[SMM price] the discount on the rise of copper cash in Shanghai market on July 21 (the third period)

South32 reported on October 19 that attributable payable copper production from Chile’s Sierra Gorda mine reached 18,700 tonnes in the quarter ended September 30, 2026, up 17% quarter on quarter on its 45% ownership basis. Payable copper-equivalent production rose 11% to 22,400 tonnes. Copper feed grades increased from 0.41% to 0.46%, more than offsetting temporary wet-weather disruptions. Sierra Gorda also paid South32 a record quarterly cash distribution of US$153 million. Execution of the fourth grinding line project has commenced. The expansion is expected to increase processing capacity by approximately 25% to 60 million tonnes a year on a 100% basis, with first production targeted for mid-FY2030 and full production rates in FY2031. The project carries estimated capital expenditure of US$725 million. Joint venture partner KGHM expects construction to finish by the end of 2029, with full production capacity reached in the second half of 2030. At Australia’s Cannington silver-lead-zinc mine, payable zinc-equivalent production fell 27% quarter on quarter to 59,200 tonnes. Temporarily reduced paste backfill availability delayed access to planned stopes, prompting the operation to supplement mill feed with lower-grade stockpiles. South32 maintained FY2027 production guidance of 92,000 tonnes.

South32 Limited reported payable molybdenum production of 0.2 thousand tonnes, or about 200 tonnes, from its 45% interest in the Sierra Gorda mine for the September 2026 quarter. Output fell 75% year on year and 50% from the preceding quarter. Payable molybdenum sales were also about 200 tonnes, down 67% year on year and 60% from the preceding quarter. In contrast, payable copper production rose 2% year on year and 17% from the preceding quarter to 18,700 tonnes. South32 cited higher planned copper grades and temporary wet-weather effects but did not explain the molybdenum decline. The figures represent South32’s 45% attributable share, not total mine output or molybdenum concentrate mass.

Antofagasta Minerals’ Centinela mine and the Minera Esperanza and Distrito Centinela unions reached new three-year collective agreements approved by their members, ending the ten-day strike that began on October 7. The two unions represent 709 employees, or 22% of the mine’s directly employed workforce. The company said operational continuity and performance were maintained throughout the stoppage. No shutdown of the molybdenum recovery circuit or loss of contained-molybdenum output has been disclosed. The settlement removes the immediate escalation risk, and there is no current basis for a retrospective molybdenum-output deduction. Centinela’s 2026 contained-molybdenum guidance remains 3,000–3,500 tonnes.