Platts proposes to launch weekly 1% arsenic differential assessment for complex copper concentrate

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, is proposing to launch a weekly 1% arsenic differential assessment in complex copper concentrate. The differential would be expressed against Platts existing daily clean copper concentrate CIF China treatment charge (PCCCB00) and daily clean copper concentrate CIF China refining charge (PCCCC00), effective Dec. 4, 2026.

The proposed assessment would reflect the discount applied to copper concentrate with a basis specification of 1% arsenic relative to clean copper concentrate. To derive the implied value of complex copper concentrate, material with arsenic content between 0.5% and 1% may be normalized to the 1% arsenic basis specification.

Platts clean copper concentrate assessments have a basis specification of 0.2% arsenic, and consider concentrates with arsenic of 0%-0.5%.

Market feedback has indicated a need for an independent assessment that reflects the differences between high-arsenic content copper concentrate and clean copper concentrate, as China's copper concentrate blending capacity has increased in recent years amid the tightening supply of clean copper concentrate, and its imports of high-arsenic content copper concentrate by Chinese smelters and traders have risen.

Clean copper concentrate is typically characterized by low levels of deleterious elements, including arsenic, zinc, lead, and fluorine. Market feedback indicates that arsenic content is the key differentiating factor between clean and complex concentrate, and that clean concentrate typically has arsenic content below 0.5%. Complex copper concentrate with arsenic content of 0.5% up to 1% is typically used in blending and represents a commonly traded specification threshold recognized in the market.

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 Oct. 26, to platts_asia_copper@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com.

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