SHANGHAI, Dec 26 (SMM) – China imported 303,900 mt of zinc ore and concentrates in November, up 47.7% from October and 62.6% from November 2017, according to the latest data from China Customs.
This grew zinc ore imports in January-November to 2.72 million mt, up 22.6% year on year.
In the first 11 months of 2018, zinc ore and concentrates imports originated from Australia amounted to 738,300 mt, accounting for 27% of the overall imports. Volumes from Peru accounted for 21% and those from Russia accounted for 10%.
Arrivals that were shipped amid great import arbitrage opportunities boosted November’s imports. Output growth across mines overseas well supplied the markets abroad, which drove some resources to enter China.
In the meantime, seaborne zinc concentrates were favoured by Chinese smelters given high treatment charges (TCs). TCs for imported zinc concentrate currently stand above $140/dmt.
