Steel Products Prices North America
September 3, 2019
CRU: Lower Byproduct Credits Hit Zinc Miners’ Margins
Written by Tim Triplett
By CRU Senior Analyst Paul Wiggers de Vries
Lessons learned from the mining boom saw zinc miners cut back site costs over 2015, 2016 and 2017 in the face of lower zinc prices. However, in 2018, cost controls were relaxed and cost inflation returned. In 2019, cost inflation will remain, but miners will reduce site costs to combat higher treatment charges and lower byproduct revenues. The reduction in site costs will not offset the rise in TCs or drop in metal prices, meaning costs for the average miner are expected to rise 44 percent in 2019 to $950/t.
