Benchmark zinc treatment charges down 15% in 2018 – Nyrstar
LONDON – The zinc industry has agreed a 15% drop in annual zinc processing fees, the miner and metals smelter Nyrstar said on Thursday, as supply in the tight market dwindled.
The company, listed in Belgium, said in a statement treatment charges for the galvanising metal for 2018 fell to $147/t from $172/t last year. An agreement was reached at the end of April, Nyrstar said.
Mining companies pay treatment charges (TCs) to smelters to have their concentrates turned into refined metal. The charges fall when supplies dwindle as smelters compete to find supply.
Zinc supply has been falling over the last few years as major mines such as Australia's Century and Ireland's Lisheen reached the end of their lives and Glencore cut its own output.
London Metal Exchange zinc rallied 29% last year but is down about 7.5% so far this year.
Zinc treatment charges have a pricing component which are linked to LME prices. Smelters win a percentage increase in treatment charges for every dollar the LME price increases above a set basis price, but if the price falls, TCs also drop, alleviating fees miners must pay in a low price environment.
"A mild drop in annual terms will offer some relief to smelters with reports that many in China are considering extended maintenance amid low fees," said ING analyst Oliver Nugent.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation