Jeremy Szafron joins Kitco News as an anchor and producer from Kitco's Vancouver bureau. Jeremy is a seasoned journalist with a diverse background covering entertainment, current affairs and finance.
London's mining giants were lifted by a spike in copper prices on Wednesday after one of the world's largest copper producers warned that it is expecting lower sales in the third quarter. Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE:FCX, ETR:FPMB), which accounts for around 8.5% of global mined copper, said it was expecting consolidated sales to be lower by about 4% for copper and nearly 6% for gold in the third quarter compared to its prior forecast.
Argentina's President Javier Milei is scrambling to realize the South American country's copper potential. Ro Dhawan, CEO of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), described Argentina as "arguably the most exciting new copper story today.
Chinese copper flat wire manufacturer Wellascent's decision early last year to build a factory in Texas was a hedge against geopolitical risks. Now the investment is paying off as U.S. import tariffs boost demand for its locally produced goods.
In the short term, copper may have farther to fall.
The first-half reporting season has left the big miners treading water: solid enough numbers, but plenty of headaches still to work through. For the diversifieds, the story is one of balance sheets under pressure and shifting capital priorities.
Copper may not be enjoying the spotlight like gold and silver, but producers of the red metal are posting some of their strongest profit margins in years, according to a new industry analysis. Profitability across the copper sector has improved significantly over the past decade, buoyed by stronger copper prices and more favourable processing economics, researchers at UK-based consultancy Project Blue said in a report last week.
The White House's final order on copper tariffs puts a 50% duty on semi-finished products such as pipes, rods and wires, but not on raw input materials as had been expected. Refined copper has been pouring into the U.S. this year in anticipation of tariffs, while the premium in U.S. prices on metals futures contracts has soared to record levels of the global benchmark.
C3 Metals Inc (TSX-V:CCCM, OTC:CARCF) has reported positive results from a closely spaced soil sampling program at its Bellas Gate project in Jamaica, targeting a volcanic redbed copper prospect in the northwest portion of the property. The company announced that the program successfully outlined a significant copper-in-soil anomaly and has defined drill targets for testing in the second half of 2025.
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE:FCX, ETR:FPMB) delivered strong financial results for the second quarter, driven by lower operating costs and higher-than-expected copper sales volumes. The company posted earnings per share of $0.54, above estimates of $0.45, while revenue of $7.58 billion beat the consensus $7.19 billion.
Given short-term and long-term price implications, the growth trajectory for copper could be electrifying. That's literally the case as the industrial metal's usage in electricity is giving way to its ubiquity.
Shares rallied nicely, but have run out of steam.