Copper prices have surged 35% in 2025 to above $11,800/t as traders diverted an estimated 730,000–830,000 t into CME-deliverable US warehouses in October alone to pre-empt possible Trump tariffs of up to 15%, leaving this “economically trapped” metal tightening ex-US markets and inflating premiums. Prolonged disruptions at Grasberg, Kamoa-Kakula, El Teniente and Teck’s QB2, plus grade decline and slow ramp-ups at Collahuasi and Los Bronces, are constraining concentrate supply. BloombergNEF projects energy-transition demand could push copper into structural deficit from 2026, with a potential 19 Mt gap by 2050 without major new projects and recycling.

Byrnecut is marking 15 years at the Jabal Sayid underground copper mine near Medina, where it has managed ramp and decline development, longhole stoping and paste backfill under a life-of-mine contract with Ma’aden Barrick Copper Company. The contractor’s scope has expanded from initial access and infrastructure development to full production mining, fleet maintenance and training of a largely Saudi workforce, supporting output from multiple ore lenses down to more than 1,000 m depth. Its long-term presence signals continued reliance on international underground specialists as Saudi Arabia courts new greenfield projects ahead of the 2026 Future Minerals Forum.

McLanahan is promoting compact process solutions such as its recessed-plate filter presses and QUICKCHANGE filter cloth system to lift plant efficiency and reduce tailings water loss in existing mines. The QUICKCHANGE design allows individual cloths to be swapped without removing the plate pack, cutting press downtime, manual handling and confined-space exposure during maintenance. For brownfield operations constrained by legacy footprints and power limits, the company is positioning modular dewatering and screening units as bolt-on upgrades rather than full plant rebuilds.