SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Overnight, LME copper opened at $9,608.0/mt, fluctuating in the early session and reaching a high of $9,622.0/mt during the volatile period. It then pulled back, touching a low of $9,557.0/mt, before fluctuating again and eventually closing at $9,567.0/mt, up 0.01%. Trading volume was 13,343 lots, and open interest was 295,433 lots. Overnight, the SHFE copper 2507 contract opened at 78,080 yuan/mt, fluctuating in the early session and reaching a high of 78,100 yuan/mt during the session. It then fluctuated downward, touching a low of 77,750 yuan/mt, before eventually closing at 77,850 yuan/mt, down 0.18%. Trading volume was 30,719 lots, and open interest was 171,728 lots.

【SMM Flash News】Kaz Minerals released its Q1 2025 report, which showed that its zinc concentrate production in Q1 was 9,300 mt, down 19% QoQ. Despite the increase in the zinc grade processed from 2.36% in Q4 last year to 2.41%, the reduction in the volume of ore processed partially offset this growth.

[SMM News] Kaz Minerals released its Q1 2025 report, which showed that its zinc concentrates production in Q1 was 9,300 mt, down 19% QoQ. Although the zinc grade processed increased from 2.36% in Q4 last year to 2.41%, the decrease in the volume of ore processed partially offset this growth.

SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Overnight, LME copper opened at $9,636.5/mt, initially touching a high of $9,645.0/mt before prices fluctuated downward. The lowest price reached during the session was $9,548.0/mt, and it eventually closed at $9,566.0/mt, down 0.31%. Trading volume was 14,383 lots, and open interest was 293,958 lots. Overnight, the SHFE copper 2507 contract opened at 78,010 yuan/mt, with prices fluctuating initially before declining steadily. It touched a high of 78,130 yuan/mt at the beginning of the session and fell to a low of 77,700 yuan/mt at the end, eventually closing at 77,790 yuan/mt, down 0.33%. Trading volume was 26,397 lots, and open interest was 168,556 lots.

On May 28 (Wednesday), Kazakh metal producer KAZ Minerals stated in a release that the company's copper production in the first quarter of this year was 90,400 mt, a 4.1% YoY decline. The company attributed the decline in copper production in Q1 to a decrease in ore grade, but its Q1 copper production was still slightly higher than the 92,900 mt produced in Q4 2024. "The reduction in by-product production was due to mining in areas with lower polymetallic content." The data also showed that in Q1, its gold production decreased by 20.9% YoY to 31,000 ounces, silver production increased by 0.7% YoY to 884,000 ounces, and zinc concentrates production decreased by 11.4% YoY to 9,300 mt. In Q1, the company's copper sales volume was 80,300 mt.

According to SMM, Kazakh metal producer KAZMinerals stated in a declaration on Wednesday that the company's copper production in Q1 this year was 90,400 mt, a 4.1% decrease compared to the same period last year. The company attributed the decline in Q1 copper production to a decrease in ore grade, but its Q1 copper production was still slightly higher than the 92,900 mt in Q4 2024.

[SMM Analysis:The mid-year negotiations are approaching, and the imbalanced supply-demand structure of copper concentrate will have far-reaching impacts ] Antofagasta’s mid-year negotiations with smelters in China, Japan, and South Korea are imminent, during which Antofagasta will launch negotiations with smelters. From the current situation, the outlook for buyers is not optimistic.

[SMM Analysis: Mid-Year Negotiations Approaching, Profound Impact of Imbalanced Copper Concentrates Supply and Demand Structure] Antofagasta's mid-year negotiations with smelters in China, Japan, and South Korea are approaching, and Antofagasta will commence mid-year negotiations with the smelters. Judging from the current situation, the outlook for buyers is not optimistic.

According to Webstock Inc., citing foreign media on February 17, data released by the Kazakhstan Statistics Agency on Monday showed that Kazakhstan's copper cathode production in January 2025 was up 0.1% YoY. The following is the latest monthly report on the production of non-ferrous metals, steel, and precious metals released by the Statistics Agency (unit: mt/kg): Copper miners KAZ Minerals and Kazzinc, a subsidiary of Glencore, account for the majority of Kazakhstan's metal production.

[SMM Analysis: The Old Is Gone, Everything Is New - SMM Copper Concentrates Supply-Demand Balance Table Released] 2024 has passed, and SMM has released the global copper concentrates supply-demand balance table for 2021-2030 based on publicly available data sources and the latest project progress.