Australia's South32's first-quarter copper output rise, slightly misses estimates

By Reuters News

Oct 19 (Reuters) - Diversified miner South32 S32.AX on Monday posted a 2% rise in first-quarter copper production helped by mining ore with a higher copper content as it had planned, but the output was slightly below market expectations.

Excluding its aluminium portfolio, copper accounted for more than half of South32's fiscal 2026 earnings and was the miner's primary cash generator.

Supply constraints and rising demand from artificial intelligence and renewable energy infrastructure have pushed copper prices to record highs this year, bolstering the appeal of the metal.

The miner reported 18,700 metric tons of payable copper production from its share in the Chilean Sierra Gorda project for the quarter ended September 30, up from 18,300 metric tons a year earlier.

This was lower than the Visible Alpha estimate of 19,200 metric tons.

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