It is said from a Chinese smelter source on Thursday that Chinese copper smelters are willing to accept the same treatment and refining charges for 2010 that Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc agreed with Japanese smelters.

A Japanese smelter source confirmed the deal with Freeport at 38 percent below 2009 levels, but added that talks were still ongoing with BHP Billiton, which he said was demanding even lower fees for smelting concentrate.

An official at Pan Pacific, one of Japan’s leading copper smelters, confirmed that a deal had been signed with Freeport, although declined to give any further details.

Freeport-McMoRan has agreed 2010 fees to convert copper concentrate into finished metal of $46.50 a tonne and 4.65 cents a pound with Japanese smelters, a 38 percent cut from this year’s fees.

“We consider this a benchmark and will try to see that the same fee is applied to all other TC/RCs for 2010,” the Japanese smelter source said.

Chinese smelters had sought to settle the treatment and refining charges at $60 a tonne to convert concentrate into copper anode and 6 cents a pound to refine anode into cathode, but an excess of smelter capacity versus concentrates has left the industry accepting lower fees to secure feedstock.

“We have to accept it, based on the market conditions,” said the Chinese smelter source, who declined to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Treatment and refining charges are fees paid by miner to smelters to convert imported concentrates into refined copper, and are deducted from the sale prices, based on London Metal Exchange copper prices.