SMM Imported Copper Concentrate Index Dips $1.44/mt WoW last Week

SHANGHAI, Jan 9 (SMM) - As of Friday January 6, the SMM Imported Copper Concentrate Index (weekly) stood at $84.63/mt, $1.44/mt lower than the previous week. Spot copper concentrate trading decreased somewhat last week. According to SMM research, Ventanas port in Chile was shut down due to the fire accident, which hindered the transport of copper concentrates that were scheduled to be shipped in February and March 2023 and at the same time suppressed the TC quotes. Last week, TCs of clean concentrates quoted by mines and traders were $81-82/mt, which were scheduled to be shipped in February and March 2023. TCs between mines and smelters fell to $81-85/mt, which were mainly scheduled to be shipped in February and March 2023.

Disturbances on the supply side still exited. According to foreign media, the Chilean National Bureau of Statistics announced that Chile's copper output was 459,000 mt, a year-on-year decrease of 5.5%. Last Wednesday, the Chilean mining royalty bill was submitted to the Ministry of Finance of Chile. The Ministry of Finance will review the bill again and approve it before a final vote. Tristan Pascall, the CEO of First Quantum met with the Minister of Commerce and Industry of Panama to discuss the differences between the company and the Panamanian government on the operation of the Cobre Panama copper mine, and the two parties negotiated the re-operation of the Cobre Panama copper mine to reach a "fair" agreement. Laurentino Cortizo, Panamanian President said the government had submitted final contracts to the company to oversee the operation of the copper mine. Copper Mountain Mining preventively shut down its Copper Mountain Mine in Canada due to the ransomware attack, which did not bring losses to the company. According to SMM statistics, it is estimated that the copper output of this mine has reached 45,000 mt in 2022.

According to SMM data, as of last Friday January 6, inventory of copper concentrates across five Chinese ports stood at 793,000 mt in physical content, up 91,000 mt WoW. SMM predicts that the fire accident at Ventanas port will have an impact on the transport of copper concentrates for two months, seriously hindering the shipments of some major mines in Chile and suppressing the TC quotes of spot copper concentrates which are scheduled to be shipped in the first quarter of 2023. In the short term, the spot copper concentrate TCs are likely to drop. The pricing coefficient of domestic spot Cu 20% copper concentrate stood at 88.5-89.5% on a delivery-to-factory basis.