Corrected: Sumitomo Metal Mining agrees 2026 copper charges above $10 a metric ton, 1 cent per pound

Sumitomo Metal Mining

10/08/2026 09:54

Corrects refining charge to 1 cent per pound, not 10 cents, in headline and first paragraph
TOKYO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Japan's Sumitomo Metal Mining 5713.T has agreed 2026 treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) with global miners at more than $10 a metric ton and 1 cent per pound, it said on Monday. The charges are higher than some deals struck by Chinese smelters. 
TC/RCs, fees paid by miners to smelters to turn concentrate into refined metal, have come under pressure as global smelting capacity, led by China, expands faster than mined supply, squeezing smelters' margins.
Chilean miner Antofagasta ANTO.L and a Chinese copper smelter agreed to 2026 TC/RCs of $0 a ton and 0 cents per pound, highlighting the tough market.
"For 2026, Japanese smelters, including ourselves, have not followed the benchmark set by Chinese smelters, but have instead negotiated with mining companies individually," Yasuhiro Miyake, executive officer in charge of financial strategy, told reporters.
"We can't disclose the exact figures, but we have managed to secure contracts in the double-digit range rather than the single-digit range," he said. 
TC/RC remain at historically low levels and conditions are challenging, Miyake said, but the company raised its full-year profit forecast from the smelting business thanks to higher copper premiums and a weak yen which boosted  inventory valuations.
Pan Pacific Copper (PPC), Japan's largest supplier of the refined copper, has said it offered to sell copper to domestic customers at a record premium of $330 per metric ton for 2026.
Sumitomo Metal Mining also agreed on a premium at a level similar to PPC's, Miyake said.
Asked whether China's export controls on rare earths had impacted the company's procurement, Miyake said Sumitomo Metal Mining had secured adequate supplies for its material business, but would continue to diversify its procurement sources and recover rare earths through recycling.


 (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi)
 ((Yuka.Obayashi@thomsonreuters.com; +813-4520-1265;))