SHANGHAI, Mar. 18 (SMM) – TCs of domestic zinc concentrate should fall in the near term, SMM says, citing low goods availability for Chinese zinc smelters.

“Imported ore barely has any price advantage for now, while some regions in China suffer from tightness of zinc concentrate,” one SMM zinc analyst explained.

SMM understands TCs of domestic zinc concentrate were lowered for some zinc smelters in Inner Mongolia. Mines in Guangxi restarted production after the NPC & CPPCC, but local supplies remain limited.

Losses from imported ore narrowed 260 yuan to 740 yuan per tonne (zinc content) compared with domestic ore, SMM calculates. Most domestic zinc smelters are unwilling to buy imported ore due to low TCs. Only a few purchased imported ore modestly due to raw material shortages.

TCs of domestic zinc concentrate (50%) remained stable at 5,200-5,500 yuan per tonne (zinc content) this past week, and those for imported zinc concentrate (50%) were $120-130 per dry metric tonne (DMT), according to SMM data.

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