--- title: "Copper Prices Near Record High Amid Smelter Outages" publisher: "Stockmark.IT" author: "Stockmark.IT Website" published: "2026-08-12T06:47:15+00:00" modified: "2026-08-12T06:47:15+00:00" date: 2026-08-12 canonical: "https://stockmark.it/copper-price-back-at-records-edge-as-grasberg-smelter-halt-bites-alumi/" category: "global markets" categories: ["global markets", "Mining"] image: "https://i0.wp.com/stockmark.it/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/copper-prices-near-record-high-amid-smelter-outages.png?fit=1536%2C1024&quality=80&ssl=1" format: "news" language: "en-GB" --- # Copper Prices Near Record High Amid Smelter Outages **Published:** August 12, 2026 **Author:** Stockmark.IT Website **Categories:** global markets, Mining **Featured image:** ![Copper Prices Near Record High Amid Smelter Outages](https://i0.wp.com/stockmark.it/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/copper-prices-near-record-high-amid-smelter-outages.png?fit=1536%2C1024&quality=80&ssl=1) --- Copper prices advanced on Tuesday to within half a cent of their all-time peak as an interruption at the facility processing ore from the Grasberg mine intensified existing supply constraints that have kept London benchmark costs above $14,000 per tonne for many consecutive sessions. Meanwhile aluminium climbed to its highest level in seven weeks following a significant reduction in output by a Brazilian alumina plant. The September delivery contract on Comex reached $6.7005 per pound, or approximately $14,772 per tonne. This figure stood just four-tenths of a cent below the record high of $6.7045 established on August 5 before prices eased slightly to settle at $6.6360 for an increase of 0.3% during the day. Further out along the curve, contracts for delivery in the second half of 2027 traded above $7 per pound. On the London Metal Exchange, three-month copper remained largely unchanged at $14,195.50 a tonne. This left Comex premiums around $435 while cash metal settled $138 higher than the three-month contract on Monday. Analysts describe this as the widest premium for near-term deliveries since October and a clear indicator of physical scarcity in the market. Benchmark prices first surpassed the $14,000 threshold early this month. LME warehouse stocks declined by another 4,675 tonnes on Monday to reach 218,300 tonnes total. Buyers sourcing copper from the Gresik smelter in Indonesia were informed that operations would cease for assessment and repair over coming weeks after a boiler leak occurred on August 8. The plant processes ore from Grasberg and is operated by PT Smelting, which is jointly owned by Mitsubishi Materials and PT Freeport Indonesia. Mitsubishi confirmed that operations are suspended with no restart date decided yet. In contrast, Freeports own Manyar smelter in East Java is scheduled to resume production in September. The two facilities together are expected to produce close to 400,000 tonnes of cathode this year while the Grasberg mine recovers from a fatal mudslide last September and will not reach full capacity until late 2027. Aluminium rose as much as 1.9% in London before trading 1.7% higher at $3,373 per tonne after Norsk Hydro stated its Alunorte refinery in Brazil had cut output to half of normal capacity due to supplier disruptions regarding natural gas availability. Alumina futures closed 1% higher at 2,724 yuan a tonne in Shanghai. The Middle East accounts for roughly one tenth of global aluminium production and flows have been disrupted since the Iran war began draining LME inventories to about 255,000 tonnes which is the lowest level recorded since November 1990. Hydro warned last month that annual global shortfalls could widen beyond 900,000 tonnes if traffic through the Strait of Hormuz does not normalise. Elsewhere on the LME tin held near $55,750 a tonne for a projected gain in 2026 while zinc slipped to $3,728 and lead remained steady at $1,908. Nickel was down 1% at $16,782 with barely any change over the year. Freeport-McMoRan fell 3% in New York alongside declines for Lundin Mining of 3.8%, First Quantum Minerals of 1.8% and Vale which dropped 3.9%. Southern Copper was down 4.5% after going ex a stock split while Teck Resources fell 1.2% and Glencore added 0.6%. In Asia Zijin Mining shed 6% and Jiangxi Copper lost 3.5%. The S&P 500 dropped 0.3% with the materials sector easing by a similar margin. Copper is up nearly 18% in 2026 having gained roughly half its value over twelve months. --- **Original URL:** https://stockmark.it/copper-price-back-at-records-edge-as-grasberg-smelter-halt-bites-alumi/ *Created by [WP Markdown Endpoint](https://wpmarkdownendpoint.com/)*