With cobalt exports from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) set to resume in a few days’ time, the LME Week event in London has so far served as a mixing pot for opinions on how far the current price rally could go and the blue metal’s long-term future – from a perspective of both upstream DRC policy and downstream battery chemistry.

Saudi Arabia’s ambition to become a global mining powerhouse is no longer only a vision; it is now a sprint. Robert Wilt, chief executive officer of Maaden, outlined the company’s rapid transformation into one of the world’s largest diversified miners, driven by speed, scale and technology.

Freeport’s 2026 copper concentrate contracts introduce a higher floor-cap pricing structure that redefines industry benchmarks. The negotiations highlight broader shifts in global copper supply, smelting economics and pricing frameworks.

Trafigura chief executive officer Richard Holtum's closing message onstage at the LME metals seminar was that processing capacity was more important than mining for national security

The London Metal Exchange (LME) has set out its plan to launch low-carbon base metals price premiums for nickel, aluminium, zinc and copper in a white paper published on Monday October 13.

The DRC’s export quota system has tightened cobalt supply, driving price volatility and prompting shifts in sourcing strategies across the global market.

LME Week 2025 opens for the lithium market amid rising uncertainty over China’s new export controls on battery materials, and a shifting outlook for domestic supply from lepidolite and salt-lake projects

The effect of the fatal rock burst at Codelco’s flagship El Teniente mine will be greater than initially expected, with copper production losses now forecast to reach 48,000 tonnes in 2025, the Chilean producer’s chairman has said.

The copper concentrates benchmark faces historic uncertainty as market participants gather for LME Week 2025, with potential for negative treatment and refining charges and growing regional divergence shaping the next phase of copper pricing.

LME Week 2025 arrives amid supply disruptions, evolving carbon policies and tariff tensions that continue to reshape the copper, aluminium and zinc markets.