High Grade Basic Materials Weekly: Week ended May 15, 2026

Research evidence excerpt

High Grade Basic Materials Weekly: Week ended May 15, 2026

osphate markets, management sees strip

margins increasingly pressured by increasing raw material costs, namely sulfur, while 40 30

global demand is constrained by available supply. MOS sees cautious purchasing in the 20

Americas offset by stronger demand in Asia, particularly India whose government has 100

signaled continuing subsidy support. Potash on the other hand, remains more balanced Paper Building Metals Basics Corp Chems

while pricing has increased through the North American planting season. Source: ICE Data Indices, LLC

BofA GLOBAL RESEARCH

BofA’s Global Metals, Mining & Steel conference

This week, BofA hosted its 43rd Global Metals, Mining & Steel conference. We highlight

our North American equity team’s Day 1 and Day 2 takeaways and our Global equity Exhibit 2: YTD Excess Return (bps)

team’s Day 1 and Day 2 takeaways. Notably, Freeport McMoRan (FCX) affirmed the Basic materials outperformed YTD

ramp-up timeline of its Grasberg mining district, which was recently updated at 1Q26 150

earnings. Management targets ~60-65% capacity in 2H26, ~80% by mid-2027, and full 100

capacity by YE27. Regarding copper broadly, management sees current disruptions 0

impacting ~6-7% of supply vs ~5% historically, driven less by labor/community issues Building Corp Paper Metals Basics Chems

and more by technical challenges. Separately, Anglo American (AALLN) expects its Source: ICE Data Indices, LLC

merger with Teck Resources (TCKBCN) to close between 4Q26-1Q27. Regarding QB2, BofA GLOBAL RESEARCH

AALLN sees the issues as fixable and drew comparisons to AALN’s ramp-up of

Quellaveco. Further, management provided it expects to provide an update on its coal

divestiture later this quarter.