China's Copper Anode Enterprise Operating Rate Expected to Decline in May 2026

During the day, market sources reported that Freeport-McMoRan had postponed the full production resumption timeline for its Grasberg copper mine in Indonesia to early 2028, one year later than previous expectations. According to SMM, a Freeport representative responded that the Grasberg copper mine's production resumption status was consistent with the official disclosure made during the Q1 earnings call. The specific plan is as follows: restart Grasberg Block Cave (GBC) production block 1S in Q2 2027, and restart production block 1C before the end of 2027. The market should not over-interpret this, and all parties are advised to monitor whether there are further updated statements in the company's subsequent disclosure documents.

Asian copper scrap supply is severely tight due to decline in the volume and quality of US exports due to recovering domestic consumption; depleted inventories from early-year copper price volatility; and China's tax compliance pressures restricting local scrap flows, which intensifies regional competition for imports. Boosted by bullish hoarding, pricing coefficients have defied expected corrections despite surging copper prices. Bare Bright Copper is currently converging around 98.5%, with No. 1 Copper at 97%-97.5%. Notably, No. 2 Copper coefficients have spiked "abnormally" to 95%-96%. This anomaly is primarily driven by high precious metal prices, as scrap batches rich in gold and silver impurities command high premiums, lifting the overall No. 2 Copper pricing benchmark.