China copper smelters raised floor TC to $67/mt for Q1 2020

SHANGHAI, Dec 26 (SMM) – China’s top copper smelters have set their floor treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) for the first quarter of 2020 at $67/mt and 6.7 cents/lb, SMM learned.

The Q1 2020 floor TC marked a moderate increase of $1/mt from the last quarter of 2019. SMM copper concentrate index, which assessed TCs for spot trades, stood at $57.26/mt for the week ended December 20.

The floor charges, the minimum that miners pay smelters to process their copper concentrate into refined metal, were finalised at a quarterly meeting of the China Smelters Purchase Team (CSPT) in Fuzhou on Thursday December 26. China is the world’s top copper consumer.

The copper smelters also discussed about production cuts next year at the meeting.