Chilean AMSA and Chinese Smelters Finalise Mid-Year Copper Concentrates Long-Term Contract: First Abandonment of Fixed Prices, Reaching a Compromise Index-Linked Pricing Formula
Chilean miner AMSA and some core copper smelters in China finalised the pricing scheme for mid-year long-term contract copper concentrate TCs on July 1, abandoning the traditional fixed TC model for the first time and switching to a floor-index-linked pricing mechanism. It is reported that, as spot copper concentrate TCs had been consistently hitting historic lows, this brought multiple divergences to the mid-year long-term contract negotiations. China’s smelters have historically used fixed TCs for mid-year long-term contracts, but AMSA insisted on switching to index-based pricing this time, and ultimately the two sides reached an innovative compromise.