Who could have imagined this perfect storm could have happened- perhaps best reacquaint yourself with our previous discussions:
https://hotcopper.com.au/posts/37257397/single
Instead I was called out (incorrectly) on letting people know what the Zinc TCs by some here and how it would impact profitability.
https://hotcopper.com.au/posts/37360118/single
NCZ is extremely exposed to the Zn price and the Zn TC more so than other producers so while it does affect the industry as a whole it has a relatively larger impact on NCZ.
Other large producers like McArthur River, Dugald River, Antamina etc have by-products to cushion the impact of the high zinc TC. NCZ don’t currently have a lead by-product and they sold most of whatever small silver by-product credit as part of their Bergen deal.
If the management had been upfront about the impact of TCs 3-6months ago they probably would have got more credit. Instead very bullish analyst reports were trotted out in the interim.
Mark my words - if the TCs for Zinc concentrates start going down so will the Zinc price because there is a greater availability of zinc metal.