Data: SHFE, DCE market movement (Jul 12)

Codelco, Chile's state copper giant, extended preparation of its recovery and restructuring plan from October to the end of 2026. New chief executive Jorge Gomez, who took office in July, is driving the overhaul, which may involve cutting 5% to 20% of jobs across a workforce of about 77,000, some 80% of them outsourced. Chairman Maximo Pacheco said output will hold at roughly 1.3 million tonnes a year over the coming years, below the previous 1.7 million tonne target, underscoring the drag from declining ore grades at ageing mines and constrained capital.

The Mongolian Stock Exchange said Erdenet Mining Corporation will auction 560 wet tonnes (499.408 dry tonnes) of molybdenum concentrate on September 24. The material contains at least 44% molybdenum, equivalent to no less than about 219.7 tonnes of contained metal. The opening price is $28,504.17 per dry tonne, about 0.7% above the opening level of the previous same-grade auction on September 10. As that sale closed 19.25% above its opening price, the new listing should not be treated as a transaction price. Delivery is scheduled for October–November on DAP Erlian terms.

Sinomine Resource said its Kitumba copper project in Zambia’s Central Province entered trial production on September 21 local time, after mining and concentrator works completed production preparation. The current phase will produce copper concentrate, and the company will decide whether to sell the concentrate externally or retain it as feedstock for the downstream smelting project, depending on market conditions and construction progress. Kitumba is located in the Mumbwa area of Zambia’s Central Province, covering around 248.17 sq km. The project is designed as an integrated mining, concentrator and smelting operation, with ore processing capacity of 3.5 million tonnes per year and smelting capacity of 35,000 tonnes per year of copper cathode. At full capacity, it is expected to produce an average of 33,000 tonnes of copper cathode and 55,000 tonnes of copper concentrate per year. The smelting section remains under construction, with production preparation and trial production expected in Q4 2026 and formal commissioning planned for Q1 2027. The trial production marks Sinomine’s copper business moving from construction toward delivery, although near-term copper output will still depend on ramp-up progress and smelting completion.