Copper holds near four-week high as stocks fall and Chile storms disrupt supply
MiFID II exempt information – see disclaimer below
Andrada Mining (ATM LN) – Lithium Ridge grab sampling results
Premier African Minerals (PREM LN) – Timetable for resumption of plant operations at the Zulu lithium project, Zimbabwe
Power Metal Resources (POW LN) – First hole completed at Molopo Farms, suspected nickel intersected
Copper ($13,676/t) holds near four-week high as stocks fall and Chile storms disrupt supply
- Copper is holding near $13,700/t after after the US paused its air strikes on Iran on Friday.
- LME copper stocks have fallen 30% since May to 272,975t, with metal still moving to the US ahead of a possible tariff.
- Chile’s storms are raising doubts over production targets, with the country mining 23% of world supply
Copper supply gap narrows – smelting capacity is the weak link as smelters shut down on zero fees
- The International Energy Agency now sees copper supply falling 25% short of demand by 2035, better than last year’s 30%.
- The improvement comes from expanding existing mines, not new discoveries.
- Smelters now earn zero fees to process it.
- Plants outside China run below 70% of capacity, and Zambia suspended its copper export tax in June because its own smelters were down.
Gold ($4,049/oz) – Middle East pause eases inflation risk, Fed decision due this week
- The US and Iran held off attacks for a third straight night, with Oman hosting talks on Hormuz shipping.
- Brent fell to $86.3/bbl from $90.3/bbl, easing the inflation pressure behind rate hike expectations.
Nickel – Vale Indonesia’s $2bn battery nickel plant enters key construction phase
- Vale Indonesia (INCO IJ) has installed the autoclaves, the giant pressure vessels at its Sambalagi plant in Morowali.
- The $2bn plant will use acid under high pressure (HPAL) to turn nickel ore into battery material.
- The first of three production lines is due to finish construction by the end of 2026.
- Analyst said Vale is now the most aggressive HPAL builder, with rivals holding back over ‘frequently changing regulations’.
Scottish data centre boom set to demand one and a half times the country’s peak electricity use
- Around 24 hyperscale data centre developments (over 100MW) are planned across Scotland’s central belt, drawn by the country’s cool climate and abundant renewable energy for AI-driven demand.
- Campaigners estimate the combined developments would require one and a half times the nation’s peak electricity demand of just over 4GW.
- UK state-owned National Energy System Operator (NESO) said roughly 60GW of data centre demand is currently in the pipeline to connect to Britain’s high-voltage transmission network, about 30 times the connected capacity of existing sites, though it cautioned much of this figure may be speculative.
- Individual proposals illustrate the scale: Apatura’s Wester Hermiston facility near Edinburgh would run at 200MW across 30 hectares, its Larbert site at 300MW, and developer ILI’s proposed Auchtertool site at 600MW, equivalent to about a fifth of Scotland’s total annual electricity use.
- Scotland produced twice as much electricity as it consumed in 2024, with 39% of wind power curtailed last year, a surplus developers argue makes the country well suited to absorb new data centre load.
- Residents across the central belt are campaigning against the developments, arguing they will squeeze local electricity and water access with little job creation to show for it.
| Dow Jones Industrials | +0.51% | at | 52,210 | |
| Nikkei 225 | -3.95% | at | 62,365 | |
| HK Hang Seng | -0.02% | at | 25,201 | |
| Shanghai Composite | -1.50% | at | 3,801 | |
| US 10 Year Yield (bp change) | -3.4 | at | 4.61 |
Currencies
US$1.1368/eur vs 1.1408/eur previous. Yen 163.71/$ vs 163.38/$. SAr 16.773/$ vs 16.678/$. $1.330/gbp vs $1.335/gbp. 0.697/aud vs 0.701/aud. CNY 6.768/$ vs 6.767/$.
Dollar Index 101.52 vs 101.19 previous.
Economics
South Korean Kospi Index is down more than 30% from its peak on a sell off in chip stocks.
- Investors concerns are over circular funding and rising competition from China threatening margins.
- Reports over Chinese state backed company starting mass production of immersion deep ultraviolet lithography machines was another cause of concern.
- SK Hynix and Samsung electronics both were down 13%.
- The index is down >10% on Tuesday alone.
Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Amazon are reporting this week with markets to track capex outlook closely.
