Marketing arrangements of copper concentrate producers: The case of Bougainville Copper Ltd

Abstract

This paper deals with the relationship between independent copper concentrate producers and the custom smelters which process and then dispose of, their output. Using as an example a major producer of concentrates, Bougainville Copper Limited, it provides details of smelter contracts, examines the distribution of metal revenues and seeks to explain variations in their distribution over time and between individual mines.