The bell of the end of the 2025 decade is approaching, and the global mining industry is standing at a highly challenging crossroads. The energy transition is reshaping the value map of resources, the disputes over key minerals are increasingly prominent, and the major global economies are constantly deploying around resource security. The mining giants active on the international stage are also deploying actively to respond to and welcome the challenges of the new situation.

What are the international mining giants concerned about? What are the important plans and trends of the giants in 2026? Follow the mining industry to have a look!

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01 ZiJin Mining

As a leading enterprise in China's mining industry, in the third quarter of this year, Zijin Mining ranked among the top three in the "Global Mining Companies TOP50" list produced by Mining.com, following BHP and Rio Tinto.

In August this year, Zijin Mining analyzed in its semi-annual report that the current global geopolitical turmoil is intensifying, the "trade war" is shrouded in gloom, resource nationalism is on the rise, supply chain shocks are frequent, and metal mining companies are facing challenges such as a deteriorating investment environment, declining grades, and rising costs. The scarcity of high-quality mining assets is further highlighted. The rapid development of strategic emerging industries such as clean energy transition and artificial intelligence, as well as the new demand for mineral resources raw materials generated by the adjustment of domestic industrial structure, further restructuring the global mineral resources pattern. Gold has become the main outlet for market risk aversion and inflation response, and its value is supported by multiple factors, and is being re-evaluated. Copper, as the "metal of the future", is increasingly prominent in the process of clean energy transition. The situation of lithium overcapacity is difficult to improve in the short term, and patience is needed to wait for the clearance of capacity. Traditional industrial metals have passed the peak demand of the industrialization process, and prices continue to be under pressure.

Zijin Mining adheres to the dual - drive of mineral resource exploration and mergers and acquisitions. In terms of prospecting and reserve increase, in the first half of the year, the northeast ore section of the Zijinshan mining area completed assessment and filing. A cumulative copper resource volume of 1.33 million tons and a molybdenum resource volume of 90,000 tons were explored, which is the largest porphyry - type copper - molybdenum deposit explored in Fujian Province in the past 20 years. Exploration of the Mag Copper - Gold Mine in Serbia, the Norton Gold Fields in Australia, and supplementary exploration of the Rosebel Gold Mine in Suriname and the Buriticá Gold Mine in Colombia have achieved remarkable results. In terms of mergers and acquisitions, the company completed the acquisition of control of Zangge Mining, adding strategic potassium resource reserves; completed the delivery of the Akyem Gold Mine in Ghana and the RG Gold Mine in Kazakhstan, successively acquiring world - class operating gold mines overseas.

Based on the announcement of Zijin Mining in 2024 titled "Announcement on the Planning of Main Mineral Products' Production in the Next Five Years (to 2028)" and other disclosed information, the company has the following important plans:

In terms of production, it is planned to produce 1.22 million tons of mineral copper, 85 tons of mineral gold, 5 million tons of mineral zinc/lead, 5,000 tons of mineral silver, and 100,000 tons of lithium (LCE) in 2025; it is planned to achieve 1.5-1.6 million tons of mineral copper, 100-110 tons of mineral gold, 55-60 million tons of mineral zinc/lead, 600-700 tons of mineral silver, and 250,000-300,000 tons of lithium (LCE) by 2028.
In terms of projects, the Manono lithium mine in the northeast of the DRC is scheduled to be completed and put into production by June 30, 2026; the second phase of the giant dragon copper mine is being comprehensively promoted, and it is expected to be completed and put into production by the end of 2025, while the third phase is being promoted; the living area, beneficiation plant, and tailings reservoir of the Zuno copper mine have been fully started in the first half of 2025, and it is planned to be completed and put into production by the end of 2026; the Saez copper technology transformation project has changed from fill mining method to collapse mining method, and the new beneficiation plant is expected to be completed and put into production by June 2027.

02 Glencore

Recently, Glencore announced a long-term expansion plan, hoping to double its copper production in the next 10 years, and increase its copper production to about 1.6 million tons by 2035. At the same time, the company's CEO, Gary Nagle, said that Glencore's goal is to become the "world's largest copper producer". According to the data, Glencore is currently the sixth largest copper producer in the world.

This is information disclosed by Glencore at its Capital Markets Day on December 3. It is understood that the company is optimistic about the copper market and believes that the current mining market, especially the copper market, is facing long-term structural changes. The company's senior management pointed out that the copper price reached a historical high at the end of 2025 (breaking through the $11,400 per ton), and the fundamental reason is that the market generally expects a long-term, structural supply shortage in the future, which is mainly driven by the global energy transition (electrification), the expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure and the growth of electric vehicle demand.

