LME Base Metals Inventories (2017-10-17)

Mongolia’s government said on October 11 that Prime Minister Nyam-Osor Uchral had called for faster progress on the copper smelting and refining project based at Erdenet Mining Corporation, with contract negotiations to be completed by the end of November 2026. The proposed US$772 million facility is designed to process 560,000 tonnes of copper concentrate and produce 124,000 tonnes of cathode copper annually. China’s NFC has been selected as the strategic investor, with financing, ownership and construction contract terms still under negotiation. The feasibility study, detailed environmental impact assessment and related technical documents have been approved. Approximately US$68 million has been invested in infrastructure for the industrial and technology park, with the first phase in service and the remaining infrastructure scheduled for completion in 2027. No commissioning date has been announced for the smelter itself. The project would expand domestic processing of Erdenet’s copper concentrate, with contract completion, financing and construction progress remaining key milestones.

A newly disclosed lawsuit filed by BHP Group’s wholly owned Spence copper-molybdenum mine estimates that stoppages on June 30–July 1 and July 7–8 cut contained-molybdenum output by 2 metric tonnes. The company also claims losses of 400 metric tonnes of copper cathode and 167 metric tonnes of contained copper in concentrate. Using July molybdenum sales of 74.76 metric tonnes and revenue of 5.48 million United States dollars, Spence derived an average price of 33.24 dollars per pound and valued the lost molybdenum at about 146,545 dollars. This is a newly quantified historical loss, not a new October shutdown; the figures remain allegations in a lawsuit and have not been adjudicated.

BHP has sued the workers’ union at its Spence copper mine in Chile over two work stoppages in late June and July, seeking approximately US$8.6 million in damages. BHP alleges that the union organised the stoppages outside the collective bargaining period to demand a special bonus of CLP5 million per member beyond existing agreements, significantly disrupting operations. The union declined to comment. The alleged illegality of the stoppages has not been established by a court. According to court filings cited by Chilean media, the stoppages took place on June 30–July 1 and July 7–8. BHP estimates lost copper production at approximately 567 tonnes, comprising 400 tonnes of cathode copper and 167 tonnes of copper contained in concentrate. The lawsuit concerns compensation for past disruptions; no new production interruption at Spence has been reported in connection with the case.