RIC:COBRE.UL] ticked up some 16.5% year-over-year in May, data from copper commission Cochilco showed on Thursday, climbing to 130,100 metric tons.

President Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on copper imports on Tueday, a move aimed at bolstering domestic production and reducing U.S. reliance on foreign supplies, particularly from Chile, which accounts for nearly 35% of U.S. copper imports.

Patricia Barreto, a senior base metals analyst at S&P Global Commodity Insights, said that a 50% tariff on copper imports by the US would "severely disrupt existing trade flows" as exporters would divert shipments away from the US.

Berner agrees that higher copper tariffs will bring up prices for U.S. homebuilders. This would leave them with two options: pass on the additional costs to homebuyers or build less, a move that is likely to exacerbate the country's ongoing shortage.

Chilean copper mines had their best month of export revenue in more than three years in June, with the increase in value outstripping price gains in a sign of rising production.

This year, BMI estimates global copper mine output to rise 2.5% as production in Chile recovers and the giant Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia ramps up. Those in Peru, Russia and Zambia will also remain among the major contributors, it adds.

U.S. President Donald Trump's 50% tariff on copper has placed a record premium on prices of the metal in the United States that is likely to ease over the coming months as a stockpile created by traders anticipating the levy works through the system.

Super Copper has agreed to acquire 100% ownership of the Castilla copper project, a 5,800-hectare exploration area in Chile's Atacama region, from Verdant Resources for $100,000 in an all-cash transaction.