PRICING NOTICE: Proposal to amend pricing frequency of zinc spot concentrate TC price assessment

Fastmarkets is proposing to amend the frequency of its zinc spot concentrate treatment charges (TC) price assessment to fortnightly from its present monthly timing.

Fastmarkets proposes to change the frequency of its price assessment for MB-ZN-0110 zinc spot concentrate TC, cif China, $/tonne to bi-monthly from once per month presently because our informal market consultation suggests increasing the frequency of the assessment would allow Fastmarkets to better reflect an increasingly volatile and active market.

The current price specifications are as follows:
Price identifier code: MB-ZN-0110
Quality: 45-55% zinc content, low silver (0-170g/t), silica 3.5-4.5%, copper below 3% (high copper 4-5%), lead below 3.5% (total copper, lead, silica at max 6-7%), arsenic below 0.6%, cadmium below 0.33% and mercury below 0.06%
Quantity: Min 2,000 tonnes
Location: cif Chinese ports
Timing: Within 13 weeks
Unit: USD/tonne
Payment terms: Letter of credit, quotation period M+3
Publication: Monthly. Last Friday of every month.

The proposed amended price specifications are as follows, with changes highlighted in bold:
Price identifier code: MB-ZN-0110
Quality: 45-55% zinc content, low silver (0-170g/t), silica 3.5-4.5%, copper below 3% (high copper 4-5%), lead below 3.5% (total copper, lead, silica at max 6-7%), arsenic below 0.6%, cadmium below 0.33% and mercury below 0.06%
Quantity: Min 2,000 tonnes
Location: cif Chinese ports
Timing: Within 13 weeks
Unit: USD/tonne
Payment terms: Letter of credit, quotation period M+3
Publication: Bi-monthly. Second and last Fridays of the month.

Fastmarkets has captured an increasing amount of market activity – deals, bids and offers – while continuing supply disruptions from South America widen the gap between the spot TC assessments and the 2020 benchmark TC, which established at a 12-year high of $299.75 per tonne in March this year.

Fastmarkets’ assessment of zinc spot concentrate TCs began 2020 at $285-310 per tonne and maintained a high of $280-315 per tonne in February, but started falling from March amid lockdowns implemented to contain the spread of Covid-19 and tightening supply.

The increased frequency will also look to capture the heightened volatility that the zinc concentrate market has had for the past three years.

The consultation period for this proposed amendment starts from Friday November 6 and will end on December 7. The amendment will then take place, subject to market feedback, on December 10.

To provide feedback on this assessment or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to this assessment, please contact Rijuta Dey Bera by email at pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading: FAO: Rijuta Dey Bera re: Zinc spot concentrate TC.

To see all Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents go to www.fastmarkets.com/about-us/methodology.

What to read next
Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Port of Sohar in Oman are becoming tactical workarounds for base metal exports blocked by the Strait of Hormuz closure, with cargo transiting via land-bridge to other Gulf states, such as Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates – though capacity constraints and elevated logistics costs limit availability, sources with direct visibility of Gulf supply chains told Fastmarkets.
The Mexican aluminium market might be strongly affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, with supply constraints and consequently higher premiums, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday March 10.
Lundin Mining and BHP published a preliminary economic assessment on February 16 for their Vicuña joint venture, projecting average annual copper production of 395,000 tonnes over the first 25 years of operation as Argentina’s copper concentrate pipeline continues to build. PSJ Cobre Mendocino separately confirmed on February 14 that its feasibility study was under way.
Chinese lead smelters turned more bearish on the procurement of raw materials in the week to Friday February 13, amid heightened price volatility in silver, which is often contained in lead ores as an important by-product and contributor to smelter profits, sources told Fastmarkets.
The outbreak of conflict between the US, Israel and Iran on February 28 has brought shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to a near halt, disrupting China’s steel exports to a region that accounted for 14% of its total finished steel export volume in 2025.
The recent wave of anti-dumping measures approved in Brazil has been met with some concern in China — the country most affected by the Brazilian government’s decisions in this case — but despite the negative impact, Chinese participants see the moves as just another phase of doing business.