Copper: after the boom

Copper demand is expected to turn down in the latter part of 1989 and then dip further in 1990. The slump in demand is expected to be modest, however, much less severe than the post oil shock recessions of the mid-1970s and early 1980s. By 1991 a healthy growth is expected to resume. However, major expansions to production capacity are in track and excessive production is expected to keep the copper market in surplus for the next five years. Thus, prices are expected to decline sharply and remain at quite low levels through the mid-1990s.     

Copper marketing with forward and futures contracts: state-owned and private Chilean firms during the 1990s

The use of futures in copper marketing became common during the 1990s, but little attention has been put on the reasons for it and its relationship with other elements of marketing such as forward sales and premiums. This study focuses on these issues and the benefit of futures relative to annual forward contracts. It argues futures complement annual forward contracts to secure the average market price rather than to maximize revenue. The paper analyzes empirical evidence for the six largest Chilean copper producers. This sample reflects well the entire Chilean industry during the 1990s. The analysis shows that forward sales became more volatile and futures seem to be the instrument to avoid income fluctuation at the end of the marketing process. However, the benefits of futures compared to forward sales are very modest. In the last section we suggest a better marketing instrument to maximize revenue may be premiums.     

Metal capital sustaining a North American city: Iron and copper in New Haven, CT

A detailed inventory shows that an average resident of the City of New Haven depends on a per capita capital stock of 9200 kg/c of iron and 144 kg/c of copper in the city infrastructure, buildings, transportation systems, and equipment. Of the iron stock 28% is in items such as rail cars and ships in ocean trade not permanently within the city, and 22% is devoted to receiving and delivering oil fuel to the city and its surrounding communities. Copper is principally used in the distribution of electric power and in water piping within buildings. The city's 9200 kg/c of iron stock-in-use is less than the 13,000 kg/c national average due to New Haven's lack of heavy industry and relatively small number of large buildings. The 144 kg/c of copper stock-in-use is only 58% of the overall value for the United States, but is comparable to that in cities such as Stockholm, Sweden. Attainment of a level of iron and copper services with contemporary technology in less developed countries to the level enjoyed in New Haven would require consumption of the presently identified world copper resources.     

INPUTS OF COPPER‐BASED CROP PROTECTANTS TO COASTAL CREEKS FROM PASTICULTURE RUNOFF1

ABSTRACT: Inputs of copper‐based crop protectants from tomato fields grown under plastic mulch agriculture (plasticulture) to an estuarine creek were investigated. Copper was measured in runoff from diverse land‐uses including conventional agriculture, plasticulture, residences, and natural areas. Water column and sediment copper concentrations were measured in plasticulture and control (nonagriculture) watersheds. Copper concentrations in plasticulture‐impacted creeks exceeded background levels episodically. High concentrations occurred during or immediately after runoff‐producing rains. Concentrations of 263 μg/L total copper and 126 μg/L dissolved copper were measured in a tidal creek affected by plasticulture; concentrations exceeded the shellfish LC₅₀ values and the water quality criteria of 2.9 μg/L dissolved copper. Control watersheds indicated background water column levels of ≤ 4 μg/L dissolved copper with similar copper levels during periods with and without rain. The copper concentrations in tomato plasticulture field runoff itself contained up to 238 μg/L dissolved copper. Copper concentrations in runoff from other land‐uses were less than 5 μg/L dissolved copper. Creek sediment samples adjacent to a plasticulture field contained significantly higher copper concentrations than sediments taken from nonplasticulture watersheds.     

