Hefty copper concentrate costs amid a sustained supply deficit are expected to cause most global copper smelters to run below costs from 2025 onwards, sources told Fastmarkets at the sidelines of LME Asia Week 2024 in Hong Kong on Thursday June 27

Tightness in raw material supply has driven Fastmarkets’ copper and zinc treatment charges (TCs) to all-time lows, while lead concentrate TCs have hit intra-year lows. Fastmarkets looks at the common themes driving the downward movements

Copper demand remains weak in China and Europe, with some European sources noting liquidity heading to the US while others note the market is slightly less quiet than the previous month and American sources agree that the market appears to be stabilizing from previous highs

China’s exports of refined copper rose to an eight-year high in May, with exports expected to stay elevated through June, sources told Fastmarkets in the week to Friday June 21

Saudi Arabia, through its spearheading of a mining and minerals production and consumption push in the Middle East, a region usually associated with oil and gas, is leading neighboring countries to increase their presence in the base metals markets

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) ambitious plan to diversify away from oil and into metals will increase local nickel consumption and fund international mining projects, given recent massive investments in nickel-intense industries

Germany-based copper recycling and non-ferrous metal provider Aurubis has started commissioning their secondary smelter in Augusta, Georgia, and could eventually introduce black mass recycling to the facility

Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were mixed in morning trading on Monday June 10, with three-month prices lacking direction amid thin traded volumes due a public holiday in China, the largest market for base metals

Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges have repeatedly fallen to record-low levels over the first five months of 2024

Trading in the spot copper concentrate market in Asia was sluggish in the week to Friday May 31, with smelters not actively looking for spot units, sources said