Chile’s state copper commission Cochilco has slashed 2026 mine output forecasts to 4.94 Mt from 5.27 Mt and cut 2027 guidance to 5.08 Mt, while lifting its 2027 price outlook 17% to $5.95/lb as Escondida, Spence and Codelco-driven grade decline, maintenance and interruptions deepen an 8.4% national production drop. Refined copper surpluses are now put at just 144,000 t in 2026 and 215,000 t in 2027 (0.5–0.8% of consumption), with Cochilco warning that a 1% demand surprise would flip 2027 into a 65,000 t deficit. Tightness is already visible in physical markets, with Yangshan premiums at $205/t, LME cash trading $210/t over three-month, and Shanghai Futures Exchange stocks down 18% to 44,612 t.

Global mining equities have shed $712 billion since February’s $2.75 trillion peak, with the MINING.COM TOP 50 now down 26% and October alone erasing $226 billion as higher US rate expectations, Middle East-driven oil gains and a tech-stock rout forced fund de-risking. Gold fell 6.6% in October to $3,884/oz and silver 18.2% to $49.39/oz, wiping $55 billion from 16 gold miners, while copper producers lost $69 billion despite copper holding near $6.47/lb and the World Bank lifting its 2027 forecast to $13,000/t. Trading volumes also thinned sharply, with only 12% of TOP 50 market value turning over in October versus 18–19% earlier in the year, signalling buyers stepping back rather than capitulation selling.

Nouveau Monde Graphite has secured Mining Lease No. 1057 from Quebec’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests for its Matawinie project, granting rights to mine the Metawinie graphite deposit about 120 km north of Montreal. The open-pit operation is planned to produce up to 106,000 tonnes of graphite concentrate per year, positioning it as the largest graphite mine in the G7, and follows a 2021 BAPE environmental and social impact authorisation plus an Impact Benefit Agreement with the Atikamekw First Nation of Manawan. Construction-phase measures include onsite water reuse, biodiversity protection and co-disposal of tailings and waste rock, although MiningWatch Canada has raised concerns over reported heavy metal concentrations in nearby waterways.