BHP announced its FY2026 results for the year ended June 30, 2026, on August 18. In FY2026, BHP’s copper production was 1.953 million mt, down 3% YoY, remaining at around 2 million mt for the second consecutive fiscal year; the group’s FY2027 copper production guidance is 1.65–1.8 million mt. Supported by higher copper prices, BHP’s average realized copper price in FY2026 rose 35% YoY to $5.74/lb, and the copper business’s underlying EBITDA increased 48% YoY to $18.2 billion, contributing more than half of the group’s underlying EBITDA for the first time, with a share reaching 54%. By mine, the world’s largest copper mine, Escondida, produced 1.261 million mt of copper in FY2026, down 3% YoY. Although both mine output and beneficiation plant throughput hit record highs, a planned decline in feed grade continued to weigh on copper production. BHP expects Escondida’s FY2027 copper production to be 1–1.1 million mt, with beneficiation plant feed grade expected to be about 0.70%; mid-term production in FY2028–FY2031 is expected to remain at 900,000–1 million mt per year.

Getty Copper reported results from the first drill hole at its Getty North project in British Columbia, Canada. Hole GN26-01 intersected 342 metres of continuous copper mineralisation grading 0.50% copper from a depth of 9 metres, with associated molybdenum mineralisation. The project is located adjacent to the Highland Valley copper mining district, one of Canada’s major operating copper areas. The company plans to continue drilling as part of a programme of around 16,000 metres. The first hole indicates a thick, shallow copper-mineralised interval, but a single drill hole does not establish a mineral resource. Further drilling is needed to define the geometry and continuity of mineralisation. The project remains at an early exploration stage and has no direct near-term impact on copper supply.

Vancouver, August 11, 2026 – Algo Grande reported the latest progress on Phase 2 drilling at its 100%-owned Adelita Project in Sonora, Mexico. Both drill rigs were operating, and the project was progressing as planned. Drilling Highlights: Hole 2 Copper Mineralization Zone Doubles: The copper mineralization interval in drill hole AG_CG_PH2_002 expanded to 77 meters over a 154-meter span (visual observation), more than double the previously reported mineralized length, further confirming the scale of this discovery beneath Cerro Grande. Hole 3 Intersects a Broad Copper Zone: A total of 74 meters of copper mineralization was logged over the full length of the hole, with the lower 32-meter interval particularly notable, totaling 37 meters of visually observable copper-bearing core. Vertical Continuity Confirmed: The copper interval observed in Hole 3 was located approximately 105 meters above the mineralized horizon encountered in drill hole AG_GC_002 from the initial Phase 1 drilling program, indicating substantial vertical extent to the mineralization system. Drilling Progress: Hole 2 had been drilled to 424 meters, with a planned end-of-hole depth of 700 meters; Hole 3 had been drilled to 239 meters. Both holes continued to test the unexplored area beneath Cerro Grande. First Batch of Samples Submitted: The first batch of core samples from Hole 2 was delivered on August 7, 2026 to the ALS laboratory in Hermosillo, and results were expected in the coming weeks.

According to foreign media reports, Lloyds Metals & Energy has been authorized to undertake preparatory works and feasibility activities aimed at assessing the potential redevelopment of the Panguna copper-gold mine in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, nearly four decades after the operation was shut down. The Autonomous Bougainville Government granted the authorization on August 7, allowing Lloyds to carry out an approved programme of preparatory and feasibility work required to assess and plan the future redevelopment of the mine. Lloyds is acting as the approved development partner of government-owned Bougainville Minerals, which holds the mining lease covering Panguna. The project represents a potentially significant source of long-term copper supply. Panguna's remaining reserves are estimated at approximately 5.3 million tonnes of copper and 19.3 million oz of gold, while Lloyds plans to revalidate the project's resource base as part of the redevelopment process. The mine has remained closed since 1989. The latest authorization follows the granting of a 25-year mining lease to Bougainville Minerals in June, providing a framework for further evaluation of the dormant asset. However, the current approval does not permit construction or copper production to begin. Any progression into those stages will require additional approvals, meaning a potential restart remains subject to further technical, regulatory and development work. The renewed progress at Panguna is notable given the scale of the historical deposit and growing efforts globally to develop additional copper supply. The immediate impact on mine supply remains limited, but successful feasibility work and resource revalidation could provide greater clarity on whether one of the world's largest dormant copper assets can eventually return to production.

