Base Metals Insight

Potential bidders, including the Rio Tinto Group and Saudi Arabia’s Manara Minerals Investment Co., are contemplating acquiring a stake in the Zambian copper mines owned by First Quantum Minerals Ltd. Japanese firms Mitsui & Co. and Sumitomo Corp. are also...

Rio Tinto has promoted Bold Baatar, it’s chief copper executive, to the position of chief commercial officer, the move being a clear signal that the company regards Baatar as a strong contender for a top leadership role. Bold Baatar said:...

Copper prices have surged to new heights, with spot prices reaching US$8,833 per metric tonne on 13 March 2024, a peak not seen since 2023. The upward trend was initiated on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, where copper prices soared to...

Chilean state-owned mining company, Codelco, announced last week that it will begin production at its Rajo Inca copper mine in the first half of 2024. Located in the Atacama region of northern Chile, the US$2.4B project is anticipated to enhance...

Europe’s largest copper producer, Aurubis AG, has joined forces with Chile’s state-owned copper miner, Codelco, in a cooperative agreement aimed at promoting responsible copper production practices. This collaboration follows last years signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU), renewing the...

KoBold Metals, backed by billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, is considering partnerships to fast-track the development of a US$2B copper mine in Zambia. Reuters reported that the company plans to expedite its development to ultimately deliver record contributions to...

Mega-market cap (US$57.6B) copper miner, Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX), has announced that Kathleen Quirk will be taking over as the president and CEO, with her tenure commencing from the shareholders’ annual meeting scheduled for 11 June 2024. Quirk will be fully...

Chile's state-owned mining company, Codelco, is planning to invest an additional US$720M to overhaul its Chuquicamata copper mine, the oldest in its portfolio. The move comes as Codelco aims to address challenges of late and over-budget projects, as well as...

This year saw a supply-demand balance in the copper market, which is set to transition into a major supply surplus in 2024, according to the International Copper Study Group (ICSG). After hitting a record high of US$10,730 per metric ton...

Chilean copper giant, Codelco, has been struggling to maintain its place as the world’s top copper producer, with a recent change in upper management yet to put minds at ease. Among falling ore grades and output reaching a 25-year low,...

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has officially added copper to its critical materials list, marking the first time a US government agency has included copper on one of its official "critical" lists. The European Union, India, Japan, Canada, and...

Copper giant, Aurubis (ETR: NDA), has shocked the market with the news it might have been defrauded of an unestablished sum, potentially amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. The company’s stock crashed as much as 15% on 01 September...