The decline valued the London-listed company at nearly £33 billion ($44 billion). Analysts said the outlook could lead to mid-single-digit reductions in 2027 EBITDA estimates.
Antofagasta expects to produce 630,000 to 690,000 tonnes of copper in 2027, compared with its previous range of 650,000 to 700,000 tonnes. The midpoint is also below BMO Capital Markets’ 703,000-tonne estimate. The company attributed the range to higher grades at Los Pelambres, partly offset by lower grades at Centinela Concentrates.
The company maintained its 2026 production guidance at 625,000 to 655,000 tonnes, after cutting the previous 650,000-to-700,000-tonne range earlier in the year. Los Pelambres was temporarily shut in July after severe weather in Chile’s Coquimbo region, which the government declared a state of catastrophe. Antofagasta said operations resumed in an orderly manner, while repairs were required for some pipeline platforms and water-management systems.
Third-quarter copper production rose 7% from the previous quarter to 151,900 tonnes, driven by stronger output at Los Pelambres and the release of concentrate held back during second-quarter pipeline maintenance.
Net cash-cost guidance remained $1.
The company said its major growth projects at Centinela and Los Pelambres remain on schedule to complete construction and commissioning in 2027. At Centinela’s Second Concentrator Project, the primary crusher and overland conveyor entered initial pre-commissioning operations, while testing progressed across the material-handling circuit.
At Los Pelambres, hydraulic testing began on the lower section of a new concentrate pipeline and preparations continued for hydrostatic testing on the upper section. Pre-commissioning work also advanced at the desalination-plant expansion, alongside electrical-cabling installation and equipment work at the pumping station. At the Zaldívar Water Supply project, construction camps were being built, pipeline materials received and initial civil works begun for a high-voltage transmission line.
Antofagasta said the Centinela and Los Pelambres projects are collectively expected to increase copper production by 30% once commissioned. The next company update on 2027 cash-cost and capital-expenditure guidance is scheduled for the fourth-quarter 2026 production report in January 2027.