The president of the Japan Mining Industry Association (JMIA) stated that negotiations between Japanese copper smelters and Antofagasta in mid-year were extremely challenging, as they could not accept the extremely low terms agreed upon by Chinese smelters and Antofagasta. JMIA Chairman Tetsuya Tanaka said that Japanese smelters are currently engaged in mid-year negotiations to maintain higher profit margins than their Chinese peers. However, the negotiations have been very difficult because the processing fees proposed by Antofagasta are lower than the annual levels for 2025. Tanaka, who is also the president of Mitsubishi Materials, pointed out that negotiations are conducted independently by each company, but he stated that the terms accepted by Chinese smelters are unacceptable to Japanese smelters.