- Write by:
-
Friday, December 1, 2023 - 20:45:32
-
198 Visit
-
Print
Mining News Pro - Global miners on Friday reached agreements with Chinese smelters for a lower copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) for 2024, the first drop in three years, sources familiar with the matter said.
Miner Antofagasta agreed with Chinese smelters, including China’s biggest smelters, for January-December 2024 treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) at $80 a metric ton and 8 cents per pound, four sources said.
Freeport-McMoRan also reached a deal with top Chinese smelter Jiangxi Copper at the same level for full calendar year in 2024, said Javier Targhetta, senior vice president for marketing and sales at Freeport.
“The settlement reflects well what the market will look like in 2024, which is always the top principle of our negotiations,” Targhetta said.
The deals reached on Friday effectively made $80/8 cents the benchmark for 2024 that is expected to be followed by other smelters and miners in the industry.
Concentrate treatment and refining charges form a key component of copper smelters’ income for converting copper concentrate into metal, which typically fall and squeeze smelters’ profit margins when concentrate supply is tight.
First Quantum takes Panama to international court
Smelters have been under increasing pressure amid supply uncertainty from a mine in Panama, after the country’s president directed the mine to be shut down.
“We accepted the offer as prices might get worse if the negotiation gets delayed,” a source at a Chinese smelter said.
Jiangxi Copper Co, Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group and China Copper, the three biggest Chinese copper smelters, were not immediately available for comment.
Antofagasta said it does not comment on copper negotiations.
Talks between smelters and miners this year dragged on longer due to split views on whether there will be a shortage or a surplus market of copper concentrate in 2024.
Last month, smelters were looking for higher fees from miner Freeport-McMoRan Inc, above those agreed between Antofagasta and Jinchuan which fell short of what the smelters expected.
Short Link:
https://www.miningnews.ir/En/News/627717
![Copper price set for worst week since 2022 as China Plenum disappoints](/Incsys/Photo.aspx?image=/Uploads/News/20240723142415052.jpeg&width=236&height=180)
Copper prices have retreated from a record in May on concerns about the strength of demand in China, where growth was ...
![Copper output from Codelco this year to top 2023, chairman says](/Incsys/Photo.aspx?image=/Uploads/News/20240723141842581.jpg&width=236&height=180)
Codelco chairman Maximo Pacheco said on Thursday that the state-run copper giant expects production this year to outdo ...
![China copper smelters eye more output cuts as raw material supply tightens](/Incsys/Photo.aspx?image=/Uploads/News/20240723141202374.jpeg&width=236&height=180)
A shortage of copper concentrate this year has forced a few smelters in China to cut output, and more curtailments could ...
![Mercedes, Stellantis in talks to back Serbia’s lithium plans](/Incsys/Photo.aspx?image=/Uploads/News/20240723140454191.jpg&width=236&height=180)
Mercedes-Benz Group AG and Stellantis NV are in discussions with Serbia’s government to invest in lithium-processing and ...
![China copper smelters plan to cut output after margins fall](/Incsys/Photo.aspx?image=/Uploads/News/20240723135544917.jpg&width=236&height=180)
Two Chinese copper smelters have laid out plans to reduce production next year as an imbalance between mine supply and ...
![Copper price edges down to two-week low amid demand uncertainty](/Incsys/Photo.aspx?image=/Uploads/News/20240723135256664.jpeg&width=236&height=180)
Copper edged down to a two-week low in choppy trading, amid uncertainty over supply and demand in China and weakness in ...
![Antofagasta expects 2024 copper output at low end of yearly forecast](/Incsys/Photo.aspx?image=/Uploads/News/20240723135052294.jpg&width=236&height=180)
Chilean miner Antofagasta said on Wednesday it expects full-year copper output at the lower end of its 670,000 to ...
![BHP posts second straight year of record iron ore production](/Incsys/Photo.aspx?image=/Uploads/News/20240723134042848.jpg&width=236&height=180)
BHP Group on Wednesday reported record annual iron ore production for a second consecutive year, helped by improved ...
![Vale sees iron ore output at high-end of 2024 guidance after Q2 rise](/Incsys/Photo.aspx?image=/Uploads/News/20240723133722176.jpg&width=236&height=180)
Brazilian miner Vale SA expressed confidence on Tuesday that it would reach the high-end of its 2024 guidance for iron ...
No comments have been posted yet ...