Copper

“American industries depend on copper, and it should be made in America, no exemptions, no exceptions,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said. “It’s time for copper to come home.”

But while the tariffs could be positive for the domestic metals sector, implemented copper tariffs could amplify costs across several segments of the economy. Copper has a broad range of uses, and its cost is an input in the price of everything from electronics to construction materials.

Trump’s tariff probe sparked a surge in copper futures, which rose 1.76% Wednesday morning.

Source – Markets Insider

O’Shea highlights the potential impact of the Trump administration’s focus on domestic resource independence and the importance of refining capacity in the U.S. Highland Copper aims to reach a construction decision for its Copperwood asset by the end of 2025

Source – KITCO News / Video

The $1.4 billion bid made by the Chinese defence and industrial giant in June stalled after Congo state miner Gecamines submitted its own unsolicited bid for the Chemaf assets, deepening a standoff that has been complicated by U.S. officials lobbying against China’s grip on the mineral-rich central African Copperbelt.

Norinco has now proposed that the Democratic Republic of the Congo increase its interest in Chemaf’s Mutoshi and Etoile mines to as much as 15% from 5% currently – at no additional cost – subject to negotiations, said the sources, who asked to remain anonymous.

Source – Reuters

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Norinco – also known as China North Industries Corporation. Within China it is known as China Ordnance Industries Group Corporation Limited

Shipments of refined copper from the central African country jumped by 71% year-on-year to 1.48 million metric tons in 2024. The Congo is now by some margin the largest supplier of refined metal to the world’s largest buyer.

The Congo’s share of Chinese copper imports has risen from 10% in 2020 to 36.7% with volumes steadily increasing over the fourth quarter. December’s imports of 167,735 tons were a new monthly record.

Source – Reuters

Copper can sustain current levels around $9 400 a ton until early April, after which the implementation of US tariffs could see prices drop to $8 500 within three months, Citigroup analysts including Tom Mulqueen said in a research note.

Copper fell 0.4% to $9,438.50 a ton on the LME as of 10:14 a.m. in Shanghai, while other base metals were mixed.

Source – Mining Weekly

Peru’s mining ministry on Friday said copper output in 2024 amounted to 2,736,150 metric tons, down 0.7% from 2023. The drop marked the copper giant’s first decline after four straight years of recovery following the pandemic.

Source – Mining.com

The spread between the cash LME copper contract and benchmark three-month futures spiked to a premium for the first time in 19 months on Friday.

It rocketed to $249 a metric ton, the highest since November 2021, compared to a discount, or contango, of $119 two days ago.

Copper prices on COMEX have surged as investors seek to price in potential tariffs, with the premium of COMEX over LME at $1,050 a ton on Friday, down from a record peak of $1,153 a day earlier.

Source – Mining.com

Glencore owns the Mutanda copper cobalt mine and has 75% stake in Kamoto Copper Company leaving the mines value at $6.8 billion dollars.

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