Japan, Spain, and South Korea have issued a rare joint statement voicing alarm over the steep decline in copper treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs), warning that the current market conditions threaten the sustainability of both smelters and miners.
The statement — released following an online meeting of the three countries’ industry ministries — comes amid mounting pressure on global copper smelters, who face shrinking profit margins due to tight concentrate supplies and growing smelting capacity in China.
In June, several Chinese smelters agreed to process copper concentrate for Chilean miner Antofagasta at no charge, underscoring the severity of the downturn.
“We are deeply concerned that this deterioration in TC/RCs is prompting a reassessment of copper smelting operations worldwide, with several companies already indicating intentions to scale down or withdraw from copper concentrate smelting,” the ministries said.
TC/RCs — fees paid by miners to smelters for processing copper concentrate into refined metal — have traditionally been a key revenue stream for smelters. However, in some spot deals this year, TC/RCs have turned negative, forcing smelters to pay miners to secure feedstock.
The ministries warned that this imbalance undermines the sustainable coexistence of smelting and mining industries and increases dependency on a narrow group of supplier countries, a scenario they described as “undesirable” for both producers and consumers.
“We hope TC/RCs will return to sustainable levels for copper concentrate trading,” the statement said, adding that the three countries would continue engaging with stakeholders to establish a resilient and sustainable copper supply chain.
Naoki Kobayashi, deputy director of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), said the issue will be raised during LME Week in London, one of the global metals industry’s key gatherings.
Japan’s leading copper smelters, including JX Advanced Metals and Mitsubishi Materials, have already announced plans to scale back concentrate processing due to eroding margins, reflecting a broader trend of contraction across the global smelting sector.
