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On February 28, the SMM Imported Copper Concentrate Index (weekly) was reported at -$14.4/mt, down $3.6/mt from the previous period's -$10.8/mt. The pricing coefficient for domestic ore with a grade of 20% was 93%-95%.
During the week, the center of spot copper concentrate transactions continued to decline. According to SMM, the tender result for the Red Chris mine was -$33, with shipments of 10,000 mt in Q1, 10,000 mt in Q2, and 20,000 mt in Q3. The tender for Carmen copper concentrates was at a mid-to-low level of -$30, with shipments of 20,000 mt in Q2. During the week, a trader sold 10,000 mt of Los Pelambres to a smelter at a mid-level price of -$10, with a loading period in late April to early May and a QP of M+5. A smelter purchased multiple shipments of packaged ore from a trader at a mid-to-high level processing fee of -$10 per mt, with quarterly shipments of 10,000 mt and a QP of M+5. The Payable threshold for Au was set at 0.7 g/t. A trader offered Carmen copper concentrates at a processing fee of nearly -$20, with a QP of M+5 and a loading period in April. Currently, some traders are holding copper concentrate positions, waiting for more favorable opportunities to sell.
On February 25, 2025, local time, Chile experienced a large-scale nationwide power outage, which had a certain negative impact on copper production in Chile. According to SMM, the nationwide power outage began at 3:00 PM local time on February 25, 2025, and power supply gradually resumed in various regions starting at 9:00 PM on the same day. Due to emergency power generation facilities at the mines, mining operations were not significantly affected. However, the electrolytic process at Chilean copper smelters may have been impacted by the outage, potentially affecting the quality of copper cathode.
According to SMM, Glencore's Philippine smelter Parsa announced plans to conduct maintenance work on the Leyte plant. During the maintenance period, Philippine workers will receive full compensation.
According to foreign media reports, on February 25, BHP stated that it would advance a $2 billion project to optimize the beneficiation plant at Escondida. This optimization is part of its ten-year investment plan, valued at $10.8 billion, announced in November 2024.
As of February 28, SMM's nine-port copper concentrate inventory stood at 660,800 mt, down 122,400 mt from the previous period. The main reduction came from Fangchenggang, where copper concentrate inventory decreased by 80,000 mt WoW.
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