Community Road Blockages And Strike Protests In Peru In The Third Quarter Will Raise Disruptions To Spot Copper Concentrate Supply In China In The Second Half Of The Year

SMM understood that a fire broke out at Boliden's Ronnskar copper smelter in northern Sweden on Tuesday June 13. The Swedish emergency service said that the fire in Skelleftehamn is still continuing and there is still a risk of spreading. At present, the fire has not caused casualties. The fire at the Ronnskar copper smelter only resulted in shutdown of the refining capacity which is expected to resume production within a few weeks, while the smelting capacity is still in normal production. The Ronnskar copper smelter has a smelting capacity of 220,000 mt and its copper output in 2022 stood at 218,000 mt.

It is reported that KCM in Zambia under Vedanta Resources will undertake maintenance from August to September. In the first half of this year, the overhaul of KCM was delayed due to the rainy season in Zambia and the lack of funds. In recent years, due to the aging of equipment and lack of maintenance, KCM's copper cathode production line can only maintain low-capacity operation, and the average annual output of copper cathode is about 10,000-20,000 mt.

Hudbay Minerals and Copper Mountain Mining agreed to merge into a joint venture. Hudbay Minerals agreed to acquire Copper Mountain for $439 million. The merger transaction is expected to take effect on June 20, 2023. First Quantum Minerals has rejected Barrick Gold's acquisition offer, saying it is not interested in mergers and acquisitions, and refusing to conduct any substantive offer negotiations.

According to foreign media reports, the "armed protection period" of MMG's Las Bambas copper mine in Peru will end between the end of June and early July, and the salary negotiations of mining companies will gradually start in the second half of the year. SMM expects community road blockages and strike protests in Peru in the third quarter will raise disruptions to spot copper concentrate supply in China in the second half of the year. According to SMM statistics, the inventory of copper concentrate at five Chinese ports was 622,000 mt in the week ending June 16, a growth of 13,000 mt from a week earlier.