Assertion (A) : Chile continues to be an important producer of copper in the world. Reason (R) : Chile is endowed with the world’s largest deposit of porphyry copper.

Both the assertion and the reason are true, and the reason correctly explains the assertion. Chile is the world’s leading copper producer, contributing a very large share of global output [1]. This dominance is underpinned by exceptionally large porphyry copper deposits concentrated in northern Chile: Escondida — explicitly identified as a porphyry copper deposit and the source of ore for the world’s largest copper mine — has enormous reserves and sits within Chile’s premier porphyry copper district. These giant, high-tonnage porphyry systems (alongside other large deposits such as Chuquicamata) provide the resource base that sustains Chile’s outsized copper production, so the presence of such deposits explains Chile’s continued importance as a copper producer.

Sources

1. [1] Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 9: Distribution of World Natural Resources > copper > p. 31