[SMM Copper Morning News] supply uncertainty accumulates and copper prices continue to rise.

Ivanhoe Mines has increased the contained copper resource at its Western Forelands exploration project in the Democratic Republic of Congo by approximately 30%, further expanding the scale of the Makoko District copper discovery.​ The updated 2026 Mineral Resource includes 42 million tonnes of Indicated Resources grading 2.66% copper and 612 million tonnes of Inferred Resources grading 1.80% copper, on a 100% basis. Ivanhoe said approximately 64,000 metres of diamond drilling across 106 holes completed since its May 2025 resource update increased contained copper to around 12 million tonnes.​ The Western Forelands licence package covers approximately 2,426 sq km, more than six times the area of the adjacent Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex. Ivanhoe describes Western Forelands as the world’s largest and highest-grade copper discovery of the past decade.​ The company is carrying out a record 94,500-metre exploration drilling programme in 2026, while the latest resource estimate only incorporates drilling completed up to March 31. Ivanhoe plans to expand drilling further in Q4 2026, including additional infill work targeting shallow mineralisation with potential for open-pit extraction.​A Makoko scoping study is scheduled to begin in Q1 2027, with conceptual mine planning already considering multiple shallow open pits.​ The 30% increase in contained copper materially strengthens Makoko’s scale and moves the project closer to formal development assessment. The planned scoping study marks an important transition from exploration toward evaluating potential mine economics. Ivanhoe also expects its experience developing the adjacent Kamoa-Kakula complex to support a faster development pathway. However, Makoko remains at an early study stage, with capital requirements, production rates and a definitive development schedule yet to be established.

The global copper concentrate market is facing increasingly structural tightness as smelting capacity expands faster than the availability of concentrates for third-party processors, according to the Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco).​ In its newly released Concentrate Market and Smelter Industry Report 2026, Cochilco said declining ore grades, project delays and operational disruptions have constrained mine-side concentrate supply, while new smelting capacity has continued to expand rapidly, particularly in China and Indonesia.​ The imbalance has pushed spot treatment and refining charges, or TC/RCs, to near-zero and in some cases negative levels during 2025 and 2026. Cochilco said the pressure is not purely cyclical, noting that part of future mine production is expected to be processed at integrated facilities in producing countries rather than sold into the merchant concentrate market.​ As a result, concentrate availability for independent smelters could remain tight even if global mine supply improves toward 2028.​ The report estimates that identified projects could add around 8.2 million mt/year of fine-copper-equivalent smelting capacity globally by 2041, with most of the growth concentrated in Asia. China and India are expected to account for nearly half of the planned additions, further intensifying competition for feedstock.​ Cochilco also highlighted Chile’s position in the market. The country accounted for around 23% of global copper concentrate production in 2025 and has approximately 5.44 million mt/year of concentrate treatment capacity, the largest in Latin America. However, Chilean smelters currently operate at only around 60% of installed capacity.​ The report reinforces the view that pressure on the global concentrate market could persist even if mine supply recovers. Continued smelting expansion without equivalent growth in freely traded concentrate supply is likely to keep TC/RCs under pressure and strengthen miners’ negotiating position. For smelters, profitability may increasingly depend on higher utilisation rates, better operational efficiency and additional revenues from sulfuric acid, energy and associated-metal recovery rather than TC/RC income alone.