Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) rose again at the end of May after the Tamil Nadu government ordered a permanent shutdown of Sterlite Copper's Tuticorin smelting and refining complex.
Sterlite, which has been closed since late March, had been pursuing a permit through local courts to restart its smelter, but public demonstrations against the smelter and its planned expansion turned bloody on May 22, when 13 protesters were shot dead by police in Tuticorin. Subsequently, the enforced shutdown and wait for an operating permit from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has escalated into a local government order for a permanent closure and ensure a forced repurchase of land set aside for the smelter's expansion. Market participants are recalling a situation in 2013 when Sterlite challenged calls for a shutdown in court and restarted six months later. But the fractious nature of the current situation means the only certainty is that the smelter will be down for the near future....