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London 30/11/2016 - (The table that was published on November 25 - the date of assessment - is no longer available due to technical issues. The below is an exact replica)
REMINDER
These values are FastMarkets copyright
They may not be used or re-distributed without permission
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DESCRIPTION
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CURRENT RATES
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PREVIOUS RATES
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NOTES
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SPOT ZINC CONCENTRATE TCs
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CIF China
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35-50
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70-85
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TCs fall 45% over past month on increased Chinese buying for winter stock reserves, aggressive trader/miner offers on low ore availability.
Chinese smelters have around 15 days of working stocks on average, some smelters close to mining district have around 1 month.
Talk that some smaller smelters forced to cut production due to low inventories, market expect more cuts in Q1 '17.
Average Chinese domestic TCs down to 4,000-4,400 yuan ($578-636) dlvd incl. VAT at end-November; some Southern smelters received TCs in high 3,000s. But profit-sharing between miner-smelters enable smelters to benefit from metal price rises.
Chinese ore and concentrate imports drop 56.78% year-on-year to 138,525 tonnes in October, year-to-date figure at 1.54m tonnes, down 42.39% y-o-y.
LME zinc prices hit fresh March 2008 high at $2,830 per tonne, Chinese arb window between LME and SHFE remains closed.
More miner-trader tenders at aggressive numbers, some heard as low as single digits.
Supply side key factors for 2017: Glencore output resumption; how Antamina produces zinc conc; Chinese domestic mine output growth.
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RECENT TENDERS FOR ZINC CONCENTRATE
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Chugar (Volcan)
Volcan Blend (Volcan)
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18kt in 2017
50kt in 2017, 50kt in 2018
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Awarded at low 30s [low iron]
Awarded at low-30s
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ANNUAL ZINC CONCENTRATE TC
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Annual benchmark
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203 in 2016
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245 in 2015
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Teck-Korea Zinc agreement based on $2,000/t zinc, 17% drop from 2015 TC at same base price. Bulk of market follows.
Deal includes 9% escalator on zinc price of over $2,000 to $2,500, with 8% escalator above $2,500 to $3,000 and 5% escalator above $3,000 to $3,750. Also includes de-escalator of 3% below $2,000 to $1,500.
Teck-Glencore also reach agreement at TC of $188 in 2016, based on $1,500/t zinc. Escalators make numbers effectively the same as Korea Zinc.
Deal includes 3% escalator on zinc price up to $2,000, with 9% escalator up to $2,500, 8% escalator up to $3,000 and 5% escalator up to $3,750.
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SPOT LEAD CONCENTRATE TCs
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CIF China
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50-70 high silver
40-55 low silver
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100-110 high silver
75-90 low silver
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TCs almost halve on tighter supply and increased buying appetite due to favourable arb between LME and SHFE.
Talk that silver RCs also dropped to $0.5-0.7/t from $1.1-1.2/t at end-Oct.
Increased appetite for high-silver lead concs; Chinese buyers request nearby or Q1 shipment for winter stocks.
Chinese domestic TCs fall to 1,200-1,400 yuan ($173-202) dlvd incl. VAT at end-Nov
Lead concentrate imports drop 48% year-on-year to 106,525 tonnes in October. Year-to-date imports at 1,137,671 tonnes, down 22.3% yoy.
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ANNUAL LEAD CONCENTRATE TCs
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Annual benchmark high silver
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170 in 2016, silver RC at $1.50/oz
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192.5 in 2015, silver RC at $1.50/oz
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South32, Korea Zinc agree 2016 deal for Cannington concentrate (Australia). Sumitomo's San Cristobal (Bolivia) follows.
Annual TCs down due to tighter supply and increased demand from smelters especially in South Korea and Germany.
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Annual benchmark low silver
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210 with Japanese; 193 with Koreans;
130-140 with Chinese in 2016
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222 in 2015
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Teck's Red Dog conc agreed with Korean smelter for TCs at $193/t; Japanese at $210/t, both based on $2,000/t lead; includes 6% escalator on a lead price above $2,000/t, 4% de-escalator on price below $2,000/t. Zinc payment terms included.
Teck agrees with Chinese smelters at $130-140/t; no base prices for lead, silver RCs at $1.2-1.5/oz.
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These treatment charge (TC) assessments are for concentrates in line with below grades and specifications. TCs are priced in US dollars per tonne. For lead, Refining Charges (RCs) on silver are in dollars per ounce.
Zinc: 45-55% zinc content, low silver (0-170 grams/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%
Lead: 55-65% lead content, high silver 2-4kg/low silver below 1kg, arsenic below 0.7%, mercury below 0.05%
These rates are nominal indications only, based on contributions from market sources, and should not be construed as actual bids and offers.
(Table compiled by FastMarkets’ Physical reporting team, physicals@fastmarkets.com)
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