According to foreign media reports, Chilean copper producer Antofagasta has lowered its 2026 copper production guidance following a weather-related shutdown at its Los Pelambres mine, reducing expected output at a time when global copper mine supply remains under pressure.​ Antofagasta now expects to produce 625,000–655,000 tonnes of copper in 2026, compared with its previous guidance of 650,000–700,000 tonnes. The revised range lowers the midpoint of the company's production outlook by 35,000 tonnes and reduces the upper end of its forecast by 45,000 tonnes.​ The downgrade follows the temporary shutdown of Los Pelambres in July after extreme rainfall affected Chile's Coquimbo Region. Although no significant damage was reported to major infrastructure, repairs are required to some pipeline platforms and water-management systems following the disruption.​ Despite lower production, stronger copper prices supported Antofagasta's financial performance during the first half of 2026. EBITDA increased 27% year on year to $2.84 billion, while operating cash flow rose 53% to $2.77 billion. First-half cash costs declined 8% year on year to $1.22/lb, although the company previously indicated that full-year costs are expected to increase amid persistently elevated fuel prices.​ From a copper-market perspective, the guidance reduction represents a further downward adjustment to expected mine supply from Chile, the world's largest copper-producing country. The disruption at Los Pelambres also highlights the continued vulnerability of near-term supply to operational and weather-related interruptions, with Antofagasta's reduced production outlook adding to existing constraints on global copper mine growth.

Chile plans to implement a package of reforms to improve legal certainty, streamline regulatory processes, and attract investment and mineral exploration, in a bid to raise the country’s annual copper production to 6 million mt.Chile’s Mining Minister Daniel Mas said at a seminar: “Chile’s copper mine production has stagnated, and annual production has fluctuated between 5 million mt and 5.5 million mt in recent years. Compared with other international mining jurisdictions that attract global capital by improving their institutional frameworks, Chile is gradually losing its competitive advantage.”

