Copper

SGS delivered the government-commissioned audit on June 19; Panama is expected to rule on full mine restart after a June deadline, with 330,000t/year of global supply still offline since 2023

The DRC set CMOC's 2026 cobalt export quota at 31,200 tonnes against 117,549 tonnes produced in 2025; a June 1 work stoppage at TFM raises copper output risk as CMOC guides 760-820 kt for the year

A September 2025 ore pass mud rush placed the block cave under force majeure; Freeport revised full-year copper to 3.1bn pounds and gold to 650,000 oz; Morgan Stanley downgraded on recovery uncertainty

Vale Base Metals reported record Q1 copper output and near-record nickel as it advances a joint venture with Glencore in the Sudbury Basin; $5.4-5.7 billion in capex is planned for 2026 as Vale pursues strategic separation of base metals from iron ore

The December 2025 smelter first fire at 60% of 500,000 tpa design; Q1 anode output was 71,417t; sulphuric acid output of 1,350t/day feeds local fertiliser plans; Codelco-Glencore are studying a 1.5 MTpa Chilean smelter for 2032

BHP's H1 FY2026 copper output set a company record driven by Escondida throughput gains and Olympic Dam smelter recovery; BHP signed a 30% equity LOI in Faraday Copper and resolved a China CMRG concentrate pricing dispute in April 2026

The Mutanda-KCC stake transfer gives Washington indirect control over two of the DRC's largest mines; a six-month Takeover Panel cooling-off period on the Rio Tinto mega-merger expires in August 2026

The Allied Gold deal, announced January 26, 2026, adds African gold assets in Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, and Ethiopia to Zijin's portfolio; Julong Phase 2 in the Gangdese Belt triples Tibetan copper capacity and is the world's highest-elevation large copper mine

Antofagasta and Chinese smelters settled 2026 annual TC/RCs at $0/t; spot charges went negative to -$70/t, forcing China's top smelters to cut output 10%