Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
Antofagasta PLC has sold 10,000 tonnes of copper concentrate for June shipment at treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) of about $10 a tonne and one cent a pound, three sources with knowledge of the deal said.
The very low rate sale – done via a tender last week – comes as disruption to mine supply globally puts pressure on TC/RCs, which are paid by miners to process copper concentrate into refined metal.
The concentrate from Antofagasta’s Centinela mine was bought by a trading firm, said the sources, declining to be named due to commercial sensitivity; another 20,000 tonnes for May was sold at TCs in the mid-teens, two of the sources said.
Antofagasta declined to comment.
Spot TCs in top copper consumer China, which fall when the market tightens and smelters have to accept lower terms to ensure they have enough feedstock, are currently at their lowest in a decade.
(By Tom Daly and Zandi Shabalala; Editing by Jason Neely)
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