The Appalachian Mountains' Copper Basin and the concept of environmental susceptibility

The Copper Basin is located within the southern Appalachian Mountains primarily in extreme southeastern Tennessee, USA. It has long been known for its copper mining/smelting and associated chemical industry, as well as its severely injured environment. Virtually all previous commentary on the environmental degradation at this location have focused on human activities and their destructive impact. This article approaches the subject from a different angle, one that emphasizes the interaction between man and nature. The site's physical setting, industrial history, and environmental history are briefly reviewed. The theory then presented here is that certain of the Copper Basin's natural features made its environment unusually vulnerable to the negative impact of copper mining and smelting, especially as practiced around the turn of the century. These features are identified. This reasoning provides the basis for the concept of environmental susceptibility, which is defined and discussed. A few of its applications are mentioned. This study offers a new perspective on the Copper Basin, as well as insights for those whose work involves investigating the man/nature relationship—both past and present.     

The competitive position of Canadian copper supply

The author examines the proposition that the Canadian copper industry has reached a mature, less competitive, stage of growth. Employing a break-even-cost approach, he compares the Canadian industry to those of other copper-producing nations in terms of cost competitiveness and prospects for new entrants. He finds little evidence to support the proposition, and concludes that Canada's copper industry will continue to maintain its strong competitive position during the 1980s.     

Australian gold exploration 1976–2003

The Australian gold industry has grown enormously over the past 25 years. Australian mine production of gold in 2003 was 284 t, similar to that of the USA, and behind South Africa, the world's largest gold-producing nation. Gold is Australia's third largest commodity export, worth an estimated A$5.3 billion in 2003–2004.Underpinning the industry is a solid resource base that has grown by successful exploration over the past three decades. Australia ranks third in the world after South Africa and the USA in terms of its economic gold resources. The growth in Australia's gold resources has been underpinned by high levels of exploration and innovations in gold processing technologies, specifically the development of carbon-based gold extraction methods that allowed commercial treatment of low grade ores. It has been supported by advances in gold exploration methods, especially exploration geochemistry.New resources were added at existing deposits and new deposits were found, including several of world class (>100 t contained gold), in each decade over the 25-year-period but resource growth since the 1990s has been dominated by brownfields additions rather than new discoveries. Average costs of discovery have now plateauxed at around A$20–25/oz, after falling sharply during the early to mid-1990s when a number of new discoveries were made, notably in the Yandal belt in Western Australia and the Lachlan Fold Belt in New South Wales. Current gold reserve/production and gold EDR/production ratios are 12 and 19 years, respectively, and indicate that the long-term future of the Australian gold industry depends on continued high levels of exploration and the discovery of new deposits to replace mines that are currently being depleted.     

Copper in India: Present and future outlook

The availability of mineral resources plays an important role in India's national economy. Copper, one of the important non-ferrous metals, has various industrial uses and demand for it is increasing in India where the inventory and production of copper, though not comparable with developed countries, shows an impressive growth rate, particularly during the last decade. With an increasing rate of industrial production envisaged in future plans copper consumption is expected to rise. Logistic curves have been used to study the potential long-term production capability under the dynamic concept of reserves and resources, with curves drawn for various estimates of total available resources. The production figures shown are not final and are subject to change due to a number of factors. This approach merely provides a method for projecting trends in future production.     

Seaborne iron ore trade in the 1990s

This paper discusses how world steel production and seaborne iron ore trade have grown since 1950. The role of steel production forecasts in determining investment in the iron ore industry is examined. Forecasts for world steel production and the demand and supply of seaborne iron ore in the 1990s are presented. It is predicted that world steel production will increase by 64 million tons between 1991 and 2000. This increase will be located principally in the developing countries and China. The corresponding increase in seaborne iron ore trade will be approximately 55 million tons. Expansion projects will be located mainly in Australia and Brazil, but no greenfield iron ore projects will be undertaken. By the end of the decade, the demand for seaborne iron ore will be equal to its supply.     

A methodological assessment of raw materials in the UK

Many projects have attempted to model the consumption and recycling patterns of important raw materials, but without assessing the significance of that raw material to the UK. This article methodically assesses all the factors which influence the importance of each raw material, and ranks them in descending order of importance. Sensitivity analyses confirm that the resultant ranking is largely independent of factors used. Copper, oil, iron and steel, and aluminium, are the four most significant materials. This work provided the justification for a detailed examination of the copper industry and, in particular, the significance of recycling.     

