London, June 13, 2026, 23:03 (BST).
- Antofagasta jumped 4.88% to 4,044p on Friday, ahead of the FTSE 100, which was up 1.63%.
- Copper prices drive revenue forecasts for the Chile-focused miner, so the move is key.
- Traders are waiting for the next big event, with the Q2 production update due July 15, then half-year earnings set for August 13.
Antofagasta plc closed out Friday up 4.88% at £40.44, or 4,044p. The FTSE 100 finished 1.63% higher at 10,471.72. Antofagasta is still trading 9.63% below its 52-week top of £44.75. Volume reached 743,306, well under the 50-day average of 1.5 million shares. The stock climbed on lighter-than-usual trading.
Antofagasta is seen as a copper play—Reuters calls the group a Chile-based miner focused on copper and by-products, with stakes in Los Pelambres, Centinela, Antucoya and Zaldívar. Investors tend to lift forecasts for miners’ top line and cash flow when copper goes up, but it still comes down to how much the company produces and what its costs are.
Copper prices boosted the stock. Reuters, via Business Recorder, reported that benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed 1.64% to $13,704 per metric ton on Friday. The LME’s website shows copper pricing valid for June 12 in dollars per metric ton.
UK stocks got a lift from a rally across the board. Reuters said both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 added 1.6% on Friday, the FTSE 100 hitting its best close since May 27 as talk of a possible Iran-U.S. peace deal drove crude down and improved risk appetite. Antofagasta outperformed, signaling investors were reacting to copper headlines as well as the London market jump.
Antofagasta’s Q1 2026 production report showed a mixed picture. Copper production was down 8% on the year at 143,000 tonnes. Cash costs before by-product credits increased 17% to $2.77 a pound. The company uses cash cost as a non-GAAP measure for copper production costs, with by-product credits bringing that cost down by factoring in sales of metals like gold and molybdenum. Net cash costs dropped 30% to $1.08 a pound, helped by those credits.
Antofagasta CEO Iván Arriagada said the miner still sees “copper production to increase quarter-on-quarter” and called medium-term copper trends “compelling.” 2026 guidance stays the same: copper output at 650,000 to 700,000 tonnes, cash cost before by-products at $2.30 to $2.50 per pound, net cash cost between $1.15 and $1.35, and capital spending at $3.4 billion for the year. Antofagasta
Investors now wait for the Q2 2026 production report on July 15, followed by half-year results on August 13. The market wants to see if production is lifting as promised, costs are under control, and key growth projects—like the Centinela Second Concentrator and Los Pelambres—are moving ahead as planned.
Bulls point to high copper prices, low net cash costs and steady progress on growth projects as reasons Antofagasta could drive stronger cash generation in the back half. But bears focus on valuation and execution risk. MarketBeat has the average 12-month price target at 3,618.75p, which is under Friday’s 4,044p close. Q1 saw lower copper output and higher pre-credit cash costs, so there’s less room for a miss. On current numbers, Antofagasta looks more fairly priced to risky than cheap—unless copper stays elevated and July’s production update clears up the Q1 dip.
