Production Resumption of Grasberg Mine and Agreement on Cobre Panama Became Bright Spot for Copper Concentrate Supply

SHANGHAI, Mar 14 - As of Friday March 10, the SMM Imported Copper Concentrate Index (weekly) stood at $76.29/mt, $1.35/mt lower than March 3. During the week, the spot transaction of copper concentrate was quite active. There were many spot transactions of clean ore between mines and smelters. Spot TCs for cargoes scheduled for Q2 stood at $71-72/mt, and many deals between traders and smelters for cargoes scheduled for April stood at $76-77/mt. The price coefficient of Cu 20% domestic ore stood at 88.5-89.5%.

The capacity of overseas ports continued to recover. SMM learned that the land transportation of copper concentrates from Peruvian mines to ports is expected to gradually improve. The blockade of Matarani port in Peru has been lifted, and Cerro Verdo mine can be shipped normally through the port. Previously, because the Cobre Panama Copper Mine and the Panamanian government could not reach a consensus on the new tax agreement, the Panama Maritime Safety Administration requested to suspend the concentrate shipments at the Cobre Panama port, which was superimposed on the high copper concentrate inventory. Finally, First Quantum Minerals announced suspension at the Cobre Panama copper mine on February 23, 2023. On March 9, First Quantum and the Panamanian government reached an agreement on the operation of the Cobre Panama copper mine. The new contract stipulates that First Quantum Minerals will provide the Panamanian government with at least $375 million per year for a period of 20 years.

According to the SMM survey of the Las Bambas copper mine in Peru, although the production of molybdenum concentrate was stopped due to the impact of road blockage, the copper concentrate flotation operation remained at a relatively high level. The shutdown of Antapaccay lasted for 11 days from January 20, which was shorter than market expectations. In addition, the Las Bambas and Antapaccay copper mines were affected by road blockages in other communities and could not be successfully shipped from the Matarani port. Indonesia's Batu Hijau and Grasberg were successively hit by mudslides, which caused delays in the production and loading period of the Batu Hijau copper mine and a short-term suspension of production at the Grasberg copper mine. The Batu Hijau copper mine is expected to resume production at the end of March and early April. Grasberg announced production resumption on February 28, in line with market expectations.