London, June 6, 2026, 18:03 (BST)
- Antofagasta shares slid 5.70% on Friday. The miner lagged the FTSE 100, which was flat to slightly higher.
- Copper fell hard, putting pressure on a trade that had gained on supply concerns and tariff talk.
- Copper prices, moves from London-listed miners, and U.S. tariff signals drive the week ahead.
Antofagasta plc shares dropped 5.70% to £39.70 on Friday, underperforming as the FTSE 100 ended up 0.07%. One of London’s main copper stocks, Antofagasta struggled after another stretch of choppy trading for miners. The London market was shut on Saturday, leaving Friday’s big fall to set things up for Monday instead.
Antofagasta shares jumped 6.47% on Tuesday to £44.08, but then pulled back Wednesday and kept dropping into the weekend. The stock finished Friday 11.28% under its 52-week high of £44.75 from Feb. 25.
Copper is in focus. Antofagasta, which mines copper mainly in Chile, often sees its shares trade with moves in the copper price. This happens more when supply risk is in play, and less on earnings. Copper lost 3.97% on June 5, down to $6.25 a pound, but it’s still up nearly 30% from a year ago, Trading Economics says. The price tracked is a contract for difference, a derivative price that reflects the benchmark, not spot copper.
London stocks didn’t move much. The FTSE 100 added 0.07% on Friday, with investors a bit relieved that inflation risk from the Middle East war might not be as bad as expected. But both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 still finished down for the week, Reuters said.
It wasn’t only Antofagasta in the red. Anglo American, also a major miner in London with copper in the mix, lost 5.16% Friday. Rio Tinto was down 3.10%. Investors cut prices across mining stocks, not just in response to another Antofagasta update.
Antofagasta’s update in April put something on the table for both bulls and bears. First-quarter copper production came in at 143,000 tonnes, down 8%, while net cash costs fell 30% to $1.08 per pound. The company left its full-year copper target unchanged at 650,000 to 700,000 tonnes. Capital spending guidance is still at $3.4 billion.
Antofagasta CEO Iván Arriagada said at the time the company was looking for higher production “quarter-on-quarter” as better processing rates and higher grades come through at Los Pelambres. He described the copper price outlook for 2026 as “constructive.” Investors may challenge that view if copper falls again next week. Antofagasta
Antofagasta’s outlook is still about growth. The company posted a record $5.2 billion in EBITDA in 2025, as strong copper prices boosted results, according to numbers released in February. CEO Arriagada told analysts then that the Centinela second concentrator was roughly 70% complete. Construction is scheduled to wrap up in 2027, with full output in 2029.
Antofagasta hasn’t been cast as just a copper-price play by analysts. Russ Mould at AJ Bell said copper’s spread across cars, pipes, wiring, and machinery earns it the “Doctor Copper” label, but also pointed out Antofagasta shares have already more than doubled in the past year and now don’t trade cheap versus global rivals. AJ Bell
Friday’s drop could turn into more than just a quick correction. Copper traders are eyeing whether U.S. President Donald Trump will put new import tariffs on refined copper. Reuters metals columnist Andy Home said CME copper has held a growing premium over LME copper ahead of a decision expected at the end of June. If talk of tariffs cools, or if energy and input prices stay up, Antofagasta’s outlook may get another look.
Next week, traders face a sharper decision: was Friday just a breather in copper, or the beginning of a pullback for miners after a quick run-up. Antofagasta won’t post another production update until later, so market cues will probably show up first in copper trading, FTSE 100 mining shares and any new U.S. tariff news.
