CMOC bets on copper growth, maintains cobalt target

Major Chinese miner CMOC Group Ltd. plans copper growth of up to double digits in 2026 after a price rally lifted profit, while maintaining guidance after record cobalt output.

Copper output is seen at 760,000 tons to 820,000 tons this year, rising as much as 11% from last year, the Henan-based miner said in an exchange filing on Thursday.

Copper prices have repeatedly climbed to records since late last year amid concern that supply will lag demand for the metal, which is critical to electrification as well as traditional manufacturing and construction. The higher prices helped boost the company’s net income by about half to as much as 20.8 billion yuan ($3 billion) last year, it said in a separate statement, citing preliminary results.

Zijin Mining Group Co., a larger Chinese peer, is also targeting similar growth with output seen at 1.2 million tons amid a domestic mining expansion.

Meanwhile, CMOC kept cobalt guidance at 100,000 tons to 120,000 tons this year following a record output of 117,549 tons in 2025, all from its operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which produces cobalt as a byproduct.

The milestone came despite Congo’s move to curb exports of the metal, used in batteries and aerospace and defense industries, to rein in oversupply and support prices.

The nation, which accounts for about three-quarters of global cobalt output, banned shipments in February and introduced a new quota system from mid-October. CMOC — the world’s largest cobalt miner — is expected to be able to export 31,200 tons of the material in 2026, in addition to the quota granted last year after delays.

Prices of cobalt hydroxide have soared by 345% since February, while a benchmark measure of the metal has more than doubled.

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