Korea stockpiles raw material, buys copper, lead

Korea’s Public Procurement Service, a state body that stockpiles raw materials, bought 4,000 tons of copper cathode through a tender for shipment between March and April. It also bought 2,000 tons of lead.
The agency bought 2,000 tons of grade-A copper from LS-Nikko Copper Inc., half at a discount of $36 a ton from the London Metal Exchange cash price for delivery by March 15, and half at a discount of $55 for delivery by April 15, it said in a statement.
LS-Nikko is a joint venture between LS Cable Ltd. and a Japanese group led by Nippon Mining & Metals Co.
The procurement agency also bought 2,000 tons of copper from LS Global Inc., half at a discount of $37 a ton for delivery March 25, and half at a discount of $54 a ton for delivery by April 5, the statement said. The discounts are on a cost, insurance and freight basis for Incheon.
Separately, the procurement agency said it had bought earlier this week 2,000 tons of refined lead with minimum purity of 99.99 percent from Korea Zinc Co., the world’s biggest zinc smelter, through private negotiations for delivery to Incheon.
Copper monitored by the London Metal Exchange rose 1,650 tons to 214,900 tons and lead stockpiles fell 875 tons to 35,000 tons.