Canadian copper miner, First Quantum Minerals reported net earnings attributable to shareholders of $136-million in the second quarter, a sharp turnaround from the $18-million profit posted during the same period last year, as stronger copper sales and higher realised prices helped the company recover from the prolonged shutdown of its flagship Cobre Panamá mine.

The Toronto-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, generated gross profit of $297-million and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of $400-million in the three months ended June 30.

Revenue rose to $1.52-billion, up from $1.23-billion a year earlier. Copper production reached 100,487 tonnes, a 4% increase year-on-year driven by higher output at Zambia’s Sentinel mine and 3,216 tonnes from stockpile processing at Cobre Panamá.

The headline profit, however, masks underlying strain. The company recorded an adjusted loss of $106-million, or $0.13 per share, after excluding a $271-million gain on the disposal of group companies and a $50-million foreign exchange gain. EBITDA included $164-million in realised losses under the company’s copper sales hedge programme and a $51-million negative contribution from Cobre Panamá related to preservation and safe-management costs.

First Quantum has been processing stockpiled ore at Cobre Panamá since April, after the Panamanian government granted authorisation to mitigate environmental and operational risks associated with prolonged on-site storage.

One of the mine’s three milling circuits has been successfully recommissioned, achieving first concentrate production earlier than expected.

The stockpile is estimated at approximately 38-million tonnes of mineralised ore containing about 70,000 tonnes of recoverable copper—sufficient to support around 12 months of processing at current rates.

“During the second quarter, we continued to deliver steady operations and we remain well positioned for improved production for the second half of the year with continued strong performance from the S3 circuit at Kansanshi, debottlenecking work at Sentinel and the processing of stockpiled ore at Cobre Panamá,” Chief Executive Officer Tristan Pascall said in a statement.

The S3 expansion circuit at the Kansanshi copper mine in Zambia continues to deliver throughput above design capacity, achieving a record monthly processing rate in May since its commissioning in August last year. The company also closed the sale of its Çayeli mine and Cobre Las Cruces project during the quarter.

First Quantum remains on track to meet its full-year guidance of between 405,000 and 475,000 tonnes of copper, between 150,000 and 175,000 ounces of gold and between 30,000 and 40,000 tonnes of nickel.

“With our hedging program concluded, we are once again fully exposed to copper prices,” Pascall said. “Alongside stronger production, this will position the Company for improved free cash flow generation at current copper prices.”

A comprehensive audit of Cobre Panamá conducted by SGS Panama Control Services and published on June 19, 2026, showed an overall compliance score of 87.7%, with the mine meeting 361 out of 370 environmental and social impact assessment commitments.

“In Panama, we are encouraged by the progress achieved during the quarter, notably the release of the final audit report and the formation of the inter-institutional ministerial committee to review its findings,” Pascall said. “The final audit reported that the mine is broadly compliant, achieving an overall rating of 87.7%. 361 out of 370 commitments were fulfilled with only seven areas being in partial compliance with no areas fundamentally absent.”

A final decision on the future of the mine remains pending with the government of Panama.