On August 13, the SMM Imported Copper Concentrate Index (weekly) came in at -$175.37/dmt, down $1.46/dmt from -$173.91/dmt in the previous period. The payable indicator for 20% grade domestic trade ore was reported at 98.5%-99.5%. Spot market activity this week declined WoW, with some mines launching tenders. Spot transaction side, a trader sold 10,000 mt of Carmen at an index deduction of $25/dmt, for September shipment, QP: M+1/M+5, with the additional term that Ag below 20g is payable at 65%; a trader sold 10,000 mt of South American clean ore at an index deduction of $23/dmt, for October shipment, QP: M+1/M+5; a trader sold 10,000-20,000 mt of Erdenet at an index deduction of $20/dmt; two other traders offered clean ore at index deductions of $24-25/dmt, for shipment from September to October; in addition, market talk indicated that a trader sold copper concentrates to a smelter at a fixed level of -$180/dmt. Mine tender side, for the previously tendered September high-arsenic ore, the transaction price on the trader side was -$260/dmt, QP: M+1/M+4, with 0.6-1g gold not payable; tenders are underway for 10,000 mt of Mantoverde for September shipment and 10,000 mt of Timok for shipment from September to October, and for 10,000 mt each of September and October BVC; tender results remain unknown. At present, against the backdrop of continued declines in the imported copper concentrate index and further widening of spot transaction deductions, some smelters have become less willing to accept pricing at index deductions of $20/dmt or above and have begun to negotiate based on fixed TCs; suppliers, however, still prefer to quote on an index deduction basis. Divergence between buyers and sellers over pricing benchmarks and reasonable deduction levels has widened, and progress on spot transactions has turned more cautious overall. Cochilco recently lowered its 2026 Chilean copper production forecast to 5.27 million mt Cu, down 2.6% YoY, mainly due to lower grades at large mines in H1, maintenance, slower project ramp-ups, and operating constraints. From January to June 2026, China imported 4.2808 million mt of copper concentrates from Chile, down 8.26% YoY, with the import share falling to 29.3%; the supply contribution of Chilean material to the Chinese market weakened on a phased basis. However, most miners are maintaining their full-year production guidance, mainly counting on a recovery in H2 driven by the switch to higher-grade ore sections, completion of maintenance, and project ramp-ups. Expectations for the restart of First Quantum's Cobre Panamá copper mine have increased. Panama’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Julio Moltó, recently visited Donoso, Omar Torrijos Herrera, and La Pintada, where he met with mine workers, local governments, and suppliers; the relevant recommendations will be submitted to an inter-agency committee for evaluation. The mine is currently authorized to process stockpiled ore and has supported around 3,200 direct jobs and more than 3,000 indirect jobs. As of end-June, First Quantum had processed 2.1 million mt of stockpiled ore and produced about 3,200 mt of contained copper, with the first shipment expected to take place this month. A molten material leak incident occurred at the converter (C-Furnace) of PT Smelting's copper smelter in Gresik, East Java. Currently, there is no clear expectation for when the damaged equipment can return to service, and repairs are expected to take at least several weeks. Due to low in-plant copper anode inventory, the smelting outage has directly affected metal production on the refining side. Copper cathode shipments are expected to be disrupted in the coming weeks, and the plant is negotiating delayed deliveries with clients. In terms of capacity, PT Smelting Gresik has smelting capacity to process approximately 1.3 million dmt of copper concentrates per year, and its refining side has copper cathode capacity of 342,000 mt/year. According to Freeport-McMoRan's annual report, in 2025 the plant produced 230,300 mt of copper anode and 207,200 mt of copper cathode; due to raw material supply disruptions and maintenance, these were significantly lower than the 398,200 mt of copper anode and 335,200 mt of copper cathode in 2024. On August 14, 2026, SMM recorded copper concentrate inventories at 11 ports totaling 770,000 mt in physical content, up 78,000 mt in physical content from August 7. The main increases came from Qingdao Port, Fangchenggang Port, and Yantai Port, with respective WoW increases of 30,000 mt, 20,000 mt, and 23,000 mt; the main decrease came from Nanjing Port, down 10,000 mt WoW.

Marula Mining has confirmed that delivery and sale of copper production from its Kinusi Copper Mine in Tanzania to Traxys have been delayed. The company did not provide a revised delivery timetable and said it continues to manage a constrained working-capital position. The delay pushes back the expected entry of Kinusi copper production into the market.

Codelco executive Gustavo Reyes said the company's stalled El Teniente copper mine project is expected to begin production in 2029.On August 4, Codelco said it had suspended the project, which aims to develop the Andes Norte area of the vast underground mine. Earlier, the latest studies showed that the mine faced higher seismic risk than initially expected.

[Cochilco Again Lowers 2026 Chilean Copper Production Forecast; H2 Recovery Still Has Room to Materialize] Cochilco has recently lowered its 2026 Chilean copper production forecast to 5.27 million mt, down 2.6% YoY, mainly due to lower grades at large mines, maintenance, slower project ramp-ups and operational constraints in H1. Over the same period, China imported 4.2808 million mt of copper concentrates from Chile, down 7.9% YoY, with Chile’s share of China’s copper concentrate imports falling to 29.3%; the contribution of Chilean supply to the Chinese market weakened temporarily. However, most miners maintained their full-year production guidance, mainly banking on H2 recovery from the switch to higher-grade ore zones, the completion of maintenance, and project ramp-ups. Going forward, whether Chilean production rebounds on schedule will continue to affect the global copper concentrate supply-demand balance and the TC trend.