Treatment charges (TCs) for spot lead concentrates have continued to rise, with smelters cherry-picking deals with terms as high as $200 per tonne.
Fastmarkets assessed the
lead spot concentrate TC, high silver, cif China, at $180-200 per tonne on Friday February 28, up $30 from $150-170 per tonne the previous month.
The corresponding assessment for
lead spot concentrate TC, low silver, cif China, rose $20 to $160-180 per tonne from $140-160 per tonne in the same comparison.
Refining charges (RCs) for spot material are around $1.70-2 per silver ounce, with terms rising the lower the silver content.
High silver availability has remained on the up due to the ramp-up of the
Pe??asquito mine in Mexico. Smelters with significant contracts with Pe??asquito covered on the spot market when production stopped there at various points last year.
As a result, carry-over stocks from 2019 contracts have kept demand for silvery material soft.
"People will like the low-silver material...