In 2009, all metals, except gold, showed a drop in their average annual price as compared to 2008. However, in all cases, particularly copper, they maintained an upward trend throughout the year.

According to the Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco), copper averaged US$2.34/lb in 2009, down by 25.7% on its average of US$3.15/lb in 2008. However, it closed year up by 139% on its start-of-year level.

The largest increase occurred in the first eight months of the year and was followed by a period of more moderate increases. In late December, however, the price again rose sharply, reaching US$3.40/lb.

In 2009, Collahuasi’s C1 cost per pound of payable copper, after credits, was US$0.998/lb.This represented a slight increase from US$0.989/lb in 2008, explained mainly by lower molybdenum sales which were partly offset by a drop in unit operating costs as a result of higher copper output and cost savings.