GLENCORE reported an 11% decline in copper production for 2025, with output reaching 851,600 tons at the lower end of its forecast range, said Reuters citing a company fourth quarter production report on Thursday.
The Swiss-based miner said higher copper grades and recoveries at several operations helped boost second-half performance.
However, lower ore grades and water constraints at its Chilean Collahuasi mine, which it co-owns with Anglo American, continue to weigh on output.
“Glencore’s production update was stronger than expected with Q4 production in key copper, cobalt, zinc, steelmaking coal and energy coal divisions,” said Ian Rossouw, an analyst for Barclays Capital.
Glencore has guided 2026 copper production at between 810,000 and 870,000 tons, maintaining the midpoint of 840,000t it forecast in December. It has targeted lifting annual copper output to 1.6 million tons by 2035 through new and restarted mines.
The production update comes as markets await a possible takeover offer from Rio Tinto, expected by 5 February. Any deal could create the world’s largest mining group valued above $200bn.
Glencore also reported cobalt production of 36,100t in 2025, down 5% year-on-year. Following the Democratic Republic of Congo’s introduction of export quotas last October, the company expects to export 22,800t this year.
Steelmaking coal production rose to 32.5Mt from 19.9Mt, whilst thermal coal output edged down to 98Mt from 99.6Mt. The company added it expects full-year marketing earnings before interest and tax at the midpoint of its $2.3bn to $3.5bn range.
Rossouw said Glencore’s unit costs for the year in review were “lower than expected, leaving implied EBITDA from mini-model at about $13.6bn”. This was three percent above Barclays estimate and two percent higher than consensus.
