Copper climbs after strike shuts Chilean mine

Copper prices firmed on Friday after Capstone Copper said that a workers' strike had forced a production halt at its Mantoverde mine in Chile.

The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) closed daytime trading up 0.64% at 101,340 yuan ($14,553.65) a metric ton, but ended the week down 0.52%.

The benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange gained 1.30% to $12,921.50 a ton as of 0700 GMT and was set to end the week up 0.93%. The strike began after the mine's largest workers' union and Capstone failed to reach a collective bargaining agreement. The company on Thursday said a takeover of the mine's desalination plant began last Sunday, leading to disruptions.

The mine was forecast to produce between 29,000 and 32,000 metric tons of copper cathodes in 2025. Meanwhile, copper miner Freeport-McMoRan said on Thursday that it expected about 85% of production at its flagship Grasberg mine, the world's second-biggest copper mine, to be back online by the second half of this year. A deadly mudflow killed several workers and shut the mine in October, sparking supply fears and triggering a copper rally.

The dollar index registered its biggest one-day fall in six weeks on Thursday, making greenback-denominated commodities cheaper for investors using other currencies. Anxieties over Greenland also faded after U.S. President Donald Trump walked back on tariff threats against European goods and ruled out taking over the island by force.

Elsewhere, tin and nickel led the gains on both the London and Shanghai exchanges. Indonesia's recent move to reduce 2026 nickel ore mining quotas, as well as a military-backed crackdown on illegal mining activities, continued to unnerve the industry.

The most-active tin on SHFE jumped 4.60% to 428,740 yuan a ton, and the Shanghai nickel climbed 3.99% to 148,010 yuan.

The London benchmark tin rose 3.71% to $53,800 a ton, and nickel increased 3.94% to $18,705.

Among other SHFE base metals, aluminium rose 1.12%, zinc added 0.94% and lead nudged 0.03% lower.

LME aluminium added 0.40%, zinc rose 0.87% and lead was up 0.30%.