Copper concentrate is a kind of low-grade copper-bearing raw ore which can be directly used for copper smelting in smelters, including copper ore dressing, global copper concentrate production, copper concentrate trade and so on.

1.Copper ore dressing

Classification of copper ores: Copper Ores can be divided into oxide ores (oxidation rate & GT; 30%) , mixed ores (oxidation rate 10? 30%) and sulfide ores (oxidation rate 10%) according to their oxidation rate. The minimum industrial grade of copper ore should be no less than 0.4-0.5% . For copper ore, the processing method is flexible and the associated elements can be extracted. For copper ore processing method is more flexible, ore associated elements can be extracted. 

Beneficiation of copper ore: The beneficiation technology of copper ore is mainly crushing-ball milling-classification-flotation-cleaning and so on. Copper ore dressing equipment mainly includes crusher, vibration feeder, ball mill, spiral classifier, magnetic separator, flotation machine, concentration barrel and dryer. The copper ore dressing process is roughly divided into three parts:

(1)Crushing Part: The basic process of crushing ore. The purpose is to pulverize the raw ore to an appropriate size suitable for grinding part. 

(2)Grinding Section: The grinding section further treats the ore to a smaller size to match the flotation separation material 

(3)Flotation Section: flotation process/important process for upgrading copper ore. The chemical reagent will be added to the mixer/mixer to cause a chemical reaction.

Fig. 1 flowchart of copper sulphide ore dressing

2.The global production of copper concentrates is on the rise.

 In 2014, the global production of copper concentrates reached 18.52 million tons (tons of metal, same below) , while the mine capacity reached 21.71 million tons. Since 2005, the world's largest copper mine, Escondida, has been operating at full capacity after its expansion and new copper projects have been put into operation, resulting in a significant increase in global copper concentrate production capacity and output, as shown in the chart below.

Figure 2 global production of copper concentrates (10,000 metric tons) 

as can be seen from figure 2, global mining capacity increased significantly faster than production growth over the period 2005-2012, and production growth slowed in 2013-2014, however, capacity growth remained high, resulting in a decline in both stages of Capacity utilization.

Figure 3 global Capacity utilization is characterized 

by a concentration of copper concentrate production, with the top 10 producing countries accounting for 80% of the global market as of 2014. Chile is the world's leading producer of copper concentrates, with a share of more than 30 per cent in recent years. China's supply of copper concentrates has been growing at a faster rate in recent years, with its market share rising from 5.4% in 2007 to 8.79% in 2014, second only to Chile, which may be overlooked, because China has been a country in great need of copper concentrates. In addition, African production of Congolese copper concentrates has increased significantly in recent years, with market share rising from less than 1 per cent in 2007 to 5.23 per cent in 2014, ranking sixth globally. 

Table 1 distribution of regional market share of global copper concentrate production

(Source: WBMS) 

in addition, the world's 30 largest copper mines account for about 48% of the world's copper concentrate production, according to the 2013 data. Chile accounts for 12 of the top 30 copper mines, accounting for about 50 percent of the total output of the top 30, with a high degree of industrial concentration.

Figure 4 global production and market share of major copper deposits 20133. 

3.Trade in copper concentrates

(1) Overview of global trade in copper concentrates copper concentrates is one of the most important commodities in Non-ferrous metal's international trade. During the period 2005-2014, the annual trade volume of world copper concentrates maintained a stable upward trend. In 2014, the world exported 7.02 million tons of copper concentrates (tons of metals, the same below) , an increase of 39 percent over 2005, while the import volume increased by 50 percent to 6.54 million tons in the same period. 

Exports of copper concentrates are concentrated in copper-rich countries, with Chile by far the largest exporter. Chile exported 2.727 million tons of copper concentrates in 2014, accounting for 38.8 percent of global exports in the same period. Other big exporters are Peru, Australia, Canada and the United States, which together account for 73 percent of global exports.

(table 2005-2014 exports of copper concentrates from major countries (10,000 metric tons)

Imports of copper concentrates are concentrated in Asia, with China the world's largest importer. Asian imports of copper concentrates accounted for more than 78 per cent of global imports in 2014, with China accounting for 45.32 per cent, followed by Japan with 19.88 per cent. The world's top five importers account for 90 per cent of global imports, with a clear concentration.

Table 3imports of copper concentrates from major countries in the world, 2005-2014(10,000 tonnes)

At present, the pattern of supply and demand of copper concentrates in the world will not change significantly in the future. In the next few years, Chile, Peru and other countries will continue to be the world's major exporters of copper concentrates, and their supply capacity will continue to increase. Indonesia is affected by domestic policies, exports will shrink. China, Japan, India and other countries are still major importers of copper concentrates, and China, India and other developing countries will import more copper concentrates in the future.

(2) China's imports of copper concentrates 

China ranks second in the global market for its own production of copper concentrates, but it is far from meeting the domestic demand for smelting production and needs to import large amounts of copper concentrates each year. According to incomplete statistics, China's imports of copper concentrates account for 70% ~ 80% of the total supply. In terms of importing countries, Chile and Peru are the two most important importers and continue to grow, while imports of copper concentrates from Mongolia increased significantly in 2014 and have become the third largest source of imports.

Figure 52011-2014 China's major importers of copper concentrates (10,000 tons in kind)

(3) Pricing Mechanism for copper concentrates

In the international trade of copper concentrates, the price of copper concentrates is linked to the price of refined copper. The price of copper concentrate shall be determined by deducting the cost of copper smelting from the price of refined copper. There are two main models of copper smelting processing fee, namely, long-term contract processing fee and spot contract processing fee. At present, the major enterprises in the copper smelting industry, especially the copper smelters in Europe, the United States and Japan, all adopt the procurement model of long-term supply contracts, supplemented by spot supply contracts, this is also the international smelter generally adopted by the mature model. In recent years, China's copper smelting industry has shifted from spot procurement to long-term contract procurement, supplemented by spot procurement. The price of refined copper is based on the average price of London metal exchange (LME) copper and Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) copper.

Figure 62000-2012 long-term contract and spot contract processing fees for copper concentrates at present, domestic copper concentrates are mainly calculated by multiplying the price factor of copper and deducting certain expenses caused by grade difference and impurity exceeding the standard. In different periods, the valuation Coefficient of copper is different, mainly maintained at 60%-85% . 

Table 4 copper concentrate standard

Copper content is 20.00% standard time normal settlement, copper concentrate settlement price = 1 # electrolytic copper futures monthly average settlement price copper concentrate price coefficient (83-85) + copper grade change price difference.

 Table 5 copper concentrate pricing factor table

Table 6 copper grade change corresponding to copper concentrate price difference (Yuan/ton) corresponding table

Source: southbank business