Copper Prices Shot Up After the Holiday; Secondary Copper Raw Material Traders Sold on the Rally [SMM Secondary Copper Daily Review]

Codelco said on October 6 that it is investigating possible duplicate accounting of production at its Ministro Hales and Salvador divisions during 2024 and 2025. Based on preliminary information, the same material may have been recorded as production by more than one division, potentially inflating the company’s reported production and inventory figures. Codelco has referred the findings to Chile’s Public Prosecutor’s Office and commissioned EY to conduct an independent external audit into the case. KPMG will continue its broader review of Codelco’s production reports for 2024–2025. An earlier internal audit found that material still requiring further processing had been reported as finished copper production at Chuquicamata and Ministro Hales in 2025, involving approximately 26,875 tonnes of copper. The company subsequently dismissed one executive and imposed disciplinary measures on other employees. The latest investigation could further affect market assessments of Codelco’s historical production data, but no revision to reported output has been confirmed. Codelco has also abolished the vice-president position responsible for the joint Andina–Los Bronces operating plan and appointed Claudia Monreal López to lead a new coordination team from October 27.

Mitsubishi Materials announced on October 1 that it plans to produce 142,284 tonnes of refined copper in the second half of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2027, equivalent to 23,714 tonnes per month. The plan is 18% below the 173,670 tonnes produced in the same period of the previous fiscal year and below the 175,416-tonne output plan for the first half of the current fiscal year. The company attributed the decline to scheduled maintenance at its Naoshima and Onahama smelters and refineries. The reduction therefore reflects a planned, temporary supply cut and was not explicitly attributed to negative treatment charges or weaker sulphuric acid revenues. Compared with the same period last year, Mitsubishi Materials’ planned refined copper output will fall by approximately 31,400 tonnes. Market participants will monitor the duration of the maintenance and the pace of the subsequent ramp-up.