DJ Antofagasta: Copper Treatment Charges May Fall Below $40/Ton

LONDON, Aug 27, 2008 (Dow Jones Commodities News via Comtex) -- ANFGY | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Chilean copper miner Antofagasta PLC (ANTO.LN) expects copper treatment charges and refining charges, or TC/RCs, to continue falling, possibly dipping below $40 a metric ton and four cents a pound respectively, a senior company executive said Wednesday.

"We foresee that there is a chance that TCs and RCs will go farther down from the mid year," Gonzalo Sanchez, vice president of sales and marketing, said in a call with analysts. "We suspect they could be below the 40 and four level - we suspect that it is possible that we could have something starting with a three."

The company settled the charges last year at $45/ton and 4.5 cents a pound, and midyear at $42/ton and 4.2 cents a pound, he said.

"So the trendline is still going down," Sanchez said.

He said even though terms are falling, smelters are making some profit from recoveries in payable metals such as gold and silver.

Antofagasta starts its TC/RC negotiations next month, Sanchez said.

Company Web site: http://www.antofagasta.co.uk

-By Jeffrey Sparshott, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)207 842 9347; jeffrey.sparshott@dowjones.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-27-08 1123ET

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