LONDON, June 24, 2026, 10:05 BST
Anglo American shares lost ground Wednesday after the company and Chile’s Codelco finalized their Los Bronces-Andina copper deal. The stock was earlier quoted up 0.4% at 3,726.5 pence but was down 0.9% at 3,675 pence as of 10:01 BST, delayed data showed.
FTSE 100 ends little changed as miners slide The FTSE 100 slipped 0.06%. Tuesday’s hit to the mining sector carried over, with London’s industrial-metal miners off 4%. Copper-focused Antofagasta dropped 5.5% on weaker metal prices.
Codelco’s plan targets an extra 2.7 million tonnes of copper over 21 years—about 120,000 tonnes a year. Output would split evenly with Anglo American Sur. The companies see costs running 15% under what they’d spend separately, needing little added capital. The shared pre-tax value is seen at more than $5 billion.
Anglo American Sur would take about 60,000 tonnes a year under the equal split. That’s 8.2% of the midpoint of Anglo’s 2026 copper guidance, set between 700,000 and 760,000 tonnes. The equal split is the first cut to the headline number.
Ownership cuts Anglo’s exposure again. Anglo owns 50.1% of Anglo American Sur, so its look-through share is about 30,060 tonnes per year—about a quarter of the project’s total output. Anglo’s share of the stated $5 billion pre-tax NPV comes to about $1.25 billion, which is the closer number for economics that will reach Anglo shareholders. The project keeps low capital costs, and those tonnes still look good, but output is not expected before 2030.
Anglo CEO Duncan Wanblad said permits are “the next important milestone”. Codelco Chairman Bernardo Fontaine said the agreement will “make better use of existing infrastructure”. The companies wrapped up the deal after getting competition and regulatory signoff. Anglo American
Anglo’s Chile project isn’t as big as the Teck Resources tie-up, but it brings more low-cost copper to the company as it trims its holdings. Anglo said in April the Teck merger is still on schedule, with closing expected sometime between September 2026 and March 2027. The deal needs clearance from Chinese regulators and other approvals.
The 2030 target is still uncertain. Anglo and Codelco expect to file two mostly similar environmental studies this December, both moving through an unusual dual-track setup. The companies have said this approach could put pressure on Chile’s review process and trigger pushback from local groups and environmentalists. If permits get held up, that would delay cash flows and shrink net present value. Softer copper prices or higher costs would have a similar effect.
