SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Last Friday night, LME copper opened at $12,871/mt. It hit a high of $12,942/mt amid wide swings early in the session, after which the center of copper prices gradually moved lower and fell to $12,733/mt near the close, finally settling at $12,735.5/mt, down 1.64%. Trading volume reached 22,600 lots, and open interest stood at 307,000 lots, an increase of 3,144 lots from the previous trading day, mainly due to bears adding positions. Last Friday night, the most-traded SHFE copper 2604 contract opened at 100,520 yuan/mt and climbed to 100,760 yuan/mt early in the session. Afterwards, the center of copper prices fluctuated downward and touched a low of 99,710 yuan/mt near the close, with a decline of 0.86%. Trading volume reached 38,900 lots, and open interest stood at 190,000 lots, a decrease of 930 lots from the previous trading day, mainly due to bulls reducing positions.

Canada-based First Quantum Minerals will sell its Çayeli mine in Turkey to Cengiz Holding for $340 million in cash as part of its portfolio optimization strategy.Cengiz Holding will acquire the underground copper-zinc mine through its subsidiary CengizInsaat.First Quantum Chief Executive Officer Tristan Pascall said, "The sale reflects the company's disciplined approach to portfolio management while focusing on its core strategic priorities."The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed in Q2 or Q3 of this year.

Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals plans to invest about $5.25 billion in the Taca-Taca copper project in Argentina. The development is expected to create roughly 4,000 construction jobs and 2,000 long-term operational positions. Analysts say the project could become an important new source of global copper supply.

[SMM Morning Meeting Summary]: Overnight, LME copper opened at $9,640/mt, touching a low of $9,603.5/mt in the early session before fluctuating considerably upward. It approached a high of $9,660/mt near the close and ultimately closed at $9,649/mt, up 0.11%. Trading volume reached 14,000 lots, and open interest stood at 284,000 lots. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2507 contract opened at 78,050 yuan/mt, fluctuating upward in the early session to touch a high of 78,220 yuan/mt during the session. It then fluctuated downward, touching a low of 77,960 yuan/mt, before rebounding slightly near the close to ultimately close at 78,140 yuan/mt, down 0.08%. Trading volume reached 26,000 lots, and open interest stood at 191,000 lots.

According to SMM, under a recently approved maintenance plan, First Quantum Minerals will spend approximately US$20 million per month to maintain its idle Cobre Panama copper mine. Roderick Gutierrez, President of the Panamanian Chamber of Mines, stated that the costs would be covered by selling copper concentrates stored at the mine site. The company currently holds 121,000 mt of concentrates, although some have deteriorated after nearly two years of idleness. In an interview with local media, Gutierrez pointed out that reprocessing these degraded materials may not be economically feasible. The mine's maintenance plan incorporates the latest environmental and legal regulations and is expected to take six to twelve months to implement, with the exact timeline depending on the condition of the equipment. Supervision will be the responsibility of ten government departments, including the Ministry of Environment of Panama.

First Quantum Minerals will spend approximately $20 million a month to maintain its idled Cobre Panamá copper mine under a recently approved care and maintenance plan.Roderick Gutiérrez, president of the Panamanian Mining Chamber, said the cost would be covered by selling copper concentrate stored at the site. The company currently has 121,000 tonnes of concentrate, though some has deteriorated after nearly two years of inactivity.

First Quantum will spend approximately US$20 million per month to maintain its idle Cobre Panamá copper mine. Roderick Gutiérrez, President of the Panamanian Chamber of Mines, stated that this cost will be covered by selling copper concentrates stored at the site. The company currently has 121,000 mt of concentrates, though some have deteriorated due to no processing in the past two years. The tailings storage facility management plan includes updated environmental and legal procedures, with an expected implementation period of six to twelve months, depending on the condition of the equipment. Regulatory oversight will involve ten government agencies, including Panama's Ministry of the Environment.

