Low treatment and refining charges have made things difficult for Chinese copper producers, and some may suffer losses if the charges drift any lower, China's major copper producers said. "The current charges are the lowest that Jiangxi Copper can afford," said Du Xinmin, chief finance officer of Jiangxi Copper Co., China's biggest copper producer. TCs, at Jiangxi stand at 400 yuan a metric ton, while refining charges are around CNY150/ton, according to Du. He didn't provide comparative figures. "Jiangxi will suffer losses if the two charges fall further," Du added. Lower TCs and RCs are the result of mine output cutbacks by major global producers in the wake of weak prices. The charges, levied on miners, are the main staple for refined copper producers. Jiangxi plans to source around 140,000-1 50,000 tons of concentrates this year from mines in Chile, Australia and the Philippines. Imported concentrate usually accounts for around 40 percent of the company's total demand. The remainder comes from its own domestic mines. Jiangxi will produce around 220,000 tons of refined copper this year, down 20,000 tons from last year due to a minor disruption in production as a result of its capacity expansion to 300,000 tons/year. Jinlong Copper Co., China's second biggest producer, is facing the same problem.
NSTL
