Tongling Nonferrous Metals inks copper deal with PanAust
China’s Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group<000630>, the country’s largest copper smelter, has signed a preliminary contract with Australia’s resources company PanAust Ltd on raw material export, as per industry sources.
Pursuant to the contract, Brisbane-based PanAust will provide 80,000 tons of copper and gold concentrate, produced by Phu Kham in Laos, to Tongling through 2012. PanAust said the contract can be extended. The treatment and refining charges will be negotiated annually over the next four years, sources said.
The cooperation will allow PanAus to capitalize on competitive treatment charges and refining charges amid the tight market for copper concentrate, sources said, citing Gary Stafford, managing director with PanAust, as saying.
As PanAust’s agent, BHP Billiton Ltd, a diversified natural resources company in Australia, has negotiated with Tongling on the cooperation.
In the first half of this year, Tongling booked a steady year-on-year increase of 88.57% in net profit.
Tags: Copper, Metal