A number of central bank announcement due this week including:
- US Fed (est. no change; Wednesday)
- BOE (est. no change; Thursday)
- BOJ (est. no change; Friday)
Precious metals:
Gold US$4,049/oz vs US$4,103/oz previous
Gold ETFs 96.7moz vs 96.7moz previous
Platinum US$1,611/oz vs US$1,642/oz previous
Palladium US$1,277/oz vs US$1,287/oz previous
Silver US$57.4/oz vs US$59.7/oz previous
Silver ETFs 787.7moz vs 788.5moz previous
Rhodium US$8,250/oz vs US$8,250/oz previous
Base metals:
Copper US$13,676/t vs US$13,708/t previous
Aluminium US$3,154/t vs US$3,163/t previous
Nickel US$17,085/t vs US$17,390/t previous
Zinc US$3,597/t vs US$3,622/t previous
Lead US$1,889/t vs US$1,894/t previous
Tin US$53,495/t vs US$54,430/t previous
Energy:
Oil US$86.3/bbl vs US$90.3/bbl previous
- Crude oil prices fell further after President Trump said the US was engaged in talks with Iran aimed at ending the Middle East conflict as Omani negotiators sought an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Natural Gas €56.1/MWh vs €58.5/MWh previous
Uranium Futures $86.3/lb vs $86.2/lb previous
Bulk:
Iron Ore 62% Fe Spot (Singapore) US$97.8/t vs US$97.6/t
Chinese steel rebar 25mm US$467.7/t vs US$467.9/t
HCC FOB Australia US$228.0/t vs US$229.0/t
Thermal coal swap Australia FOB US$131.5/t vs US$135.3/t
Other:
Cobalt LME 3m US$56,290/t vs US$56,290/t
NdPr Rare Earth Oxide (China) US$113,029/t vs US$111,945/t
Lithium Carbonate 99% (China) US$20,168/t vs US$20,172/t
China Spodumene Li2O 6%min CIF US$2,185/t vs US$2,185/t
Ferro-Manganese European Mn78% min US$1,035/t vs US$1,035/t
Tungsten APT (China) 88.5% FOB US$1,745/mtu vs US$1,745/mtu
Tungsten APT (Europe) 88.5% Rotterdam US$3,025/mtu vs US$3,025/mtu
China Tantalum Concentrate 30% CIF US$225/lb vs US$225/mtu
China Graphite Flake -194 FOB US$390/t vs US$390/t
Europe Vanadium Pentoxide 98% US$5.4/lb vs US$5.4/lb
Europe Ferro-Vanadium 80% US$26.8/kg vs US$26.8/kg
China Ilmenite Concentrate TiO2 US$208/t vs US$208/t
US Titanium Dioxide TiO2 >98% US$2,789/t vs US$2,789/t
China Rutile Concentrate 95% TiO2 US$1,160/t vs US$1,160/t
Brazil Potash CFR Granular Spot US$395.0/t vs US$395.0/t
Germanium China 99.99% US$4,095.0/kg vs US$4,095.0/kg
China Gallium 99.99% US$430.0/kg vs US$430.0/kg
Europe Molybdenum Oxide 57% US$32.0/lb vs US$32.0/lb
Company news:
| Overnight Change | Weekly Change | Overnight Change | Weekly Change | ||
| BHP | -1.2% | 1.9% | Freeport-McMoRan | 0.2% | 6.7% |
| Rio Tinto | -2.5% | 1.0% | Vale | -0.1% | 4.8% |
| Glencore | -3.4% | 1.4% | Newmont Mining | 0.3% | 4.8% |
| Anglo American | -2.1% | 8.2% | Fortescue | -0.5% | 1.0% |
| Antofagasta | -2.2% | 2.5% | Teck Resources | -0.8% | 10.0% |
Andrada Mining (ATM LN) 4.05p, Mkt Cap £90m – Lithium Ridge grab sampling results
- Andrada Mining reports that grab sampling at the Lithium Ridge JV with SQM in Namibia has extended the known strike length of lithium mineralisation by 3km to a total of km.
- The programme has identified additional mineralised pegmatite targets “beyond the primary mineralised trend … [and the grab samples] … consistently returned high-grade tin (Sn) and tantalum (Ta) with grades up to 7.38 % Sn and 3 192 ppm Ta”.
- CEO, Anthony Viljoen, welcomed completion of the grab sampling programme as “another important milestone in our evaluation of Lithium Ridge … [and said that they] … complement the encouraging diamond drilling results reported to date, which have demonstrated lithium mineralisation from surface to borehole depth and have strengthened our understanding of the scale and continuity of the broader pegmatite system”.
- Assaying of samples from the 16,500m drilling programme, which was completed in May, is still underway and the results “will be integrated with the results of the … [grab sampling] … Programme to inform the mineral system model for the Project”.
Premier African Minerals (PREM LN) 0.02p, Mkt Cap £8.8m – Timetable for resumption of plant operations at the Zulu lithium project, Zimbabwe
- Premier African Minerals reports that the planned resumption of plant operations at its Zulu lithium project in Zimbabwe, which had been planned during July will now “only occur once the ongoing and constructive discussions with Canmax Technologies … regarding the requested Long Stop Date extension have concluded and the agreed terms have been formally announced”.
- Canamax is a major shareholder of the company and holds offtake agreements for production from the Zulu project.
- “Subject to agreement being reached, Premier intends to commence the planned continuous operating campaign as soon as possible, with a revised operating timetable to be confirmed thereafter to shareholders”.
- The company also confirms that mining and stockpiling of ore is continuing ahead of the resumption of processing so that it will have “an adequate ore inventory on the ROM pad before recommencing the plant … [to make the] … most efficient use of available resources and … maximise the value of the next sustained optimisation campaign”.
- “A revised timetable for the next production and optimisation run will be announced once discussions with Canmax have been formally concluded”.
Power Metal Resources (POW LN) 12.63p, Mkt Cap £14.1m – First hole completed at Molopo Farms, suspected nickel intersected
- Explorer Power Metal has completed the first hole of its drilling programme at Molopo Farms in Botswana.
- Hole 1-9 reached 382m and cut suspected nickel minerals through a 26m band from 243m depth.
- The nickel was spotted visually and lab assays are now underway to confirm it.
- The hole is the first of a 1,600m programme testing five targets, with drilling continuing.
- CEO Sean Wade called it ‘an encouraging early indication’ the Company is testing the right ground.
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| Sources of commodity prices | |
| Gold, Platinum, Palladium, Silver | BGNL (Bloomberg Generic Composite rate, London) |
| Gold ETFs, Steel | Bloomberg |
| Copper, Aluminium, Nickel, Zinc, Lead, Tin, Cobalt | LME |
| Oil Brent | ICE |
| Natural Gas, Uranium, Iron Ore | NYMEX |
| Thermal Coal | Bloomberg OTC Composite |
| Coking Coal | SSY |
| RRE | Steelhome |
| Lithium Carbonate, Ferro Vanadium, Tungsten, Spodumene, Ferro-Manganese, Graphite, Rutile | Asian Metal |
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