Canadian mining company Teck Resources Ltd (TECK.US) has reached an agreement with Korea Zinc Co. to sell its zinc concentrate in 2026 at slightly higher treatment charges, while also increasing fees for silver and germanium following a surge in prices for these metals. According to three informed sources, the treatment charge for Korea Zinc to process semi-finished ore, or concentrate, this year has risen to $85 per tonne. This represents a slight recovery from the $80 per tonne fee set for 2025, which was the lowest benchmark level in the zinc industry in over 50 years. Low treatment charges typically weigh heavily on zinc smelters, as these fees have historically accounted for about one-third of their revenue. Despite this, Korea Zinc achieved record profits in 2025, supported by strong price increases for silver, germanium, and other metals. These metals are also present in the concentrates the company purchases from Teck Resources and other miners. With silver prices rising 150% and germanium prices up 75% in 2025, revenue from these by-products surpassed income from its zinc operations. Germanium, which plays a critical role in defense systems and other advanced technologies, has seen its price soar since China began imposing export controls on germanium and other key minerals starting in 2023. Korea Zinc is one of the largest producers of germanium and other critical minerals outside of China and also supplies 5% of the world's silver. A significant portion of this silver comes from Teck Resources' Red Dog mine in Alaska, the world's largest zinc-lead mine. Due to U.S. tariffs on imported goods, Korea Zinc's products currently cannot be sold competitively in China. One source indicated that mining companies typically provide price concessions to smelters to cover the costs of recovering zinc, silver, and other metals, but in this year's agreement, Teck Resources and Korea Zinc agreed to lower the content threshold for payable prices. This change is expected to increase the share of revenue Teck Resources earns from the silver it produces, and the Canadian miner will also, for the first time, charge for the germanium contained in its concentrates.
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