Copper concentrate · buyers, suppliers and prices
Copper concentrate: verified buyers and suppliers
Copper concentrate is a powder made at the mine by crushing and floating copper ore, usually 20% to 40% copper. Mines and traders sell it to smelters, mainly in China, Japan, South Korea, India and Europe, and it is paid on its copper content minus treatment and refining charges. On Copper Supply you can post a free requirement or offer and deal only with members who have passed an ID check.
Live copper concentrate listings
4 live now- SellingContractCS-BF89B8
Selling 800 MTCopper concentrate
Oxide concentrate
- Price
- 85% of LME on the Cu content
- Copper is in
- FOB · Namibia
Country of origin: NamibiaManish ShavadiaUnverified4 h ago - SellingContractCS-74C2AB
Selling 24,000 MTCopper concentrate
Cu 30%
- Price
- 75% of LME on the Cu content
- Copper is in
- EXW · Lusaka Zambia
Country of origin: ZambiaNelson KamshiUnverified6 h ago
- BuyingMonthlyCS-45E573
Buying 50,000 MT a monthCopper concentrate
- Price
- 75% of LME on the Cu content
- Deliver to
- CIF · China
Origins accepted: Any originYussif BabaUnverified6 h ago
- BuyingMonthlyCS-16D18E
Buying 1,000 MT a monthCopper concentrate
25% Cu average · Cu 25%
- Price
- Negotiable
- Deliver to
- CFR · Chattogram, Bangladesh
Origins accepted: Zambia, Peru, South Africa
Mario Federico Talavera CamposAlpha Century Consulting LLCID checked9 h ago
How copper concentrate is priced
Copper concentrate is paid on its payable metal, not on its weight. The basic formula is:
- Payable copper (often about 96.5% of the copper content, with a minimum deduction) × LME average over the quotational period, such as one or three months after arrival
- plus payable gold and silver, when above the minimum levels
- minus the treatment charge (TC) in US$ per dry metric tonne and the refining charge (RC) in US¢ per pound of payable copper
- minus penalties for arsenic, mercury, bismuth, antimony and other elements above the agreed limits
TC/RCs move with the balance between mine supply and smelter capacity. They are agreed yearly for term contracts and change often on the spot market. In 2025 and 2026 they fell to record lows, with some contracts at or near zero, because smelter capacity grew faster than mine supply. Check current levels before you price an offer.
Weights are measured wet and paid dry, so moisture is deducted. Payment is usually provisional against shipping documents, then final after the assay exchange. On Copper Supply you can price a concentrate listing as a % of LME on the Cu content, LME ± %, a fixed price, or open to offers.
Find a counterparty
Typical copper concentrate specification
- Copper
- Typically 20% to 40% Cu; many clean concentrates are 25% to 30%
- Minerals
- Mainly chalcopyrite, with bornite or chalcocite in richer concentrates
- Moisture
- Typically about 8% to 10%, below the transportable moisture limit (TML) for sea shipment
- Payable copper
- Commonly about 96.5% of the Cu content, with a minimum deduction of about 1 unit
- Precious metals
- Gold and silver paid when above minimum levels set in the contract
- Penalty elements
- As, Hg, Bi, Sb, Pb, Zn, F, Cl above contract limits; China caps As in imports at 0.5%
- Charges
- Treatment charge in US$ per dry tonne, refining charge in US¢ per lb of payable Cu
- Shipping
- Bulk vessel or containers; a Group A cargo under the IMSBC Code
Where it usually comes from
Where it usually goes
- China
- Japan
- South Korea
- India
- Spain
- Germany
- Bulgaria
Documents you'll see
- SCO or FCO with grade range and loading point
- LOI or ICPO from the buyer
- SPA with sampling, assay exchange and umpire clauses
- Full assay from an accredited lab, including penalty elements
- Independent sampling and weighing: SGS, Bureau Veritas, Alfred H Knight (AHK) or CCIC
- Mining licence and export permit
- Certificate of origin
- Moisture and TML certificate for sea shipment
- Bill of lading
- Final weight and assay certificates
Red flags
- An assay that shows copper only, with no arsenic, mercury or other penalty elements
- A fixed price far below the value of the contained copper, with no mention of TC/RCs
- Tens of thousands of tonnes a month from an unnamed mine or a company with no mining licence
- Refusal of independent sampling at loading, or insistence on the seller's own lab only
- Requests for mine registration, export permit or allocation fees before any sample
- A grade far higher than the named mine is known to produce
How Copper Supply works
- Step 1Post freeSay what you buy or sell: product, tonnage, price basis, delivery terms. Fraud checks run before it goes live.
