It’s not certain, but there is a very good chance that broad terms will be agreed for some annual zinc contracts by the end of February. Of course, some are likely to argue that these numbers should not be accepted as this year’s benchmark by others that will by then be beginning to gather in Scottsdale.
- Headline terms not too dissimilar to those that we forecast in January’s Zinc Quarterly are widely being touted as the likely settlement.
- These would represent an improvement for miners at today’s zinc price, a move that is supported by a recent increase in spot activity in China.
Lead talks are proving difficult
Negotiations of this year’s annual lead contracts do not appear to have made a great deal of progress. Miners with high-silver concentrates appear to be more willing to give smelters a higher TC than an increased silver RC, but those with low-silver tonnages are worried that such terms might set a precedent.