Lead Concentrates Market Weekly Briefing (June 29 – July 3, 2026) [SMM Lead Concentrates Weekly Review]

This week, the weekly TCs of domestic Pb50 concentrate were lowered by 50 yuan/mt Pb to an average of 150 yuan/mt Pb, and domestic TC center continued to edge lower. From June to July, domestic lead concentrate output edged down slightly due to safety and environmental protection inspections, tailings storage issues, and rainy season maintenance shutdowns, strengthening mines' bargaining power. Meanwhile, primary lead smelters' core profit source is sulphuric acid and associated metals (silver, copper, zinc, etc.), and their comprehensive profit currently stands above 1,000 yuan/mt. Driven by profits and raw material replenishment, companies continue to compete for ore. During the week, SMM learned that a mine in South China concluded a Q3 lead concentrates transaction of 2,800 mt Pb, with the transaction price set at the arithmetic average of the monthly weekly average TCs of SMM domestic Pb50 concentrate in the pickup month minus 1,015 yuan/mt Pb, with lead content of 55%, silver content of 300-400 g/mt, and a silver coefficient of 95.99% (copper less than 1g and around 7g zinc not valued); the TC fell 300 yuan/mt Pb MoM. Meanwhile, over the week, imported TCs outside China fell further by $5/dmt to -$165/dmt, mainly due to unresolved overseas port logistics and strikes, and Peru entering a 60-day state of emergency due to El Niño, keeping long-term mine supply disruptions in place. Traders held prices firm and held back from selling.