KGHM: Average Copper Price to Outstrip $5,000 in 2017

On November 5, Chile time, Codelco held an extraordinary shareholders' meeting in Santiago. According to foreign media reports, Chairman Fontaine stated that copper production in 2026 is expected to be slightly above 1.2 million mt, below the target of approximately 1.34 million mt set at the beginning of the year. Average annual copper production over the next four years is expected to be around 1.3 million mt. Fontaine had previously indicated that the original target of producing 1.7 million mt annually by 2030 would be difficult to achieve. The company's preliminary investigation shows that copper production was overstated by 24,000 mt in 2024 and by a net 18,100 mt in 2025, totaling 42,100 mt over the two years. The irregularities included prematurely counting materials that did not meet finished product standards as production, as well as duplicate entries. Duplicate entries resulted in an overstatement of copper inventories by 15,200 mt Cu.

Codelco Chairman Bernardo Fontaine dijo que la empresa identificó preliminarmente alrededor de 42.100 toneladas de cobre registradas indebidamente como producción en 2024–2025, incluyendo material sin terminar y entradas duplicadas entre divisiones. Las irregularidades también podrían haber inflado los inventarios de cobre en aproximadamente 18.800 toneladas, con un impacto financiero estimado de 120 a 140 millones de dólares. Las auditorías de KPMG y EY siguen en curso. Codelco redujo su guía de producción para 2026 de 1,34 millones de toneladas a algo más de 1,2 millones de toneladas y espera una producción anual de alrededor de 1,3 millones de toneladas durante los próximos cuatro años. Su meta anterior de alcanzar 1,7 millones de toneladas para 2030 ya no se considera alcanzable.