Pros and Cons of Copper Concentrates Blending Plants [SMM Analysis]

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       According to SMM, on December 31, 2024, Zhongtong (Tangshan) Mineral Products Co., Ltd. was established, with Peng Li as the legal representative and a registered capital of 300 million yuan. Its business scope includes general cargo warehousing services, sales of metal ores, sales of metal materials, sales of non-metallic minerals and products, mineral washing and processing, import and export agency services, among others. It is wholly owned by China Copper Co., Ltd. Additionally, Chalco Group's Tangshan Blending Plant, with an annual blending capacity of 300,000 mt, was established.

       Since 2020, China has been actively exploring and conducting bonded copper concentrate blending operations. Many enterprises have focused on constructing blending plant projects: in September 2020, Fangchenggang's bonded copper concentrate blending pilot became the first approved pilot project by customs nationwide. After implementing the new "bonded blending" regulatory model, the customs clearance time for imported raw material ores was reduced by over 50%. In the first eight months of 2024, Guangxi imported 640,000 mt of copper concentrates under the bonded blending regulatory model, saving enterprises approximately 100 million yuan in raw material procurement costs. In early November 2024, the first bonded copper concentrate blending pilot in north-east China was launched in Dalian. Under the supervision of Dayaowan Customs, part of Dalian Customs, the first bonded copper concentrate blending operation was completed by Dalian Jindoli Import and Export Trading Co., Ltd.

       Currently, China's completed and under-construction blending plant projects include Yantai Port, Qingdao Port, Dalian Port, Lianyungang, Tangshan Port, Ningde Port, Fangchenggang, Zhoushan Port, Zhapu Port, Beihai Tieshan Port, Basuo Port on Hainan Island, and Taichung Port in Taiwan. Moreover, this year, Xiamen Xiangyu's blending plant at Xiamen Port is expected to begin construction.

       The construction of blending plants in China not only addresses the issue of excessive impurities in certain copper concentrates, allowing them to be declared for customs import after blending, but also benefits Chinese smelters. If smelters have a higher tolerance for lead, zinc, and magnesium oxide, the copper concentrates blended from impure ores are more cost-effective, yielding better economic benefits and offering a wider range of choices. To a large extent, this also enhances the ability of Chinese copper smelters to secure copper ore resources.

       Although blending plants can partially resolve raw material supply issues, excessive blending capacity and too many projects could lead to vicious competition for raw materials between blending plants and between blending plants and smelters, ultimately exacerbating the difficulty for smelters to secure raw materials. If all blending plant projects are implemented, the foreseeable outcome would be insufficient operating rates for smelters and increased difficulty in obtaining raw materials.

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