Teck settles Zn-concentrate contracts with Koreans According to Met.Bull Feb. 27:
Teck and Sumitomo settle TCs with Korea Zinc at $191 per dmt
LONDON
BY MARK BURTON
Teck has settled zinc concentrate treatment charges (TCs) with Korea Zinc at $191 per dmt for 2012, lower than the $229 per dmt seen last year, sources told Metal Bulletin.
Sumitomo is believed to have struck a deal for its San Cristobal concentrates with Korea Zinc on similar terms, sources said.
The deals have been struck at a base zinc price of $2,000 per tonne, down from $2,500 per tonne in the 2011 benchmark. The de-escalator component was set at -2% and escalators were 5%, sources said.
The lower settlement will come as a blow to smelters, which have called for higher TCs this year, pointing to the relative autonomy of the spot market for concentrates in China.
Miners, by contrast, have warned of an impending supply squeeze in concentrates and systemic smelting overcapacity.