London, May 13, 2026, 17:01 BST
Antofagasta plc jumped 8.7% to finish at 4,299p on Wednesday, lifted by copper’s strong run and a wave of buying into London-listed miners. Shares hit their session peak right at the open before settling back, notching their best level in days. The stock remains under its 52-week high of 4,475p, but it’s within striking distance now—far better than a week earlier.
Timing is key here. Copper climbed above $14,000 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, putting it within striking distance of its January record. Disrupted mining and squeezed supply are once more overpowering demand concerns. Bloomberg noted the metal traded as high as $14,196.50 a ton this Wednesday—just shy of the $14,527.50 all-time peak.
Antofagasta doesn’t just track copper prices; the company’s fate is tied to them. With four copper mines in Chile and side streams of gold and molybdenum, mining remains the heart of its operations. Shares tend to react quickly to any shift in copper, thanks to that deep exposure.
After a sluggish start to the year on the production side, the rally follows Antofagasta’s update last month: first-quarter copper output slipped 7.6% year-over-year, landing at 143,000 tonnes. Net cash costs, which account for by-product credits, fell sharply—down 30% to $1.08 per pound. Still, the miner left its full-year copper production target steady, sticking with guidance of 650,000 to 700,000 tonnes.
Chief Executive Iván Arriagada, in the update, said Antofagasta is looking for copper production to “increase quarter-on-quarter,” as Los Pelambres’ processing rates and grades pick up. He described copper’s medium-term fundamentals as “compelling,” pointing to tight supply and robust structural demand. Antofagasta
Peers climbed as well, but Antofagasta drew attention as the copper pure play. According to Investing.com, UK-listed mining names including Anglo American, Rio Tinto and Glencore moved up, with copper futures sitting near $14,158 a ton in the afternoon after an earlier spike to $14,191.
Supply is under serious strain. According to Mining.com, which referenced Bloomberg, Comex copper futures surged to a record $6.69 per pound in the U.S. The move was fueled by bets on new U.S. tariffs targeting refined metal imports—plus fresh worries about sulphur, essential for making the sulphuric acid some copper mines depend on. “Notable recovery in industrial metals,” said Li Xuezhi, head of research at Chaos Ternary Futures, citing both tight supply and steady demand. Mining
Traders in the prediction markets kept betting on copper prices holding steady, but confidence was far from absolute. Kalshi copper contracts put the probability of prices topping $6.35 a pound on May 29 at 55%, while odds for breaking above $6.41 sat at 34%. That points to expectations for sustained high prices—at least for now.
Still, the risk cuts both ways. Copper’s gains can unravel quickly if China’s appetite cools, U.S. tariff bets change direction, or supply disruptions resolve ahead of schedule. And Antofagasta needs to follow through on its pledges for higher grades and improved processing—higher prices don’t help much when tonnage falls short.
Prices jumped before, and the effect showed up in the numbers. Back in February, Reuters flagged Antofagasta’s core profit for 2025 up 52% to a record $5.2 billion—driven by all-time-high copper, even though production edged lower and net debt ticked up. That’s the trade investors are eyeing once more: strong copper can paper over weaker operations, but that cover doesn’t last forever.
