Anglo American cut its copper forecast for the year ahead by 60,000 tonnes after problems at its Chilean Collahuasi mine tripped up production last year.
The group now expects to produce between 700,000 and 760,000 tonnes of copper in 2026, down from 760,000-820,000 tonnes.
Anglo’s Chilean guidance was set between 390,000 and 420,000 tonnes, more than 11% below the country’s previous forecast, as Collahuasi “continues through a phase of lower-grade ore and refractory stockpiles until the end of 2026”, it said.
Despite the setback, the group has high hopes for its Chilean operations, which are expected to benefit from higher-grade phase at the Los Bronces mine and debottlenecking at Collahuasi over the next two years.
As a result, copper guidance for 2028 is set at 790,000-850,000 tonnes. At the upper end, that would mean lifting production of the metal by more than a fifth over the next three years.
“Copper production steps up from 2027, and our maiden 2028 guidance is expected to see our Chile operations produce over 125,000 tonnes more copper than in 2025,” said Anglo CEO Duncan Wanblad.
“We expect Quellaveco to continue being a highly cash-generative operation with volumes around 300,000 tonnes per year and is expected to reach the capital payback milestone in 2026, just four years post first production.”
Anglo produced 695,200 tonnes of copper in 2025, down 10% from the previous year, as the group’s Chilean output fell 17% to 385,000 tonnes.
The company warned that an impairment of De Beers could affect its full-year results. An assessment of the impact of diamond market conditions is under way.
The diamond unit, for which Anglo is currently seeking a buyer, is expected to report negative underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for 2025.
The race by miners to add copper to their portfolios has accelerated over the past year as the metal’s price soars to record highs fuelled by tight mined supply and rising demand from renewables, electric cars and data centres.
Anglo’s production report comes on the same day the Rio Tinto-Glencore deal fell apart, after the two mining giants failed to find each other, with Glencore believing it was undervalued.
Meanwhile, Anglo is pursuing its own $50bn merger with Canadian copper producer Teck Resources. The deal, which has already been endorsed by both sets of shareholders, would create the world’s fifth-largest copper producer.
“We continue to secure key regulatory approvals for the [Teck] transaction, and we are advancing our integration plans, ensuring that once the transaction closes, we are ready to begin delivering the exceptional value that we have identified as a major global critical minerals champion,” said Wanblad.
Note: Thursday February 5 2026
This story has been updated to include news of the failed merger between Rio Tinto and Glencore.
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