KUNMING - Though
it doesn't receive the same attention as oil,
copper is a major industrial commodity and one of
the most economically important nonferrous metals.
Applications include wire, plumbing pipes and
fixtures, electric motor windings, electronics,
cookware, coins and certain musical instruments.
China has a large primary copper industry, and is
a major purchaser of copper ore and copper mines
overseas. Two important copper-producing regions
in China are Yunnan, in the southwest, and
Heilongjiang, in the northeast.
Yunnan
Copper reports first half results Yunnan
Copper Group, a major copper producer in southwest
China's Yunnan province, produced a record 45,400
tons of copper ore concentrate in the first half
of 2005, surging 40% year-on-year. The company
produced 155.051 tons of cathode copper
in
the period, jumping 57.91% on a yearly basis;
18,622 tons of cathode zinc, increasing 19.48%;
2,117 kilograms of gold, growing 25.94%; and
189.257 tons of silver, a modest 0.12% growth.
The output of electrical copper-wire
billets stood at 31,244 tons, a 33.46%
year-on-year growth; and that of iron ore
concentrate totaled 320,000 tons, up 54.9%. The
company's imports and exports in the first six
months hit 345.55 million yuan, completing 57.6%
of the annual target for 2005. The import of
copper ore concentrate reached 246,000 tons,
including 69,247 tons of copper, 4,200 kilograms
of gold and 42 tons of silver.
Silver
exports amounted to 185 tons and gold, 320
kilograms. The trade volume of the company
increased from US$16.57 million in 1998 to $508.87
million by 2004, ranking 1st in Yunnan, accounting
for 13.57% of the total $3.75 billion of foreign
trade originating in the province. In this period,
the company generated 6.12064 billion yuan in
gross industrial output value, growing 75.02% over
the same period of 2004; 757 million yuan in added
value, up 62.94%; 5.365 billion yuan in sales
revenue, rocketing 101.6%; and 468.24 million yuan
in profit and taxes, soaring 96.65%. Of this, the
profit went up 77.91% to 252.07 million yuan and
the sales rate was 94%.
Company to tap
Diqing mine Yunnan Copper Group will
directly invest three billion yuan by 2010 to tap
the rich mineral resources in Diqing prefecture in
Yunnan. It plans to build a large mine capable of
producing 150,000-200,000 tons annually of copper
and other associated metals in Diqing, which has
proven copper reserves of nearly three million
tons. By 2010 the Diqing mine is expected to
generate 4 billion yuan in sales revenue, 400
million yuan in taxes and 300 million yuan in
profits annually, becoming one of the largest
copper mining and dressing enterprises in China.
In the second half of 2006, the copper group will
first build a 20,000-ton copper mining and
dressing plant in Diqing.
Data show that
there are 75 super-large copper mines, with
reserves of above 5 million tons, in the world.
Two of them are in China, namely, Yulong Mine in
Tibet and Dexing Mine in Jiangxi. Diqing, with
ample resources waiting to be tapped, is likely to
join these two among the world's largest copper
mines.
Duobaoshan to get US$469 million
injection Three well-known Chinese mining
companies signed an agreement August 22 to jointly
invest 3.8 billion yuan (US$469 million) to
develop the Duobaoshan Copper Mine, the third
largest copper mine in China. Duobaoshan, located
in Nenjiang County of Northeast China's
Heilongjiang province, is the third largest copper
mine in China and is also the largest untapped
mineral deposit in Heilongjiang. It has proven
copper reserves of 2.97 million tons and
molybdenum reserves of 110,000 tons.
Three
domestic investors, namely, Heilongjiang
Provincial Mining Group Co Ltd, Zijin Mining Group
Co Ltd and Western Mining Stock Co Ltd, have
committed the 3.8 billion yuan of investment
required for the whole project. Among them, the
Heilongjiang Mining Group Co Ltd has a stake of
40% in the project; and Zijin Mining and Western
Mining, 31% and 29% respectively. All investments
will be in cash.
The copper mine project
is scheduled to start construction on a full scale
from May 2006. It is expected to generate more
than 1 billion yuan in annual output value when
the first phase of mining place and ore dressing
plant reach the designed production capacity.
