SMM Copper Spot: Premiums Narrow as High Prices, Backwardation, and Arrival of Large Imports Weigh on Market Sentiment

Chile's central bank reported on September 1 that the July Imacec economic activity index fell 1.5% year-on-year on an unadjusted basis. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the index fell 2.1% year-on-year and 1.7% month-on-month, marking the steepest monthly decline since 2022. The bank attributed the drop mainly to mining, which fell a significant 9.3%, primarily due to weather conditions, followed by lower ore grades and equipment maintenance that disrupted normal production operations. Many of the affected mines are copper-molybdenum associated deposits. Since molybdenum concentrate is recovered as a byproduct of the flotation process used to treat copper sulfide ore, the disruption to processing plants also curtailed molybdenum output.

Anax Metals ha puesto en marcha un estudio de viabilidad de lixiviación en pilas en su proyecto de cobre y zinc Whim Creek, en Australia Occidental, con el fin de evaluar una segunda vía de procesamiento junto a su concentradora prevista. Ensayos recientes en columna del CSIRO lograron una extracción de cobre del 77–80 % y de zinc superior al 90 % a partir de minerales de menor ley. El estudio, cuya finalización está prevista para el primer trimestre de 2027, evaluará la posible producción y comercialización de cátodos de cobre a partir de la infraestructura ya autorizada de lixiviación en pilas y de extracción por solventes y electroobtención.