China’s imports of unwrought copper and copper products dipped 5.5% in May

SMM, September 29: Minera Esperanza and Distrito Centinela, two unions at Antofagasta's Centinela copper mine in Chile, completed their strike votes on September 28. The unions said all members eligible to vote participated in the ballot, with 98.73% voting in favor of a strike and rejecting the collective bargaining proposal put forward by the company. The dispute between the two sides mainly involves differences in pay and benefits among members of different unions. The mine has not yet halted production as a result of the vote, and the outcome of labor mediation still needs to be monitored. According to Antofagasta's disclosure, Centinela produced a total of 240,400 mt Cu in 2025, including 174,300 mt Cu in copper concentrates and 66,100 mt of copper cathode. The Centinela second beneficiation plant under construction at the mine has a designed ore processing capacity of 95,000 mt/day. The mine expects the project to come on stream in 2027, and after commissioning, it plans to add approximately 144,000 mt Cu of copper production per year. Whether existing mine production and the construction progress of the second beneficiation plant will be affected by labor negotiations remains to be seen.

SMM Morning Meeting Summary: LME copper: opened at $14,478/mt, hit a high of $14,481/mt, a low of $14,396/mt, and closed at $14,478/mt, down 1.05%. Trading volume was 19,000 lots, with open interest at 260,000 lots, down 2,650 lots from the previous trading day, reflecting long liquidation. The most-traded SHFE copper 2611 contract: opened at 109,260 yuan/mt, hit a high of 109,370 yuan/mt, a low of 108,970 yuan/mt, and closed at 109,260 yuan/mt, down 0.16%. Trading volume was 31,000 lots, with open interest at 184,000 lots, down 1,545 lots from the previous trading day, reflecting long liquidation.