"We have seen no tangible movement on the part of the Japanese and Koreans," Pasminco's chief negotiator, Bill Wise told Reuters.

Wise said that in preliminary meetings before Christmas each party agreed to take a step back and "let the market mature."

The fees are traditionally settled around the time of the annual world industry gathering, being held in early March in Palm Springs this year, although extensions are not uncommon.

Wise said Pasminco would simply roll over current contracts and make appropriate adjustments once new agreements had been forged.

Anticipation that some mining curtailments in the industry could occur in response to current weak zinc prices and lift values in the process, placed "time onthe side of the miners," Wise said.

Pasminco has the luxury of full integration in its zinc business, rendering much of its mine output captive to its own smelters.

But it is doubtful any Australian zinc miners have finalised terms, although MIM Holdings Ltd has held some discussions in Japan and could tie up agreements by the time of the meeting, industry sources said. "None have gone through yet," said a source at an Australian zinc company.

Several deals, believed to have been reached already in Europe and North America at around US$170 a tonne, basis a London Metal Exchange cash price of $1,100 a tonne, were described as "not meaningful" by one Australian negotiator recently in Tokyo.

Noranda Inc vice president Ivan Miller told Reuters from Canada this week that deals were being discussed at terms between the low $160s and low $170s, although no specific talks or deals were mentioned. The 1998 benchmark of $187.50 basis $1,100 is equivalent to $172.50 basis $1,000 and at that level would give somesmelters the rollover fees they are seeking.

One sticking point in negotiations surrounded attempts by miners to win reductions in the escalator clause, which gives smelters as much as 20 cents additional for each dollar above the basis price. Traditionally, escalators have been capped at between 11 cents and 13 cents a pound.

"There have been attempts to get those escalators down to around 15 or 16 cents" a source said.

The concentrates market is already much tighter than forecast a few months ago, following price-induced production cutbacks and involuntary interruptions, which some analysts estimate may have cut potential 1999 mine production by about 300,000 tonne.