[Rio Tinto Q3 copper output at 205,000 tonnes; Oyu Tolgoi up 27% y-o-y]

Anglo Asian Mining (LSE:AAZ) produced 5,514 tonnes of copper in the third quarter, lifted by continued ramp-up at its Demirli mine in Azerbaijan, while keeping full-year copper, gold and silver guidance unchanged. Nine-month copper output reached 14,354 tonnes, the highest nine-month figure the AIM-listed company has reported. The gain reflects Demirli's expansion and a strategy to grow copper across the portfolio, with copper increasingly dominating a production mix that still includes gold and silver, where output was broadly flat year on year. Mining also resumed at the Ugur deposit. The company sold 28,987 tonnes of copper concentrate in the quarter for 80.5 million USD, plus 5,733 ounces of gold bullion at realised prices well above the prior-year period; no realised gold price was disclosed. It ended the quarter with a 56.5 million USD cash balance after a net outflow driven by dividends, tax payments and temporary working capital needs, alongside unsold inventory valued at about 27.0 million USD.

BHP and the supervisors' union at Chile's Escondida mine have reached a preliminary agreement to avert a strike at the world's largest copper operation. Union No. 2 members vote online between 9:15 and 11:30 a.m. local time; if they reject the offer, the stoppage would start Thursday at 8:00 a.m. local. The deal followed last-minute talks after earlier contract negotiations failed. Strike risk had supported copper prices on supply concerns; ratification would remove one near-term threat. Yet Chile's industry faces mounting operational risks: a deadly landslide at Codelco's El Teniente halted an open-pit section. GEM Mining Consulting's October study put average output at risk at Chile's biggest copper mines at 5.2%, with El Teniente at 9%, Los Pelambres at 8% and Escondida at 7.5%.

Antofagasta's Q3 copper output rose 7% q-o-q to 151,900 tonnes, as Los Pelambres produced 79,300 tonnes, up 17%, recovering from July weather disruption. The miner kept 2026 guidance at 625,000-655,000 tonnes and set 2027 guidance at 630,000-690,000 tonnes, on higher Los Pelambres grades partly offset by lower grades at Centinela Concentrates. Nine-month output fell 8% to 436,900 tonnes on weaker Centinela grades and recoveries. It raised 2026 cash costs before by-product credits to 2.60-2.70 USD/lb (5,732-5,952 USD/tonne) from 2.40-2.60 USD/lb on high diesel prices; net cash costs and capex held at 1.15-1.35 USD/lb and 3.4 billion USD. CEO Iván Arriagada said the Centinela and Los Pelambres growth projects are on track for 2027 commissioning; two Centinela unions struck after quarter-end.