Anglo American (LSE:AAL) said in its Q1 production report that production tracked to plan as copper rose 1% to 170,400 tonnes, supported by restarts and higher throughput.
The diversified miner said the copper uplift was driven by the reopening of Los Bronces' second plant and higher throughput at Collahuasi, partially offset by expected lower grades at Quellaveco.
"We've delivered a strong start to the year across both Copper and Premium Iron Ore, tracking well to our mine plans," Duncan Wanblad, CEO, said.
Chile copper production was 97,000 tonnes, up 9%, with Los Bronces at 48,500 tonnes (+12%) and Anglo American's attributable Collahuasi production at 38,800 tonnes (+10%) following higher throughput and recoveries.
Peru's Quellaveco fell 8% to 73,400 tonnes reflecting anticipated lower ore grades despite improved recoveries.
Premium iron ore output was 15.2 million tonnes, down 2% on slightly lower volumes from Kumba and Minas-Rio.
Manganese ore rose 118% to 759,100 tonnes, rough diamond production was 7.1 million carats (+17%), steelmaking coal fell 31% to 1.5 million tonnes and nickel was down 7% to 9,100 tonnes.
Management reiterated 2026 guidance for continuing businesses, maintaining copper production guidance of 700-760 kt and an indicative unit cost of c.172 c/lb.
The company said it has resumed normal operations at Moranbah North, expects a sale of Steelmaking Coal to be agreed in Q2 2026, and that the proposed merger with Teck remains on track for a September 2026-March 2027 close subject to outstanding regulatory approvals, with Collahuasi's desalination plant on track to be fully operational by mid-2026.
