Average realized price for copper jumped about 26% to $3.42 per pound, while sales stood at 80,000 tonnes compared with 75,000 tonnes a year earlier.

The copper-silver project in northeastern Colombia now covers over 2,500 square kilometres, with a cumulative 220-kilometre strike of prospective copper-silver mineralization.

Any move to renegotiate agreements will trigger pushback by miners wary of threats to their profit margins, experts said.

RTEC drilling at Forum Energy Metals' 100% owned copper-silver project in Saskatchewan.

Zambia became Africa's first pandemic-era sovereign default in November.

Top producer China dipped but from high levels, satellite service SAVANT and broker Marex Spectron said in a joint statement.

It is possible another supercycle is now underway but it would be arriving unusually quickly.