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China’s antitrust regulator has asked Anglo American to commit to a steady supply of copper concentrate to Chinese buyers as a condition for approving its proposed $54 billion merger with Teck Resources, according to three people familiar with the discussions. The request adds a supply-related hurdle to a deal that the companies expect to complete by March 2027.
The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) is seeking assurances that cover concentrate sold through traders as well as direct sales, the people told Reuters on October 2. The regulator has received feedback from Chinese smelters and is negotiating remedies in response, one person said. The specific volumes, duration and other terms under discussion have not been disclosed.
Anglo American said it was making “good progress” toward completing the transaction and working constructively with SAMR through its review process. Teck declined to comment on the regulatory discussions, while SAMR did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.
Supply commitments are at the center of the review
The reported request concerns copper concentrate, the partially processed material mined copper producers sell to smelters for refining. It is distinct from a proposed asset sale: the people familiar with the discussions said the remedies sought do not currently include divestments.
China’s position matters because it is a major buyer of copper from both companies and a significant center of global refining. Reuters reported that Chinese smelters process as much as 60% of the world’s copper cathodes and are facing a severe shortage of the raw material they need to keep operating.
Chinese refined-copper output is expected to grow this year at its slowest pace since at least 2000, analysts told Reuters. Smelters are competing for concentrate, while lower prices for sulphuric acid—a byproduct of the refining process—are also weighing on their profitability.
Anglo’s concentrate is sold to buyers across regions
Much of Anglo American’s copper production from Peru and Chile is sold as unrefined concentrate to international customers, including smelters in China, Japan and Europe. The regulator’s request, as described by the sources, would therefore concern how the merged company directs some of those sales, including transactions made through intermediaries.
Reuters cited industry analysts who warned that directing more material to China under binding destination terms could reduce concentrate available to other buyers. They said this could put additional pressure on some Western processing facilities already facing higher costs. They also suggested such clauses could encourage a move away from annual benchmark pricing toward prices linked more closely to spot-market indexes; that is a potential industry effect, not a confirmed condition of the merger.
Deal remains subject to China’s clearance
Anglo American and Teck announced their merger agreement in 2025. The companies describe it as a merger of equals that would create a Canada-headquartered mining group and a top-five global copper producer. Their public merger materials say the combined group is expected to have more than 70% exposure to copper.
According to the Reuters report, regulators in the jurisdictions where the companies operate have approved the transaction except for China. The combined company would account for about 5% of global copper supply, a share below competition thresholds of roughly 10% to 15% cited in the report. The supply assurances now under discussion indicate that the review is not limited to assessing market concentration.
Anglo American’s stated position is that discussions with SAMR are progressing, but it has not publicly detailed any proposed commitments. Until the regulator completes its review and the companies disclose further terms, it remains unclear what level of supply China is seeking or whether the two parties will agree to the requested conditions.
Critical-minerals deals face supply scrutiny
The talks reflect a broader pattern in which governments consider access to strategic materials during large corporate transactions. Reuters reported that executives at Glencore, Anglo American and Rio Tinto have said antitrust reviews and national-interest concerns are becoming more prominent in deals involving copper and other critical minerals.
A separate Anglo American transaction illustrates how supply assurances can arise in regulatory reviews: the European Commission has warned Hong Kong-listed MMG over concerns about ferronickel supplies to Europe following Anglo’s sale of its nickel assets to the company. MMG has said it is proposing long-term supply commitments for European markets. That case is separate from SAMR’s review of the Anglo–Teck merger.