Under a recently approved maintenance plan, First Quantum Minerals will spend approximately $20 million per month to maintain its idle Cobre Panamá copper mine. Roderick Gutiérrez, President of the Panamanian Chamber of Mines, stated that costs would be covered by selling copper concentrates stored at the mine site. The company currently holds 121,000 mt of concentrates, although some have degraded after nearly two years of idleness. In an interview with local media, Gutiérrez noted that reprocessing these degraded materials may not be economically feasible. The mine's maintenance plan incorporates the latest environmental and legal standards and is expected to take six to twelve months to implement, with the exact timeline depending on the condition of the equipment. Ten government departments, including Panama's Ministry of the Environment, will oversee the work. Cobre Panamá, a $10 billion open-pit mine project, was shut down in late 2023 by presidential order. Prior to its closure, the mine accounted for approximately 5% of Panama's GDP and contributed roughly 40% of First Quantum's annual revenue. The mine's closure had a severe impact on both the company and the national economy. Current President José Raúl Mulino has expressed interest in renegotiating the mine's future under a model that prioritizes national ownership. In May, Mulino stated, "Let's be smart and maximize the benefits from the mines we already have. That would be a good thing for us Panamanians." The President warned that a full closure of the mine could take up to 15 years due to its scale and economic significance. The mine's operations previously provided tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs. Before being forced to halt operations, Cobre Panamá produced over 330,000 mt of copper and was on track to achieve an annual processing capacity of 100 million mt by the end of 2024, positioning it near the top of global copper processing rankings. (Wenhua Comprehensive)

On June 3 (Tuesday), the Peruvian government acknowledged for the first time the existence of large-scale informal copper mining, and warned that high prices could lead to an increase in such activities in the near future. Jorge Montero, the Minister of Energy and Mines, told foreign media in Lima on Tuesday that the Peruvian government remained vigilant about large-scale informal copper mining, particularly in the area where mining rights belong to the Las Bambas copper mine operated by China's MMG Ltd. "This is the largest informal copper mining operation we have discovered so far," Montero said. "It is alarming that we already have large-scale copper mining operations in that area." The informal mine, named Apu Chunta, is operated by the indigenous community of the Pamputa tribe. Its annual production is estimated at 30,000 mt, worth approximately $300 million at current prices. Although Pamputa owns the land, Las Bambas holds the rights to mine copper. The mining company also plans to build an open-pit mine in the area in the 2030s, for which it must purchase land from the community. Informal mining activities and conflicts between mineral resource owners and concession holders have become a critical issue in Peru's mining industry, and the government is striving to find a balanced solution. Peru's rich mineral deposits have attracted thousands of small-scale miners, who mainly operate on land without mining rights. Informal operators have encroached on exploration projects operated by Southern Copper Corp. and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. The minister also mentioned that Teck Resources Ltd.'s Zafranal project had been affected. To be sure, informal copper production remains negligible compared to formal production. (Wenhua Comprehensive)

According to a report on Mining.com, the US Supreme Court declined on Tuesday to hear an appeal by Apache Stronghold (AS) aimed at blocking the development of the Resolution copper mine, a joint venture between Rio Tinto and BHP. Apache Stronghold, comprising the San Carlos Apache tribe from southeastern Arizona and conservationists, appealed a 2024 lower court ruling that allowed federal land exchange, enabling the mining companies to acquire land considered sacred by the Apache. On May 9, a federal judge in Arizona ordered a temporary halt to the land exchange pending the outcome of the appeal to the Supreme Court. Rio Tinto holds a 55% stake in the Resolution copper mine, with the remaining 45% held by BHP, and Rio Tinto remains the operator. Rio Tinto has invested over $2 billion in the project, which is set to become the largest copper mine in North America. The mine, the world's third-largest known copper deposit, could meet a quarter of the US's copper demand for decades. Apache Stronghold first filed a lawsuit in 2021, alleging that the project violated constitutional and legal protections for religious freedom. They claimed that the mine would devastate Oak Flat (Chi’chil Biłdagoteel in Apache), a sacred site where Western Apache people conduct traditional ceremonies, including a four-day coming-of-age ritual for young women. The group argued that the mine would violate the 1852 treaty, which obligated the US government to protect Apache lands and ensure the tribe's "prosperity and happiness for generations." Under the National Defense Authorization Act signed by then-President Obama in 2014, Congress authorized the land exchange. The law allowed Rio Tinto and BHP to exchange land for Oak Flat, located approximately 70 miles (113 kilometers) east of Phoenix. The transfer depended on an environmental impact statement issued in the final days of Trump's first term in January 2021. However, in March 2021, the Biden administration withdrew the statement, halting the transfer. The US Forest Service (USFS) is expected to reissue the environmental assessment report, potentially allowing the land exchange to proceed as early as June 16. Rio Tinto is expanding its copper assets to meet growing global demand, with analysts predicting that supply will soon fall short of demand. In 2023, the company commenced underground mining at its Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia, which is set to become the world's fourth-largest copper mine by 2030. In Peru, Rio Tinto is collaborating with Codelco and First Quantum Minerals of Canada to develop the La Granja project, one of the world's largest undeveloped copper deposits. Rio Tinto is also investing in greener extraction technologies, including Nuton—a bioheap leaching technology for copper extraction from tailings and low-grade ore, which was jointly developed with Arizona Sonoran Copper.