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COPPER'S PROSPECTS
News and Information
Relative To Copper
and the Copper Industry
Updated 22 March, 2009
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China's Copper Production Surges
By Charles Kubach
Mine-Engineer.Com 22 Mar., 2009
Copper produced from China's smelters increased 18% over the previous year (600,000 metric tons) during the first two months of this year.
When combined with the decreased import and processing of scrap copper (it costs more to reclaim copper from scrap than it does to smelt
from ore), the copper outlook in China shows glimmers of recovery. Taking advantage of the low spot prices for copper ($1.80 per pound),
setting a record for copper imports in February.
China is getting ready for the return to growth and building, using a very capitalistic approach to their economic problems,
and it looks like it is paying early dividends. This is good news for the copper industry, since demand should remain modest,
instead of plummeting like our economy run by socialist economic theories.
Copper In A Bad Economy
By Charles Kubach
Mine-Engineer.Com 22 Nov., 2008
Copper, unlike gold, has industry as its primary engine, and the global industrial outlook is slow, currently,
and for the next year. Until global economies improve, the demand for copper will remain weak and the price will
fluctuate between $3500 and $2200 per ton. Positives for copper are decreased costs of production, and the
economic stimulus interventions of various governments which should stimulate production of goods, at least
short term.
I do not think the global economy will slip into a depression, but depending upon how politics plays
(socialists tend to regulate industries to their demise), it could be a short recession. The USA is still
not technically in a recession, but should meet the technical definition of 2 quarters of negative growth soon.
I think the downturn could be short, and if this is the case, copper will have a short downturn period.
The time factor of the downturn depends upon how economies are treated by the respective governments.
Bad political decisions will reflect badly on the global economy. The USA has just elected a socialist leaning government
, and this usually spells doom for a market driven economy. If the socialists have their way, the
industrial complex of the US will change radically, for the worse, and copper may fall below $2200 per ton.
Hopefully, there will be enough in government to pull it towards the center and not let the country to slip
into socialism, with big government controlling every facet of the economy. If not, doom and gloom will prevail,
economically, and gold will replace the USD as the currency of value.
Copper Industry Update - - July 5, 2007
China Copper
Jiangxi Copper Group's new copper smelting project will produce 300,000 tons of copper cathode per year, and is due to start up in August 2007.
Jiangxi officials said this huge smelter will not affect the copper market, because all of the copper will be used internally in China.
Copper for the smelter will primarily come from imported copper concentrate and scrap copper to supply the 300,000-tonne crude copper line. Copper concentrate for will be mainly sourced from Chile, Mongolia and Indonesia.
China's copper smelting capacity will reach between 3.2
million and 3.3 million tons this year, and copper prices will fluctuate
around current levels in the near future. The August copper delivery price
in Shanghai was 8,341) per ton (July 5, 2007).
(April 27,2007)
The copper output this year (2007) is projected to be 17,820,000 tons from
global mining operations. Although global economies are slowing (except for China, growing at 11%/Year), 2007 is projected to be another good year for copper. At the current $3.65/pound for copper, it is at historic levels, and will probably not change much during 2007. The 1,342,000 tons of copper produced in the US (Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Montana) is at the highest production volume since 2001. Domestic copper use is projected to decline, due to the slump in the housing and construction industry, but strong global demand is expected to keep supplies tight and prices up for the remainder of the year.
Cerro Verde Expansion
The Cerro Verde porphyry copper mine in Arequipa is operated by Sociedad Minera
Cerro Verde S.A.A., a Peruvian subsidiary of Phelps Dodge,is one of the
world's largest producers of copper and molybdenum. Major ores mined are
Chrysocolla, brochantite, chalcocite and chalcopyrite. The mine is currently
undergoing a large expansion, as described in the Phelps Dodge Press Release.
"Cerro Verde is undergoing an $850 million expansion that will permit mining a
primary sulfide ore body beneath the oxide ore body currently in production.
Through the expansion, approximately 1 billion tons of sulfide ore reserves
averaging 0.51 percent copper will be processed through a new concentrator.
Mining of the sulfide ore body is expected to begin in late 2006. The
expanded copper production rate should be achieved in the first half of 2007.
Current copper production at Cerro Verde is approximately 100,000 tons per year.
After the expansion, copper production initially will approximate 300,000 tons
per year."
When this expansion is completed, later this year, it should help alleviate a
little of the current copper shortage, but will not reflect upon pricing much,
since demand is much larger than the 300,000 additional tons that will be
supplied by the expansion project.
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Copper Processing Developments - - May 15, 2006 - -
Copper processing advancements continue to be
made in heap leaching, allowing greater recoveries (up to 90%) at
lower costs. More efficient methods of bringing the solution into
contact with the copper ore, such as drip emitters, and more
efficient heap leach pad designs will continue to improve the
efficiency of copper producing companies.
Does aeration of the leach pad produce
greater recoveries? After listening to some of the experts debate this,
I came to the conclusion that there were as many saying no, as were saying yes.
Bio Oxidation and
improved solvent extraction applied to copper production are also
showing promise in increasing recoveries and efficiency, as well
as experimentation with leach chemicals other than sulfuric acid
(the most common copper leachent.)
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Domestic Copper Production
Domestic mine production in 2005 declined slightly to 1.15 million tons and was valued at
about $4.3 billion. The principal mining States, in descending order, Arizona,
Utah, and New Mexico, accounted for 99% of domestic production; copper
was also recovered at mines in four other States. (US Geologic Survey)
Despite this production, 49% of copper used in the US in 2005 was imported.
Globally, 14.9 million tons of copper were produced in 2005, (an increase of 2.6%) with estimated
world copper reserves at 940 million tons. At current use levels, this would
amount to 63 years of copper left on the planet. With developing countries
demanding more copper each year, the annual consumption is bound to increase,
though. So, in 20 years, will copper be selling for $500/pound? Will the
future of copper mining be on Mars?
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Copper Corner
Comments, Speculation, Opinions
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