The restart of Codelco's Chuquicamata copper smelter in Chile has been further delayed to the end of October, Reuters reported Aug. 2, citing four sources.

The smelter's original restart date of early-April was previously delayed to mid-August due to issues with former contractor SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.

Operations were halted in December 2018 for upgrades in order to meet new emissions standards.

The sources added that the Chilean state-owned miner is purchasing copper cathode on the spot market, with two sources claiming that the company was short of metal and another saying that it is part of Codelco's plan to set up its in-house trading unit.