Relatively speaking, the quality of overseas copper ore is better than that of domestic ore, so the two are different in the production process and represent two different development directions in technology. Flash smelting technology is suitable for the processing of high-quality ores, with large single-system processing capacity and easy to achieve economies of scale. Bottom-blown and side-blown smelting technologies are more suitable for the treatment of complex polymetallic ores and have a more comprehensive recycling capacity.

Although the cost of the mine industry has grown rapidly, the fluctuations are relatively small. The profits of global copper mines during 2005-2013 were extremely profitable. They did not begin to decline until 2014. The smelting industry with the highest profits in the global copper industry in 2015 was mainly due to the decline in copper ore prices.