- Write by:
-
Tuesday, November 13, 2018 - 12:31:20 PM
-
1527 Visit
-
Print
Mining News Pro - A tight copper market may be set to get a lot tighter, if a report this week from the world’s biggest miner of the metal is any indication.
According to Mining News Pro -A tight copper market may be set to get a lot tighter, if a report this week from the world’s biggest miner of the metal is any indication.
Santiago-based Codelco posted the lowest quarterly copper production this year in the third quarter, according to Chile copper agency Cochilco. The company reported declines across all of its mines in September as ore grades fell an average of 5% in the first nine months of the year.
The decline in ore grades compounds supply troubles after a commodities price slump that ended in 2016 made miners skittish about expanding their operations in Chile, the world’s largest copper supplier. At the same time, mounting trade tensions are prompting mining companies to delay big expansion projects amid uncertainty about the outlook for demand.
The International Copper Study Group forecasts a production deficit of 90,000 tonnes this year, more than double the shortfall forecast in April. Lower grades were partly offset by a 2% increase in metal recovery, but output for the first nine months of the year was still 41,000 tons lower than in 2017, Codelco said in an emailed response to questions.
“Companies need to cover themselves and generate investment programs to expand their capacity and mitigate the ore grade decline,” Cesar Perez-Novoa, an analyst at BTG Pactual in Santiago, said by phone on Thursday. “Otherwise, the depletion of resources over the next ten years will be high.”
Codelco is investing $36 billion over the next ten years to upgrade its aging mines to compensate for the decline in copper grades and to maintain production levels, Perez-Novoa said.
Short Link:
https://www.miningnews.ir/En/News/298099
Australian miner Lynas posted a slump in third-quarter sales revenue on Wednesday, missing analyst expectations on the ...
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has re-appointed Winston Chitando as the southern African nation’s mines ...
Anglo American Plc said it is has received an unsolicited non-binding combination proposal from BHP Group.
China’s Zhaojin Mining Industry said on Wednesday that its A$733 million ($477.8 million) offer to buy Australia’s ...
Toronto-listed miner OceanaGold Corp said on Wednesday it will raise 6.08 billion pesos ($106 million) through an ...
A key measure of Chinese copper demand just sank to zero, another indication that global prices are not balanced with ...
A new report by IDTechEx states that investing in e-haul trucks could result in major savings for miners due to the ...
Chile’s state copper company Codelco defended its proposed lithium production tie-up with SQM in response to criticism ...
Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals (TSX: FM) believes it will be able to take the already mined 121,000 tonnes of ...
No comments have been posted yet ...