Latin America: largest mining companies 2020, by net sales

In 2020, Brazilian Vale S.A. was the leading mining company in Latin America, based on net sales, having generated a value of 40.8 billion U.S. dollars. It was the only Brazilian mining company to make the ranking. Founded as Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, it is one of the largest iron ore producers in the world, with an iron output of over 300 million metric tons in 2020.

The power of copper in Latin America

Out of the remaining top nine mining companies in Latin America, eight operate primarily in the production of copper (the only exception is Mexican Industrias Peñoles, a leader in gold and silver production).
Chile, the world’s largest copper producer, occupied more than half of positions on the ranking that year. The second largest mining company in the region – Corporación Nacional del Chile, commonly known as Codelco - is a state-owned enterprise headquartered in Santiago, which accounted for 28 percent of the Chilean copper output in 2020. Meanwhile, Minera Escondida (controlled by Australian company BHP Billiton) operates the largest copper mine in the world, despite ranking fifth in Latin America in terms of revenue.

Completing the podium in 2020 was Grupo México, which has reported annually increasing sales revenues in the past years, with copper sales representing more than 60 percent of the company’s total. Grupo México was followed by Americas Mining Corporation, one of its subsidiaries.