Copper and Zinc

Copper and zinc are alloyed together as brass, often mined from the same polymetallic ores, and traded on the same exchanges, giving them the closest price link among copper's partners.

Copper (commodity) and Zinc (commodity): 3 relationships.

How they are linked

1. Price link: common driver

Cost and price · Strong · Both ways

Both are LME base metals bought by construction and industry and traded by the same funds, and both are partly mined from the same deposits.

• 0.73 monthly change correlation
• 0.73 12-month change correlation
• 0.61 fitted elasticity

This is copper's strongest monthly price link on the site, and the yearly link is as strong. It weakens when one market has its own supply shock, for example at the mine or smelter level.

Sources: Material Insights (World Bank, FRED, IMF data)

2. Polymetallic ores

Joint production · Medium · Mined from the same deposits

Volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits contain copper, zinc and lead together, often with silver and gold, so one mine produces separate copper and zinc concentrates.

• about 22% and 6% of world zinc and copper production from VMS deposits (estimate cited in 2019)

VMS deposits matter more for zinc than for copper, since most copper comes from porphyry deposits. Major VMS camps include Flin Flon, Bathurst and Noranda in Canada. At these mines a shift in relative prices changes which metal is the main earner.

Sources: MINING.COM (Geology for Investors)

3. Brass

Physical flow · Medium · Zinc alloyed into copper

Brass is copper with zinc added for strength, machinability and lower cost, and it is the second largest use of zinc in the US after galvanising steel.

• up to about 35% zinc in single-phase (alpha) brasses
• about 70% and 30% copper and zinc in cartridge brass (C26000)

Brasses with more than about 39% zinc, such as Muntz metal, have a mainly two-phase (beta) structure. Because zinc is cheaper than copper, higher copper prices can favour higher-zinc brasses, and brass scrap recycles both metals together.

Sources: Copper Development Association; US Geological Survey

For investors

Key learnings

1. Copper and zinc prices are closely linked month to month, so a copper view carries much of a zinc view, except during zinc-specific smelter or mine shocks.
2. Polymetallic miners hedge naturally across copper and zinc, and their revenue mix shifts with relative prices.
3. Brass demand ties zinc to the same plumbing, electrical and fittings markets as copper.

What to track

• LME copper and zinc prices: Divergence signals a metal-specific supply shock (Daily · LME)
• Zinc treatment charges: Low charges signal tight concentrate supply (Annual and spot · Fastmarkets, SMM)
• China refined zinc and copper output: China is the largest refiner of both (Monthly · National Bureau of Statistics of China)

For policymakers

Key learnings

1. India is a large zinc miner but a small copper miner, so its exposure in this pair is to imported copper concentrate, not zinc.
2. Brass manufacturing clusters depend on both metals, so import duties on either feed directly into their costs.
3. Exploration in polymetallic belts can add copper and zinc together.

What to track

• India copper concentrate and refined zinc imports: Shows import dependence for brass and other users (Monthly · DGCI&S)
• India zinc mine output: Measures domestic supply strength (Quarterly · Ministry of Mines, company reports)

India

India mined about 870 kt of zinc in 2024 but only 27 kt of copper, while refining 545 kt of copper from mostly imported concentrate.

Sources

1. Price correlation, Material Insights, Material Insights (World Bank, FRED, IMF data)
2. Microstructure of copper alloys: brasses, Copper Development Association
3. Everything you need to know about VMS deposits, MINING.COM (Geology for Investors) (2019)
4. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Zinc, US Geological Survey (2026)
5. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Copper, US Geological Survey (2026)