Glencore: Copper Up, Outlook Steady
Glencore Boosts First-Half Copper Output 15%, Maintains Annual Guidance Amid Robust Marketing
Anonymous
Key Points
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First-half 2026 own-sourced output included copper 397 kt, cobalt 10.2 kt, nickel 35.8 kt, lead 83.8 kt, zinc 365.6 kt, gold 168 koz, and silver 9.306 moz, with steelmaking coal at 13.5 Mt and energy coal at 47.4 Mt.
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For full-year 2026, guidance remains copper 810–870 kt, zinc 700–740 kt, and nickel 70–80 kt, with energy coal raised to 96–101 Mt and steelmaking coal trimmed to 30–32 Mt.
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The Kidd mine sale completed in June 2026 is prompting a like-for-like upgrade to copper and zinc targets as management re-weights exposure post-sale.
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Cobalt shipments remain constrained by the Democratic Republic of Congo’s export quotas, with the DRC suspending cobalt exports in 2025 to support prices and replacing the ban with quotas from October 2025.
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Marketing adjusted EBIT for the first half is about $3.3 billion, placing it near the top end of the annual guidance range of $2.3–$3.5 billion.
Glencore's shares jumped 3.6% to 524.9 pence in London on Thursday after the Swiss mining giant reported a 15% surge in first-half copper output to 397,000 tonnes — and revealed its trading arm is on track for one of its best years ever. MarketScreener reported the stock was among the top five performers in the FTSE 100.
The company's marketing division — which trades commodities globally — posted an adjusted operating profit of about $3.3 billion for the first half alone, according to Yahoo Finance. That figure sits near the top of Glencore's full-year guidance range of $2.3–$3.5 billion, with six months still to go.
Copper Output Jumps on African and Peruvian Gains
Glencore produced 397,000 tonnes of copper in the first half of 2026, up 15% from a year earlier. The gains came from higher ore grades at its African copper operations and at the Antamina mine in Peru. Higher ore grades mean more metal can be extracted from the same amount of rock — a big efficiency boost.
The company kept its full-year copper guidance at 810,000–870,000 tonnes. It also nudged its energy coal target up to 96–101 million tonnes. Steelmaking coal guidance was trimmed slightly to 30–32 million tonnes. Zinc and nickel targets stayed the same, LSE reported.
Congo Cobalt Quotas Slash Output by a Third
Not everything went Glencore's way. Cobalt production fell sharply to just 10,200 tonnes in the first half. The culprit: export quotas imposed by the Democratic Republic of Congo. The DRC had suspended cobalt exports entirely in 2025 to prop up prices, then replaced the ban with quotas from October 2025.
With cobalt shipments capped, Glencore chose to prioritize copper production instead. Some cobalt-rich material is being set aside for future processing. Zinc fell too, partly because the Lady Loretta mine in Australia reached the end of its life. Gold and silver volumes also declined.
Kidd Mine Sale Reshapes Metal Exposure
Glencore completed the sale of the Kidd copper and zinc mine in Canada in June 2026. The sale changes the math on its output targets. Management is now recalculating its copper and zinc guidance on a like-for-like basis — stripping out the Kidd volumes — to give investors a cleaner picture of its underlying performance.
Despite the sale, copper remains Glencore's biggest growth story. The company also noted that unit cash costs for copper fell in the half, even as input costs rose due to geopolitical tensions. Lower costs on rising output is exactly the combination investors want to see.
Trading Arm Carries the Company in Mixed Market
Glencore's marketing division is the company's secret weapon. It trades oil, coal, copper and other commodities around the world. In the first half of 2026, it earned about $3.3 billion in adjusted operating profit — nearly matching what many rivals earn in a full year, Yahoo Finance reported.
That performance matters because prices for coal and some metals have been uneven. Steelmaking coal volumes and prices have softened. But the trading desk can profit from volatility — buying cheap and selling dear across markets. With the full-year cap at $3.5 billion, Glencore has already banked most of its annual trading target by July, according to MarketScreener.
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