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CESCO 2026 – Key Copper messages from Santiago
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Report summary
CESCO 2026 revealed a copper market that remains tight, but increasingly exposed to political decisions outside the traditional mining narrative. Supply fundamentals support prices; yet, inputs, geopolitics and policy risk are stretching the system. This does not yet feel like a turning point, but discussions in Santiago suggested the next phase will be driven less by geology and more by geopolitics. What to watch next is where political attention turns if there is progress in the Middle East. Cuba, Greenland and tariffs were all mentioned quietly in side conversations. Tariffs on refined copper remain the most immediate and actionable risk, with market behaviour already reflecting that possibility.
Table of contents
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We are all sulphuric acid market specialists now
- 1) Sulphuric acid is no longer a footnote – it is a binding constraint
- 2) TCRCs: still grinding, not yet breaking
- 3) Demand risk is being debated louder than it’s being felt
- 4) High prices cut both ways
- 5) Tariffs remain the structural wild card
- 6) Argentina is back on the map, but confidence remains conditional
- Bottom line
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