MethodologyContact usSupportLogin
Sulfuric acid output provided an additional margin stream for Kamoa-Kakula’s recently commissioned on-site smelter at a time when global supply of the chemical has been tightening amid disruption to seaborne sulfur flows from the Middle East.
The first sales of sulfuric acid from the Kamoa-Kakula smelter took place in early 2026 to nearby mining operations in the DRC Copperbelt, according to a company press release. There are currently six offtakers purchasing sulfuric acid at the mine gate, Ivanhoe said, adding that spot prices had generally increased over the quarter.
The smelter produced sulfuric acid at an average rate of 1,350 tonnes per day in the first quarter, equivalent to approximately 480,000 tonnes on an annualized basis, compared with a steady-state design capacity of 700,000 tonnes per year, Ivanhoe said.
Ivanhoe Mines executive co-chair Robert Friedland said a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz was expected to weigh on global supply chains and on copper production in particular.
“If the closure of the Straits of Hormuz continues, we are especially concerned about the availability of precursor materials necessary for the mining industry to continue operating. A second-derivative effect will be on global copper production due to the shortage of the world’s most important industrial chemical, sulfuric acid,” Friedland said in the release.
“Approximately 20 percent of global copper supply relies on [solvent extraction electrowinning (SX-EW)] a process that uses sulfuric acid to leach copper from oxide ores. With approximately 50 percent of the global seaborne sulfur supply cut off, markets are becoming extremely tight,” he added.
Kamoa-Kakula sells its by-product sulfuric acid to oxide copper mining operations in the DRC Copperbelt, and its own direct-to-blister smelting process does not require sulfuric acid to produce 99.7%-pure copper anodes, Friedland said.
Ivanhoe said it had drawn up contingency plans across its operating sites to sustain operations during the Middle East conflict, including advanced diesel purchases.
Not all market participants took Ivanhoe’s messaging at face value. “Ivanhoe is talking their book,” a trader told Fastmarkets on the sidelines of CESCO Week in Santiago, adding that the company’s messaging appeared aimed at supporting its share price.
Market participants also voiced concerns over SX-EW copper production, which uses sulfuric acid as a key input amid the ongoing obstruction of sulfur shipments from the Middle East. Sources told Fastmarkets that copper prices could surge amid cathode supply concerns, despite slowing demand.
“Sulfuric acid is now becoming the most important factor for SX-EW copper production, with shipment disruptions [from Middle East], and a drawdown of inventories threatening [SX-EW] copper production in DRC and Chile,” a copper trader in Shanghai said.
“Last year, the DRC was by far the largest producer of copper by the SX-EW process, accounting for 53 percent of world SX-EW production, which makes it the most vulnerable country to sulfur and sulfuric acid shortages,” Andrew Cole, Fastmarkets’ principal analyst, said.
Chile is second, accounting for 26% of world SX-EW production.
The supply disruptions have also pushed up prices of sulfur and sulfuric acid in China’s domestic market, Fastmarkets learned.
“Domestic sulfuric acid prices have accelerated their increase following the conflict in Middle East, and this, coupled with peak demand season in the fertilizer market, explains the surge in [China’s] domestic market, which [is] higher than the export price,” a sulfuric acid trader said.
China exported 385,000 tonnes of sulfuric acid during the first two months of 2026, down by 47.15% from a year earlier, with Chile, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia the top three destinations, customs data showed.
Media reports have indicated that China, a significant exporter of sulfuric acid, will halt exports of the chemical from May, though an official document has yet to be released.
A source told Fastmarkets during CESCO that the government informed market participants in China about the ban last week.
The price surge of sulfuric acid as a by-product of copper smelting has also accelerated a decline in treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) of copper concentrates, Fastmarkets learned.
Fastmarkets calculated the weekly copper concentrates TC index, cif Asia Pacific — the midpoint between smelter and trader buying levels — at $(102.70) per tonne on Friday, down by $1.70 per tonne from $(101.00) per tonne a week prior. It breached the $(100) per tonne threshold for the first time in history on April 2 amid sustained tightness of copper concentrates and the surging sulfuric acid price.
The copper concentrates TC implied smelters purchase, cif Asia Pacific was calculated at $(78.05) per tonne on April 10, down by $1.70 per tonne from $(76.35) per tonne a week prior.
The copper concentrates TC implied traders purchase, cif Asia Pacific was calculated at $(127.35) per tonne on April 10, down by $1.70 per tonne from $(125.65) per tonne a week prior.
Inform your base metals strategy with metals price forecasts and analysis for the global base metals industry. Access a sample of our base metals price forecast today.
On the refined copper side, the Kamoa-Kakula complex produced a total of 71,417 tonnes of copper in blister and anode in the first quarter, comprising 63,671 tonnes of copper in anode from the on-site direct-to-blister smelter and 7,746 tonnes of copper in blister toll-treated at the Lualaba Copper Smelter in Kolwezi, according to the release.
The on-site smelter was targeting production of approximately 850 tonnes per day of copper in anode, equivalent to an annualized rate of 300,000 tonnes, or around 60% of its 500,000-tpy design capacity.
Further ramp-up of the smelter was being held back by a shortage of concentrate feed from Kamoa-Kakula’s own concentrators, Ivanhoe said, adding that management was evaluating the purchase and toll treatment of local third-party copper concentrates to advance the ramp-up and improve margins.
Ivanhoe revised Kamoa-Kakula’s 2026 production guidance on March 31 to between 290,000 and 330,000 tonnes of copper in anode or blister, down from a previous target of 380,000-420,000 tonnes, following the updated technical report for the complex.
Copper in concentrate production from Phase 1, 2 and 3 concentrators fell to 61,906 tonnes in the first quarter, from 69,419 tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2025 and 133,120 tonnes a year earlier, according to the release.
The Chinese blister import market remained illiquid throughout March due to the persistent tightness in spot availability. Buyers were mostly securing supply from the domestic market, where competition for blister and scrap remained intense.
Fastmarkets’ monthly price assessment for copper blister 98-99% RC, spot, cif China was $90-110 per tonne on March 31, narrowing downward by $10 per tonne from $90-120 per tonne the month before.
Our experts are embedded in this market, providing price data and market intelligence to help you make sense of today and tomorrow. Stay informed through our news, forecasting and analysis. Become a Fastmarkets metals and mining customer today.