首页|China's Minmetals to import 1.5M MT copper concentrates in 2007
China's Minmetals to import 1.5M MT copper concentrates in 2007
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NSTL
China Minmetals Nonferrous Metals Co. Ltd. plans to increase its copper concentrate imports to 1.5 million metric tons in 2007, from 800,000 tons targeted this year, the company's vice president Xu Feng said. By 2007, copper import business of state-owned Minmetals, now China's biggest metals trading company, will be in the hands of China United Copper Co., its new joint venture with five copper producers in China, Xu said. Minmetals currently has a 25 percent stake in China United Copper. "With that target, we also plan to increase the import ratio by Minmetals to slightly over 50 percent, from about 40 percent of national imports now," Xu said. Last year, Minmetals imported about 800,000 tons of copper concentrates, about 40 percent of China's total imports of 2 million tons. In 2007, China's total imports of concentrates should reach 3 million tons, according to Xu. This year's import target remains unchanged from last year because of supply tightness of copper concentrates in the world market, Xu said. "We always want to increase imports, but it's not possible," he said. The world copper concentrate market is seeing a shortage with major copper producers like Phelps Dodge Corp. and BHP Billiton Ltd. cutting mine output this year in response to price weakness. China is the world's second largest copper consumer but remains a net importer of the metal due to insufficient supplies of local copper concentrates. As such, Minmetals is trying to ensure China's concentrate supplies by other means apart from direct imports.
NSTL
