Cobre Limited Secures Control of Chile Copper Mine for US$12 Million

Aura Minerals’ preliminary results released on Oct. 9 show that the Aranzazu mine in Mexico produced 41,000 lb, or about 18.6 tonnes, of molybdenum in Q3 2026, down 28% QoQ and 61% YoY. Nine-month output was 162,000 lb, or about 73.5 tonnes, down 1% YoY. Copper, gold and silver output all increased sequentially, indicating that the molybdenum decline was not caused by a site-wide shutdown. Aura did not separately explain the lower molybdenum output, leaving mine sequencing, molybdenum grade and recovery as key items to monitor.

A mudslide struck the open-pit area of Codelco’s El Teniente mine on Oct. 11, killing two contractor workers. Operations in the affected area had already been suspended because of severe weather. Cochilco data show that El Teniente produced 1,483.1 tonnes of molybdenum in H1 2026, down 34.9% from 2,277.2 tonnes a year earlier. Codelco has not said whether underground mining, concentrators or the molybdenum recovery circuit were affected, nor quantified any additional output loss. SMM is therefore not cutting its molybdenum forecast at this stage and will monitor ore feed, haulage and plant operations.

A mudslide occurred on October 11 in the open-pit area of Codelco’s El Teniente copper mine in Chile. Three contractor workers were involved in the incident. One was rescued and taken to a medical facility, while the other two were later confirmed dead. The workers had been conducting inspection activities in an area where operations had been suspended due to adverse weather conditions. El Teniente is the world’s largest underground copper mine. It produced approximately 310,100 tonnes of copper in 2025, while its 2026 output is expected to be around 301,000 tonnes, accounting for more than one-fifth of Codelco’s own copper production. Codelco suspended activities in the affected area, and Chile’s mining regulator Sernageomin, police and prosecutors have launched investigations. As no full-mine shutdown or production loss has been announced so far, the impact on annual copper output remains under assessment.