At a time when copper prices have repeatedly reached record highs, smelters that refine copper ore into usable metals have fallen into the dilemma of negative price processing. This anomaly reflects the current increasingly complicated supply and demand situation in the copper market. On Tuesday, three-month copper hit a record high of 14,779 US dollars per ton on the London Metal Exchange. On Wednesday, it fell slightly to 14,767.5 US dollars/ton, but since this year, copper prices have risen by nearly 18%. However, the data shows that this year's copper smelter's benchmark processing and refining fee — that is, the cost that miners pay to the smelter to process concentrate into finished metal — was $0 per ton, a record low. This figure is lower than $21.25 per ton in 2025 and $80 per ton in 2024. The current price of refining has dropped even more. In the middle of the year, it has already dropped to about minus 127 US dollars per ton, which is equivalent to smelters paying to help miners process their ore. The industry emphasized that the basic reason for this current situation is that the gap between supply and demand dominates the copper market. Since mineral supply capacity is far lower than processing capacity, and smelting capacity is increasingly viewed by countries as a strategic strength, this has led smelters to compete for an increasingly limited supply of raw ore.

At a time when copper prices have repeatedly reached record highs, smelters that refine copper ore into usable metals have fallen into the dilemma of negative price processing. This anomaly reflects the current increasingly complicated supply and demand situation in the copper market. On Tuesday, three-month copper hit a record high of 14,779 US dollars per ton on the London Metal Exchange. On Wednesday, it fell slightly to 14,767.5 US dollars/ton, but since this year, copper prices have risen by nearly 18%. However, the data shows that this year's copper smelter's benchmark processing and refining fee — that is, the cost that miners pay to the smelter to process concentrate into finished metal — was $0 per ton, a record low. This figure is lower than $21.25 per ton in 2025 and $80 per ton in 2024. The current price of refining has dropped even more. In the middle of the year, it has already dropped to about minus 127 US dollars per ton, which is equivalent to smelters paying to help miners process their ore. The industry emphasized that the basic reason for this current situation is that the gap between supply and demand dominates the copper market. Since mineral supply capacity is far lower than processing capacity, and smelting capacity is increasingly viewed by countries as a strategic strength, this has led smelters to compete for an increasingly limited supply of raw ore.