Chinese copper smelters are asking for higher 2012 treatment and refining charges, banking that a strike at the world's second-largest copper mine will not affect supply next year, smelter sources and traders said on Thursday.
The smelters met with miners in Hong Kong this week for a second round of talks on the fees for processing copper concentrate into refined metal. Hanging over the discussions is the ongoing strike at Freeport MacMoran Copper and Gold Inc's Grasberg mine in Indonesia, which on Tuesday was extended into a third month to December 15.
The uncertainty over how long the strike will continue is making it difficult to reach a deal. "(Miners) did not make formal offers. We did not give a number," a trading manager at a large Chinese smelter said, referring to the talks. He added that the Grasberg strike had raised demand for spot concentrates, pushing down spot TC/RCs, but Chinese smelters still thought fees for next year should be higher as mine production rises.
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