MethodologyContact usSupportLogin
Key takeaways:
The copper offtake deals signal continued positioning by major trading houses to secure copper concentrate supply ahead of 2026, with prepayment facilities becoming a standard feature of offtake agreements.
Swiss-based Mercuria Energy Trading announced on December 30 it had signed an offtake agreement with Bulgarian miner Geotechmin for 100% of copper concentrate production from the Ellatzite mine in 2026, estimated at 195,000 wet metric tonnes; dry metric tonnage was not disclosed as of time of publication.
The agreement includes a $250 million prepayment facility to support Geotechmin’s long-term growth plans, according to an official press release.
Ivan Vutov, deputy manager at Geotechmin, said the partnership was recognition of the company’s operating standards and its commitment to deliver premium clean copper concentrate on time and on specification.
The Ellatzite open-pit mine is located near the town of Etropole in Sofia province, with processing operations in Mirkovo village. The mine is among the largest copper production capacities in Europe, Fastmarkets understands.
Geotechmin is a privately owned Bulgarian mining and mining services company founded in 1990 that also specializes in trade, real estate and investment projects, and the service sector, according to company information.
Mercuria, which deployed nearly $2 billion in copper concentrate deals in 2025, is expanding its footprint across Europe, Latin America and Asia to secure supply amid a structural deficit expected to exceed 2 million tonnes, according to sources close to the matter.
The group’s latest agreement follows Mercuria’s joint venture with Gecamines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, announced on December 5, which will market copper, cobalt and other critical minerals from the country.
Australian-listed Orion Minerals said on December 31 it was progressing documentation for an offtake and financing agreement with a wholly owned subsidiary of Glencore for its Prieska copper-zinc project in South Africa.
The company’s subsidiary, Prieska Copper Zinc Mine, signed a non-binding term sheet with Glencore on September 17 for financing of $200 million-250 million and concentrate offtake.
“Glencore and Orion are progressing the documentation for the offtake and financing agreements. End-of-year holidays have resulted in delays in the finalization of the agreements,” the company said in a release. “Orion will provide an update to the market early in the new year.”
Mercuria’s head of metals research Nicholas Snowdon, speaking at the World Copper Conference Asia 2025 in Shanghai, said a squeeze in global copper markets would tighten again in 2026, pushing up prices of concentrate and refined metal.
Meanwhile, the German government is in talks with Canadian firm Troilus Mining to fund investment in a large gold-copper mining project in north-central Quebec, according to media reports as early as December 22.
The funding would come from Germany’s raw materials fund, which can provide capital injections of up to €150 million ($176 million) per project.
Montreal-based Troilus plans to revive a gold mine in the region, which will also produce copper as a by-product, Fastmarkets learned. The company has a market value of about $850 million and counts Quebec’s pension fund manager Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec among its top shareholders.
Troilus closed an offtake agreement with Germany’s Aurubis for copper concentrate in August; the company has also secured up to $700 million in financing to restart the mine from KfW, Societe Generale and Export Development Canada.
In November, the German copper recycler also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a long-term copper concentrate supply contract with Swedish mining company Viscaria.
Fastmarkets calculated the spot copper concentrates TC index, cif Asia Pacific — the midpoint between smelter and trader buying levels — at $(69.70) per tonne on December 24, down by $1.40 per tonne from $(68.30) per tonne a week earlier.
Copper concentrates TC implied smelters purchase, cif Asia Pacific stood at $(45.50) per tonne on December 24, down by $0.70 per tonne week on week from $(44.80) per tonne.
Copper concentrates TC implied traders purchase, cif Asia Pacific was $(93.90) per tonne on December 24, down by $2.10 per tonne from $(91.80) per tonne a week earlier.
Track price dynamics, access news and understand trends in the copper concentrate market with Fastmarkets price data and news. Find out more here.