The El Morro copper-gold project is located 4,000 metres above sea level in the district of Alto delCarmen, in the Atacama region of north-central Chile. Xstrata Copper acquired El Morro project in August 2006 as part of the Xstrata Group’s acquisition of Canadian miner Falconbridge.
Vale SA, the world’s second-biggest nickel producer, said it restarted partial production today at Sudbury, its largest nickel and copper unit in Canada, as a strike continues. Nickel prices fell in London.
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd (5713.T), Japan’s second-largest copper smelter, said it expects to produce 201,000 tonnes of copper in October-March, as announced at the beginning of the business year in April.
Chile’s second biggest mining association, Sonami, expects the average price of copper to rise by up to 19 percent next year, which might encourage the continuation of more copper projects in the South American nation, its president told Reuters on Monday.
The average copper price may rise to $2.50 per lb in 2010 from an average of $2.10 to $2.30 this year, Sonami’s Alfredo Ovalle said in an interview at a forum in Santiago.
Bloomberg reported that Jiangxi Copper Company is hopeful of reaching this year’s output target after availability of scrap improved.
Mr Gan Chengjiu CFO of Jiangxi Copper said that the company is aiming to produce 800,000 tonnes of refined copper as projected. Around 45% of Jiangxi’s 900,000 tonne annual capacity uses scrap with the rest sourced from concentrate.
