Glencore H1 2026 production: copper rises 15% as guidance holds

Glencore PLC has reported a strong first-half production performance, led by a 15% increase in own-sourced copper output and a meaningful reduction in copper unit costs.

The diversified miner and commodity marketer has maintained its full-year copper, zinc and nickel production guidance. It also expects Marketing Adjusted EBIT of around $3.3 billion for the half year.

Adjusted EBIT means earnings before interest and tax, excluding certain items management believes do not reflect underlying performance.

However, the update was not strong across every commodity. Cobalt production fell sharply due to export restrictions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, while zinc and steelmaking coal volumes were also materially lower.

Glencore's H1 production figures

Commodity	H1 2026	H1 2025	Change
Copper	397,000 tonnes	343,900 tonnes	15%
Cobalt	10,200 tonnes	18,900 tonnes	-46%
Zinc	365,600 tonnes	465,200 tonnes	-21%
Lead	83,800 tonnes	90,900 tonnes	-8%
Nickel	35,800 tonnes	36,600 tonnes	-2%
Gold	168,000 ounces	301,000 ounces	-44%
Silver	9.31 million ounces	9.10 million ounces	2%
Chrome ore	1.65 million tonnes	1.72 million tonnes	-4%
Steelmaking coal	13.5 million tonnes	15.7 million tonnes	-14%
Energy coal	47.4 million tonnes	48.3 million tonnes	-2%

The standout number is copper. Production increased by 53,100 tonnes year on year, mainly because of higher mining rates and improved grades at the African Copper operations, alongside higher grades at Antamina.

Those gains more than offset the effect of Mount Isa's planned copper mine closure in July 2025.

Copper guidance carries an underlying upgrade

Glencore retained its full-year copper guidance at 810,000 to 870,000 tonnes. Zinc guidance also remains at 700,000 to 740,000 tonnes, while nickel is unchanged at 70,000 to 80,000 tonnes.

That initially looks like a straightforward reiteration, but there is an important detail.

Glencore completed the sale of the Kidd mine on 1 June 2026. Previous guidance had included around 11,000 tonnes of copper and 20,000 tonnes of zinc from Kidd between June and December.

The company has not reduced guidance to reflect those lost volumes. Management therefore describes the unchanged copper and zinc ranges as an effective like-for-like increase in the guidance mid-points.

Commodity	Previous guidance	Current guidance	H1 weighting
Copper	810,000-870,000 tonnes	810,000-870,000 tonnes	47%
Zinc	700,000-740,000 tonnes	700,000-740,000 tonnes	51%
Nickel	70,000-80,000 tonnes	70,000-80,000 tonnes	48%
Steelmaking coal	30-34 million tonnes	30-32 million tonnes	44%
Energy coal	95-100 million tonnes	96-101 million tonnes	48%

This is encouraging, although copper output is weighted towards the second half. Glencore expects improved recoveries and mining performance at Collahuasi to support that stronger H2 profile.

Investors will therefore need to watch whether the expected operational improvement arrives on schedule.

Copper costs improved significantly

Copper operating assets recorded estimated net unit cash costs of 183.9 cents per pound, down from 225.1 cents per pound in H1 2025.

The African operations delivered the largest improvement, with unit costs falling from 353.4 cents to 221.8 cents per pound. South American costs declined more modestly, from 168.2 cents to 160.8 cents per pound.

Higher copper production helped spread costs across more tonnes. This was partly offset by higher input costs linked to the Middle East conflict, particularly for diesel, sulphuric acid, sulphur and freight.

The lower copper cost base is a clear positive because it can improve the resilience of the industrial business when commodity prices move against it. However, coal costs went in the opposite direction.

Steelmaking coal unit costs increased from $108.40 to $127.00 per tonne, while energy coal costs rose from $65.00 to $76.10 per tonne.

Cobalt and coal remain the weaker areas

Cobalt production dropped 46% to 10,200 tonnes, primarily because of the DRC government's ongoing export quota system.

Glencore said it is prioritising copper production and increasingly holding cobalt contained in mixed ore in solution rather than processing it into saleable cobalt hydroxide. The company expects that material to be processed and sold later as export regulations evolve, but the timing is not disclosed.

Steelmaking coal production fell 14% to 13.5 million tonnes due to lower output from EVR, where throughput and yields were weaker. Glencore expects these factors to normalise in H2, but it has narrowed full-year steelmaking coal guidance to 30-32 million tonnes from 30-34 million tonnes.

Energy coal guidance moved the other way, rising to 96-101 million tonnes from 95-100 million tonnes after improved Australian production.

Coal realised prices were stronger year on year. The average realised steelmaking coal price increased from $167.10 to $206.90 per tonne, while energy coal rose from $78.60 to $93.90 per tonne.

Marketing provides another source of strength

Glencore expects Marketing Adjusted EBIT of around $3.3 billion for H1 2026.

That is a substantial contribution and highlights the value of Glencore's combination of mining operations and commodity marketing activities. The full supporting financial detail was not disclosed in this production report, so investors will need to wait for the half-year results to assess cash flow and overall profitability.

This operational update sits alongside a broader set of UK industrial half-year announcements, including Weir Group's strong order performance and maintained guidance.

What matters for Glencore investors now

The report contains three main positives: copper production rose strongly, copper unit costs declined and Marketing Adjusted EBIT is expected to be around $3.3 billion.

Keeping copper and zinc guidance unchanged after selling Kidd also suggests better underlying expectations elsewhere in the portfolio.

The main reservations are the reliance on a stronger second half, higher coal costs and regulatory uncertainty affecting cobalt exports. Lower zinc and steelmaking coal production also show that Glencore's broad commodity exposure can create a mixed operational picture even when its most important assets perform well.

Overall, this was a solid first-half production update with copper doing much of the heavy lifting. The next test is whether Collahuasi and the coal operations deliver the expected H2 improvement while the Marketing division converts its strong trading performance into group cash generation.

Investors can read the original company announcement for the complete production tables and accompanying disclosures.