Metals & Mining, Non-Ferrous

April 02, 2026

Platts proposes to launch outright price assessments for clean copper concentrate producer-trader TC/RCs

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, is proposing to launch daily outright price assessments for copper concentrate producer-trader treatment charges and refining charges (TC/RCs), effective June 1, 2026, following market feedback requesting an outright price to complement existing differentials.

Spot TC/RCs between producers and traders often differ from those between producers and smelters, mainly due to variations in assay exchange practices and commercial strategies of counterparties.

Platts' existing producer-trader TC/RCs are published as differentials to its CIF China Clean Copper Concentrate TC/RC assessments, which reflect the market-clearing price between producers and smelters.

Initial market feedback has indicated a preference for outright TC/RCs as being more directly reflective of how they are expressed by the market.

Assessment Name

Quality

Quantity

Incoterm

Timing

Payment

Clean Copper Concentrate Producer-Trader Treatment Charge

Cu 25%, Au 1g/mt, Ag 80g/mt, S 32%, Fe 28%, Pb 0.1%, Zn 1%, As 0.2%, Sb 0.02%, Hg 2.5ppm, Bi 150 ppm, F 330 ppm

min 5,000 mt

CIF North China main ports

Loading 1-3 months forward

 L/C at sight

Clean Copper Concentrate Producer-Trader Refining Charge

Cu 25%, Au 1g/mt, Ag 80g/mt, S 32%, Fe 28%, Pb 0.1%, Zn 1%, As 0.2%, Sb 0.02%, Hg 2.5ppm, Bi 150 ppm, F 330 ppm

min 5,000 mt

CIF North China main ports

Loading 1-3 months forward

 L/C at sight

With the launch of the outright producer-trader TC/RCs, the differentials would continue to be published under their existing symbols as calculations using the formulae:

  • Clean Copper Concentrate Producer-Trader Treatment Charge Differential (PCCCG00) = The proposed Clean Copper Concentrate Producer-Trader TC minus the existing Clean Copper Concentrate CIF China TC (PCCCB00)
  • Clean Copper Concentrate Producer-Trader Refining Charge Differential (PCCCH00) = The proposed Clean Copper Concentrate Producer-Trader RC minus the existing Clean Copper Concentrate CIF China RC (PCCCC00)

Platts would also backfill the price history for the outright price assessments using the formulae above to Dec. 1, 2021, when the Treatment Charge and Refining Charge Differentials were launched.

Platts spot price assessments consider market information reported to Platts and published throughout the day, including bids and offers, transactions, and other indications, as well as any other data deemed relevant to the assessment process.

Market information received before the 4:30 pm Singapore (0830 GMT) timestamp would be considered for the assessment.

A full description of Platts' assessment methodologies can be found here.

Details of Platts' suite of copper assessments can be found here.

The proposed assessments would be published in Platts Nonferrous Metals Alert on pages MTL/PMA0304, in Platts Metals Daily, and in the Platts price database.

Please send any feedback, comments, or questions by April 17, 2026, to platts_asia_copper@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com

For written comments, please provide a clear indication if comments are not intended for publication by Platts for public viewing.

Platts will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available to the public upon request.