Hudbay Minerals held a formal groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday for the New Ingerbelle expansion project at its Copper Mountain Mine in British Columbia, Canada.The New Ingerbelle expansion is expected to extend the Copper Mountain Mine’s life beyond 2040, improve operational efficiency, and support long-term copper production.The expansion is designed to mine a higher-grade mineralized zone with a stripping ratio approximately one-third that of the current mining area.Based on existing reserve estimates, the New Ingerbelle project is expected to produce approximately 750,000 mt of copper, 900,000 ounces of gold, and 5.5 million ounces of silver over the remaining mine life.

SMM Morning Meeting Minutes: Overnight LME copper opened at $13,813/mt. At the open, copper prices showed wild swings, dipping to $13,776.5/mt during the session. Then the price center fluctuated upward, touching a high of $13,835.5/mt near the close, and finally closed at $13,835/mt, up 0.13%. Trading volume reached 11,500 lots, and open interest stood at 251,000 lots, down 7,579 lots from the previous trading day, indicating a reduction in bearish positions. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2607 contract opened at 105,280 yuan/mt. In early trading, it hit a high of 105,580 yuan/mt, then the price center dipped to 105,210 yuan/mt. Subsequently, the center fluctuated upward, and finally closed at 105,510 yuan/mt, up 0.1%. Trading volume reached 18,000 lots, and open interest reached 122,000 lots, down 2,119 lots from the previous trading day, indicating a reduction in bearish positions.

Surge Copper has released a prefeasibility study (PFS) for its Berg copper-molybdenum project in British Columbia, Canada. The study estimates a post-tax net present value (NPV) of C$4.6 billion at an 8% discount rate, more than double the C$2.1 billion outlined in the 2023 preliminary economic assessment (PEA). The project's internal rate of return (IRR) increased to 24%, while total copper production over the 28-year mine life is expected to reach 4.9 billion pounds, up 32% from the previous study. Initial capital costs are estimated at C$4.7 billion. The company said Berg is emerging as one of Canada's largest undeveloped copper projects and will continue advancing environmental assessments and development planning.

Nearly 500 recycling projects are under development globally, with copper recycling among the fastest-growing segments. Rising demand for sustainable metal supply is driving investment into scrap processing and secondary copper production.

SMM Morning Brief: Overnight LME copper opened at $13,452/mt, fluctuated downward in early trading to a low of $13,395/mt, then its price center gradually moved up to reach $13,608.5/mt, before fluctuating downward again to finally close at $13,449/mt, a decline of 0.81%. Trading volume reached 24,800 lots, and open interest stood at 267,000 lots, an increase of 976 lots from the previous trading day, which was characterized by bears adding positions. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2607 contract opened at 103,500 yuan/mt, dipped in early trading to 103,480 yuan/mt, then fluctuated upward to a high of 104,340 yuan/mt, after which the center of copper prices fluctuated downward, moved sideways near the session's end, and finally closed at 103,650 yuan/mt, a decline of 0.79%. Trading volume reached 39,700 lots, and open interest stood at 157,000 lots, a decrease of 3,255 lots from the previous trading day, which was characterized by bulls reducing positions.

South America remains the cornerstone of global copper supply, with Chile and Peru collectively accounting for more than one-third of global mined copper production. As electrification, grid modernisation, renewable energy deployment and AI-driven infrastructure investment continue to reinforce long-term copper demand growth, policy developments across the region are becoming increasingly important determinants of future supply availability.

Ivanhoe Mines reported that the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the DRC produced 71,417 tonnes of copper in anode and blister during Q1 2026. The company maintained its 2026 production guidance of 290,000–330,000 tonnes of copper in anode or blister and expects output to increase further to 380,000–420,000 tonnes in 2027. Ivanhoe also released an updated mineral resource estimate in March and has commenced an optimized feasibility study targeting annual copper production of more than 500,000 tonnes from 2028 onwards.

Overnight, LME copper opened at $13,954.5/mt, dipping to a low of $13,941/mt in early trading before the price center rose, reaching a high of $14,056/mt and ultimately closing at $13,983.5/mt, up 0.75%. Trading volume came in at 22,000 lots, and open interest stood at 273,000 lots, down 242 lots from the previous trading day, indicating bears reducing positions. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2607 contract opened at 106,720 yuan/mt, immediately dipping to a low of 106,660 yuan/mt before the price center shifted upward, touching a high of 107,420 yuan/mt. It ultimately fluctuated at highs and closed at 107,100 yuan/mt, up 0.45%. Trading volume came in at 50,000 lots, and open interest stood at 191,000 lots, down 420 lots from the previous trading day, indicating bears reducing positions.

Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources, said on Tuesday that it has initiated a planned 60-day shutdown maintenance of its Nchanga smelter in Zambia. KCM said the maintenance aims to improve operational efficiency, equipment reliability, and long-term production performance. According to data from Zambia's Ministry of Mines, the company's copper production in 2025 was 80,215 mt. The planned shutdown is part of the company's broader modernization strategy, aimed at advancing its capacity toward the target of 300,000 mt per year by 2030. This aligns with Zambia's national goal of increasing total copper production from 890,346 mt in 2025 to 3 million mt by 2031. The Nchanga smelter shutdown means that from June to mid-September, Zambia's three major processing plants — Mopani smelter, Chambishi smelter, and Nchanga smelter — will undergo prolonged shutdown maintenance in succession. Against the backdrop of the Iran war already disrupting global supply of sulphuric acid, a critical raw material for copper and cobalt processing, this could further tighten copper and sulphuric acid output. KCM said that during the shutdown, sulphuric acid supply for the Nchanga tailings leach plant will be secured through external procurement and its own acid plant with a daily capacity of 500 mt. (Wenhua Consolidated)

Chile is the world's largest copper-producing country. Data released on Friday by Chile's National Bureau of Statistics (INE) showed that the country's copper production in April declined 13.8% YoY.According to official data, Chile's copper production in April was 399,954 mt, compared with 464,056 mt in the same period last year. The production decline was mainly attributable to a high base in the same period last year and lower ore grades at major miners.In addition, metal products production fell 15.4% YoY, further dragging down the overall performance of the manufacturing sector.