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Anglo American’s Q3 copper output fell 5% after Chile snow — what changed in guidance
Copper production dropped to 174,900 tonnes, yet the 2026 output range stayed intact. Cost guidance improved, De Beers’ forecast rose, and several portfolio deals remain conditional.
Anglo American reported 174,900 tonnes of third-quarter copper production, down 5%, after record snowfall and unplanned maintenance disrupted Chilean operations. Nine-month output was 519,000 tonnes, down 1%, but the group kept its full-year copper range at 700,000–760,000 tonnes.
The company lowered copper unit-cost guidance, raised De Beers’ production range to 25–28 million carats, and reported mixed output across iron ore, manganese, coal and nickel. Its Teck merger and sales of other businesses remain incomplete.
Copper output fell, but the annual range stayed in place
Anglo American produced 174,900 tonnes of copper in the third quarter, 5% less than a year earlier. Record snowfall and related unplanned maintenance hit Chile, while Collahuasi processed lower-grade stockpile ore. First-nine-month copper output was 519,000 tonnes, down 1%, yet the company retained its 700,000–760,000-tonne 2026 range because it expects better grades in the fourth quarter.
Lower costs are a separate change from production volume
The group reduced overall copper unit-cost guidance to about 139 cents per pound from 145 cents. Peru improved to about 50 cents per pound from 65 cents, with management citing by-product credits and cost performance. A lower cost estimate does not reverse the quarterly production decline, and both cost and output guidance remain forward-looking.
Iron ore declined while manganese and coal increased
Premium iron ore production fell 4% to 13.8 million tonnes as Kumba began tying in its first UHDMS module, partly offset by higher Minas-Rio plant availability. Manganese rose 6% to 1.031 million tonnes, steelmaking coal rose 53% to 2.9 million tonnes during the Moranbah North ramp-up, and nickel rose 3% to 10,400 tonnes.
Diamonds had lower quarterly output but a higher annual forecast
Quarterly rough-diamond production fell 11% to 6.8 million carats, while nine-month output reached 21.7 million carats, 22% above a year earlier. Anglo raised De Beers’ full-year production range to 25–28 million carats from 21–26 million after taking full ownership of Gahcho Kué; that reporting basis changes from the fourth-quarter report, so the higher annual range should not be read as a simple quarter-on-quarter rebound.
Portfolio transactions remain unfinished
Anglo said the Australian steelmaking-coal sale is targeted to complete by the first quarter of 2027, the nickel sale still needs European Commission approval, and work on a De Beers transaction continues. The proposed Teck merger still awaits China’s antitrust approval, with the company retaining an expected completion timeline by March 2027. None of those milestones was complete in this production report.
