Spot copper offers inch up, futures prices slump in Shanghai

Gravita India plans to add 59,200 tonnes per year of copper recycling capacity at its existing Mundra facility in Gujarat, with an investment of approximately ₹640 million funded entirely through internal accruals. The capacity will be commissioned in phases by March 31, 2029 and will provide backward integration for Gravita’s proposed Mandvi plant, strengthening its copper recycling value chain and raw-material processing capabilities.

Diamond Power Infrastructure is investing ₹1.686 billion across three expansion projects at its integrated Vadodara complex. The largest project will upgrade its existing rod mill and conductor facilities into a modern 1.1kV aluminium and copper power and control cable plant, adding 42,024 km of annual capacity with commercial production targeted from FY2028. The company currently has around 100,000 tpy of conductor capacity and is also expanding its HV/EHV cable capabilities.

Minerals and Metals Group (MMG) announced on August 19 that a fatal accident occurred at its Las Bambas copper mine in Peru on August 18 local time. The incident took place at a clarification tank approximately 9 kilometers from the beneficiation plant, where workers were replacing a water pump. Two people were killed — one Las Bambas employee and one employee of contractor SINAR Perú — and three other workers were injured and are currently receiving medical treatment. MMG’s CEO stated that the company has immediately launched an investigation into the accident and will provide relevant support and psychological counseling to the families of the deceased, the injured personnel, and mine site employees. As a precautionary measure, MMG has suspended activities in the area related to the accident and has temporarily halted operations at the Las Bambas mine, with production expected to resume in stages starting August 21. In H1 2026, the Las Bambas mine produced 210,200 mt of copper contained in copper concentrates, with Q2 production of 109,200 mt. MMG previously maintained the mine’s 2026 production guidance for copper in copper concentrates at 380,000–400,000 mt and anticipated that production would reach the upper end of the guidance range. The accident announcement did not disclose the specific production loss caused by the shutdown, nor did it adjust the full-year production guidance.