Antofagasta, Anglo, Glencore, Fresnillo: Why These Miners Just Tanked
Dear reader,
What a week it has been! In a market where people are selling there are others who are buying.
Heavy losses across the board on Friday, 4 April 2025, with mining and energy stocks hit particularly hard. Some of the biggest fallers included:
Antofagasta (-9.35%)
A pure-play copper miner, with around 90% of revenue from copper. Its operations in Chile make it highly sensitive to copper prices and Chinese demand.Anglo American (-8.56%)
More diversified, but still reliant on copper as a growth driver. Its massive Quellaveco project in Peru adds to its copper weighting.Glencore (-9.16%)
A global commodity trader and miner, with big positions in copper and cobalt. Its trading arm is vulnerable to any disruption in global commodity flows.Fresnillo (-10.65%)
Primarily focused on silver and gold. While not a base metal miner, Fresnillo was swept up in the risk-off move across the sector — particularly given its exposure to Mexico.
For mining giants like Antofagasta and Anglo American, which are heavily exposed to copper, the reaction was swift. Copper prices tumbled on concerns that a slowdown in Chinese demand could follow, as tariffs would likely hit China’s export-led economy and infrastructure investment — both major drivers of copper consumption.
Glencore also took a hit, as its copper and broader commodity trading operations are highly sensitive to global trade flows.
Even Fresnillo, though more focused on silver and gold, wasn't immune — investor sentiment turned risk-averse across the sector, especially in emerging markets like Mexico and Chile, where many of these mines are located.
With share prices down sharply, investors will naturally ask: Is this a buying opportunity?
Glencore insiders appear to see value at these levels:
Steven Kalmin, Chief Financial Officer, acquired 588,498 shares at £2.33 on 4 April 2025
Martin Gilbert, Non-Executive Director, purchased 5,000 shares at £2.32 on the same day
These are not expensive stocks — and some are trading at multi-year lows in terms of EV/EBITDA and P/E multiples. However, cheap can get cheaper if earnings expectations fall further. The risk here is that tariffs slow global growth, dampen demand, and compress margins — especially in higher-cost operations.
Still, for income-seeking portfolios, companies like Glencore and Anglo American offer compelling yield support. That could act as a floor in more income-focused UK mandates, especially if we see stability in commodity prices.
It’s easy to forget amidst the sell-off, but the longer-term fundamentals for copper remain compelling:
Electric vehicles use 2.5x more copper than petrol cars.
Grid upgrades and renewable energy infrastructure are highly copper-intensive.
Global supply is constrained. No major new copper discoveries have been brought online at scale in years. Permitting remains slow. ESG standards are rising.
In other words: demand is sticky, but supply isn’t scalable. This is precisely why copper is often called the "metal of electrification" — and why names like Antofagasta and Anglo American still command serious investor attention, even after a sell-off.
What happened on Friday was sharp, but not irrational. Investors are responding to risk — both political and macroeconomic. But volatility often brings opportunity, especially when it forces high-quality names to trade at distressed multiples.
In the coming weeks, markets will be watching:
Any U.S.–China dialogue or shift in rhetoric from Trump’s campaign
Chinese economic data (especially infrastructure and property investment)
Copper inventories and spot prices
Institutional fund moves — are long-only managers stepping back in?
Have a Great rest of the weekend!
Ollz
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