SHANGHAI, Dec 20 (SMM) – The weekly SMM Imported Copper Concentrate Index stood at $87.67/mt as of December 16, marking three consecutive weeks of fall from $91.08/mt on November 15. Tight supply in the spot market contributed to the decline.
The TCs of clean copper concentrates signed between smelters and traders under long-term orders in 2023 were mostly at discounts of $3-5/mt against next year’s benchmark TC ($88/mt), thus traders preferred to sell next year.
The recent sharp increase in the production and operation risks of some mines hindered the production and transportation of some major mines, further exacerbating the supply tightness of spot copper concentrates. For example, members of the Peruvian community once again blocked an important road near Cusco city, Canchis province, and other roads in Canchis were also blocked by protesters. Therefore, the storage space of MMG's Las Bambas copper mine is about to be full, greatly increasing the possibility of production reduction or halts. It was reported that the current copper concentrate inventory of Las Bambas has reached about 500,000 mt (about 125,000 mt in Cu content), and Las Bambas has taken emergency measures to allow copper concentrate production to continue until the end of the year. First Quantum failed to reach an agreement with the Panamanian government on the operation of the Cobre Panama copper mine due to First Quantum's "unreasonable demands" and the Panamanian government warned that it would take "backup measures" to ensure the operation of the mine.