- Step 2Matching traders hear in minutesMembers who trade that product get an email as soon as your listing is live, and every Monday in the market report.
- Step 3Talk only to checked peopleNobody can message you until they've passed an ID check. You see what we checked and choose who to talk to.
- Step 4Run the deal in one roomNCNDA, LOI/ICPO, offers, SPA, IMFPA and signatures in one private deal room. Run any document through a fraud check before money moves.
Free to join. Copper Supply never holds trade money and takes no commission on deals.
Questions people ask
Who buys copper concentrate?
Custom smelters and the trading houses that supply them. China has the largest group of smelters that import concentrate, followed by Japan, South Korea, India and Europe. New producers often sell through a trader first.
How is copper concentrate priced?
On the payable copper, gold and silver it contains, at the LME average over an agreed quotational period. The buyer then deducts treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) and penalties for harmful elements such as arsenic. Moisture is deducted, so payment is on dry tonnes.
What are TC/RCs in copper concentrate?
The treatment charge (TC) is what the smelter charges to smelt a dry tonne of concentrate, in US$ per tonne. The refining charge (RC) is for refining the copper, in US cents per pound of payable copper. Both are deducted from the value of the concentrate and move with the supply of concentrate and smelter capacity.
What are penalty elements in copper concentrate?
Elements that are harmful or costly for the smelter, mainly arsenic, mercury, bismuth, antimony, lead, zinc, fluorine and chlorine. Above the limits in the contract the buyer deducts a penalty. Too much arsenic can make a concentrate unsellable in some countries.
Can I sell copper concentrate to China?
Yes, China is the largest importer of copper concentrate. Imports must stay within China's limits for harmful elements, with arsenic long capped at 0.5%, and cargo is inspected at discharge. Many Chinese smelters buy through traders or term contracts, so a trader may be your first buyer.
What grade of copper concentrate do smelters buy?
Most traded concentrate is between about 20% and 40% copper, often 25% to 30%. Smelters care as much about penalty elements, moisture and consistency as about the copper grade. A clean 22% concentrate can be easier to sell than a 30% concentrate with high arsenic.
Guides
How deals work3 min read
How a physical copper deal really works, step by step
From the first introduction to delivery: the eight stages of a real copper trade, who does what at each one, and where deals usually break.
Read the guideDocuments2 min read
Inspection certificates: what SGS, AHK and CCIC reports actually prove
Independent inspection is the backbone of safe copper trading. What an inspector checks, which report you need at which stage, and how to verify one.
Read the guidePayment3 min read
Payment terms that actually close copper deals
Most deals die on payment, not price. The structures that work in African copper, the ones that never do, and how to bridge the gap between test-first buyers and pay-first sellers.
Read the guideThe market2 min read
From mine to port: how African copper reaches buyers
Where Central African copper is produced, the road and rail corridors it travels, and the warehouses where most trades are inspected and paid.
Read the guide
Copper countries
- Copper in DR Congoproducer
- Copper in Zambiaproducer
- Copper in Tanzaniatrading hub
- Copper in South Africaproducer and consumer
- Copper in Namibiaproducer
- Copper in Zimbabweproducer
- Copper in Mozambiquetrading hub
- Copper in Chileproducer
- Copper in Peruproducer
- Copper in Chinaproducer and consumer
- Copper in Indiaconsumer
- Copper in Turkeyconsumer
- Copper in South Koreaconsumer
Other copper products
Looking for copper concentrate?
Post it free. Members who trade it get an email within minutes, and only ID-checked people can contact you.