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1) BHP Group, the world's largest miner, is looking to tighten its grip on the South American copper sector as it already holds a 5% stake in Canada's Filo Mining, which is developing the Filo del Sol copper-gold-silver project on the Argentinian- Chilean border. The company is looking towards Argentina as representatives have met with San Juan's governor to discuss possible investments in the province, which is recognized as a safe jurisdiction due to support both from the authorities and locals. We are focused on growing in America and, from that point of view, San Juan presents a great attraction in opportunities,” BHP’s VP Corporate Affairs Minerals Americas, René Muga said. BHP, as well as other mining giants, have been increasing exposure to the base metals, such as nickel and copper, which included BHP attempting to acquire OZ Minerals, the Australian mining company with huge projects that involve copper.
2) A $1.5 billion copper and cobalt pile is stranded in the Democratic Republic of Congo as it is in the crossfire of negotiations between China's CMOC Group and Congolese state-own partner over royalty payments. While the exports were blocked in July, the Tenke Fungurume mine has been running at full capacity simply stockpiling the metal. According to Bloomberg calculations and people familiar with the matter, there is about 120,000 tons of copper and around 12,500 tons of cobalt that is stuck in the country. Further problems can cause prices of the metals to swing as these matters don't get resolved, or more problems and challenges hit different suppliers. Right now, with the copper only representing only 7% of the global monthly production, it is unlikely that this singular problem will affect copper prices. However, when it comes to cobalt, the implications could be enormous. Tenke Fungurume accounts for about 15% of the global supply and the Congo as a whole is a bigger than that. Surprisingly, the market has handled this well, as the price has fell more than 60% from its peak, as the demand for cobalt in electronics has fallen and output elsewhere has increased. The release of the cobalt in inventory could send prices down even further.