Price surges due to the Middle East war have raised costs for the world's top-producing copper miner Codelco, yet the Chilean state-run firm is still on track to meet its 2026 production target, Chairman Maximo Pacheco told Reuters on Monday. The mining company aims to produce 1.344 million metric tons of copper this year after dipping to a quarter-century low in 2022 and 2023, and hopes to lift output further to 1.7 million tons by 2030. The Middle East war, however, pushed Codelco's cash cost up by at least ten cents per pound, "which is a lot," Pacheco said. "The biggest challenge for the industry is operational ... (full story)