Zinc: Trading
London, Shanghai, MCX and the treatment charge
What this tab covers How and where it is bought and sold: who buys and sells, exchanges and benchmarks, contract types, the big trading houses and how prices are discovered.Refined zinc is priced on the London Metal Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange; India trades it on MCX. Physical metal sells at the LME price plus a regional premium; the North American premium rose about 6% in 2025. Concentrate is sold to smelters at the metal price less a treatment charge. Exchange stocks can be cornered. In 1991-92 Marc Rich + Co, with two big producers, held more than 90% of LME zinc stocks. The LME capped the squeeze, the price fell by over a quarter in two months, and margin calls nearly broke the firm (Blas & Farchy).
Where it is bought (buyers)
- Smelters in China, South Korea, Spain, Canada, Japan and Finland buy concentrate; China took 36% of world concentrate imports by value in 2024 (UN Comtrade)
- Galvanisers and steel mills buy SHG ingot on annual contracts at LME plus a regional premium; US net import reliance for refined zinc was 73% in 2025 (USGS MCS 2026)
- Die-casters and brass mills buy alloy and refined zinc
Where it is sold (sellers)
- Miners in Peru, Australia, Bolivia, the US (Red Dog), Mexico and Sweden export concentrate; Peru led with 18% of export value in 2024 (UN Comtrade)
- Refiners in South Korea, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia and Spain export refined zinc (each 9-10% of 2024 export value, UN Comtrade)
- Hindustan Zinc sells most of its metal in India and exports the rest
Exchanges and benchmarks
| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| London Metal Exchange (LME) | Special High Grade zinc, 25 t lots | Global reference price |
| Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) | Zinc, 5 t lots | Chinese domestic price |
| MCX (India) | Zinc futures in rupees per kg | Indian reference; Hindustan Zinc prices off LME plus premium |
Contract types
- Annual benchmark treatment charge for concentrate, negotiated between a major miner (often Teck) and smelters (often Korea Zinc), with spot TCs for cargoes
- Concentrate paid on most, but not all, of its zinc content at the LME price less the TC, with penalties for impurities
- Annual SHG ingot contracts at LME average plus regional premium (Rotterdam, Singapore, US Midwest)
- Toll refining for traders that own smelters
Top trading houses
- Glencore
- Trafigura (owns Nyrstar)
- Mercuria
- IXM
How prices are discovered
- LME official prices and SHFE futures
- TC and premium assessments by SMM, Fastmarkets and S&P Global Platts (North American premium)
- ILZSG statistics for balances