: a windfall for Africa's copper producers

Zambia — the continent's top copper producer, with roughly 900,000 tonnes per year — and the Democratic Republic of Congo, whose mines yielded 2.7 million tonnes in 2025, stand to gain directly from this price surge. At $6.70 a pound, export revenues for both countries increase by hundreds of millions of dollars. The DRC in particular is pursuing a local transformation policy enforced since 2023, aimed at capturing more value-added before export.

## A heavier bill for Indian Ocean importers

While African copper exporters stand to benefit, import-dependent economies — including Réunion, Mauritius and Madagascar — face additional pressure on industrial and construction costs. Copper goes into electrical cables, piping, and air-conditioning equipment, all sectors growing rapidly across the archipelago. With Brent crude also at $106 a barrel, the combination of expensive copper and high oil prices is tightening import bills across the entire region.

## Why it matters

Beyond the Escondida episode, the structural tension in copper markets reflects the demand from electrical infrastructure tied to the energy transition: each electric vehicle requires four to five times more copper than an internal combustion car, and solar and wind farms are also heavy consumers. For Africa, which holds a major share of global reserves, this represents both a significant revenue opportunity and a sovereignty challenge — transforming the metal on the continent rather than continuing to export it raw.