With the market having experienced a significant tightening, the time is right to approve new mine projects, said Greg Nagle. Glencore believes the industry has entered a "super cycle" that requires large-scale new capacity additions to meet future demand. Despite the impact of the Collahuasi copper mine accident in Chile, the company has lowered its copper production forecast for 2026 to 8.1-8.7 million tons from the previous 9.3 million tons, but Glencore has set long-term growth targets:

Cu production is expected to increase, reaching about 1 million tons by 2028 and 1.6 million tons by 2035.
The Alumbrera copper mine in Argentina will be restarted in the fourth quarter of 2026, and the first production will start in the first half of 2028. After full operation, it is expected to produce approximately 75,000 tons of copper, 317,000 ounces of gold, and 1,000 tons of molybdenum annually within four years. It is a key supporting project for achieving the target of 1 million tons in 2028.
The construction of the Argentine MARA project, adjacent to Alumbrera, is planned, and it is expected to join the top 25 global copper producers after commissioning, with an average annual copper production of over 200,000 tons (including by-products) in the first ten years, which is an important part of the company's 16 million tons target by 2035.
It plans to invest $13.5 billion in the next decade in the two major projects of Argentina, Alumbrera and Mara.
Zinc production is expected to decline to 7.0-7.4 million tons in 2026, due to the lower production of Antamina project and various mines depletion, and is expected to stabilize at around 7.2 million tons/year.
Cobalt is expected to produce 3.5-40,000 tons in 2026, and nickel is expected to produce 7-80,000 tons in 2026, the former has declined, and the latter has increased.
Coking coal production is expected to be about 300-340 million tons in 2026, basically the same as in 2025; the production of thermal coal is expected to be 950-100 million tons in 2026, and the production will remain stable in the next ten years, but it will start to gradually decrease ten years later.

03 British and American resources

Duncan Wanblad, CEO of Anglo American Resources Group, elaborated on the current mining situation in several official reports. He believes that the global mining industry is in a phase of transformation and coexisting opportunities, and the demand for copper, as a key mineral for global economic development and the decarbonization of the electrical process, will continue to grow robustly. The supply side, however, is facing constraints such as extended permit approval processes, and the scarcity of high-quality copper mine resources is increasingly apparent. At the same time, there is a structural differentiation in the core commodity sector, with copper and high-quality iron ore businesses showing robust operational resilience and profitability, while the diamond market is facing the challenge of a sluggish trading environment.

This diversified mining company believes that the core trend of current mining development is the optimization and focus of the portfolio. By divesting non-core businesses and integrating high-quality assets, it is possible to improve the operational efficiency and cash flow level of the enterprise, and better grasp the key mineral development opportunities brought by the energy transition.

At present, BHP Billiton is focusing on copper, iron ore and agricultural nutrition products as the company's pillar industries, committed to simplifying the investment structure, and the nickel, platinum group metals, diamonds and coking coal businesses are being divested, of which the nickel business has reached a sale agreement, the Unita Platinum Group has been spun off, the De Beers Group's divestment is being promoted, and a sale agreement for the coking coal business has also been reached.

Like Glencore, Anglo American's copper production for the first three quarters of 2025 fell by 9% year-on-year due to the Collahuasi copper mine accident in Chile (the Collahuasi copper mine is jointly operated by Glencore and Anglo American, with each holding 44% of the shares, and the Japanese trading company Mitsubishi Corporation holding 12% of the shares), but the company still maintained its copper production forecast for 2025, expecting an annual copper production of 6.9-7.5 million tons, while also raising its iron ore production forecast from the previous 57-61 million tons to 58-62 million tons.

The company is reviewing its copper production plans for 2026, having previously hoped to boost Chile's copper output from 3.8-4.1 million tons in 2025 to 4.7 million tons, which now appears to be below expectations, and it is expected that normal production can be restored in 2027.

In terms of project progress, the Quellaveco copper mine in Peru plans to invest $260 million for upgrading and renovation, with a 2025 production guidance of 31-340,000 tons; the Los Bronces copper mine in Chile is evaluating the restart of the second concentrator to make up for the production gap of Collahuasi, and the relevant decision is expected to be announced in 2026.
The "equity combination" with Tek Resources has been approved by shareholders of both companies and is expected to be completed in 2026. This transaction, the second largest in mining history, will create one of the world's largest copper producers, with a value of $50 billion, and will achieve economies of scale and cost synergies.

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