Mine size and the structure of costs

The number of operating mines has fallen sharply for most mineral products, and the average size of mine risen, with the changes gathering momentum during the 1990s. The paper looks at trends in copper, zinc and gold, and then explores the relationship between size and unit costs in copper mining, separately for underground and open-pit mines, in order to ascertain the existence and importance of economies of scale. Changes in mine size have been accompanied by major technological and geographical shifts. There is only a weak relationship between the scale of mines and overall unit costs per tonne of copper produced. The paper discusses the data and explores some of the reasons.     

鲫鱼对铜和锌的吸收蓄积研究

用原子吸收分光光度法研究铜和锌在鲫鱼体内积累行为,结果表明,溶解态和颗粒态铜和锌在鱼鳃、肌肉中的积累量随其浓度的增加而增加。铜和锌积累能力的大小顺序为锌〉铜。鱼鳃和肌肉对溶解态和颗粒态重金属的积累能力为鱼鳃大于肌肉,蓄积曲线表现为逐渐趋向平缓的形式。颗粒态鱼鳃积累尤其大于肌肉,说明鱼在对颗粒态铜和锌的积累过程中,部分颗粒态金属是吸附在鱼鳃上的。由于生理功能不同,鲫鱼对锌需要量比铜多。     

再生铜行业环境管理问题的若干思考和建议

随着我国铜冶炼(原生铜和再生铜)行业对含铜二次资源需求量的增加,集废旧资源回收、拆解和分选、二次资源出售、铜再生利用于一体的产业链逐渐发展壮大起来。然而高能耗、高污染、低质量、低产出的特点在再生铜行业依然存在,环境监管政策和标准也不健全不完善。随着人们对美丽生态环境诉求的增加,必须加强有色金属行业的环境管理。本文对再生铜行业发展和环境管理做了一些思考,特别是对再生铜行业环境管理存在的问题进行了分析,并针对问题提出了几点政策性建议,以期为我国再生铜产业的环境友好发展和环境监管提供借鉴。     

Modelling future copper ore grade decline based on a detailed assessment of copper resources and mining

The concept of “peak oil” has been explored and debated extensively within the literature. However there has been comparatively little research examining the concept of “peak minerals”, particularly in-depth analyses for individual metals. This paper presents scenarios for mined copper production based upon a detailed assessment of global copper resources and historic mine production. Scenarios for production from major copper deposit types and from individual countries or regions were developed using the Geologic Resources Supply-Demand Model (GeRS-DeMo). These scenarios were extended using cumulative grade-tonnage data, derived from our resource database, to produce estimates of potential rates of copper ore grade decline.The scenarios indicate that there are sufficient identified copper resources to grow mined copper production for at least the next twenty years. The future rate of ore grade decline may be less than has historically been the case, as mined grades are approaching the average resource grade and there is still significant copper endowment in high grade ore bodies. Despite increasing demand for copper as the developing world experiences economic growth, the economic and environmental impacts associated with increased production rates and declining ore grades (particularly those relating to energy consumption, water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions) will present barriers to the continued expansion of the industry. For these reasons peak mined copper production may well be realised during this century.     

Biosorption of copper (II) from chemical mechanical planarization wastewaters

Copper Chemical Mechanical Planarization (Cu-CMP) is a critical step in integrated circuit (IC) device manufacturing. CMP and post-CMP cleaning processes are projected to account for 30-40% of the water consumed by IC manufacturers in 2003. CMP wastewater is expected to contain increasing amounts of copper as the industry switches from Al-CMP to Cu-CMP causing some IC manufacturers to run the risk of violating discharge regulations. There are a variety of treatment schemes currently available for the removal of heavy metals from CMP wastewater, however, many introduce additional chemicals to the wastewater, have large space requirements, or are expensive. This work explores the use of microorganisms for waste treatment. A Staphylococcus sp. of bacteria was isolated and studied to determine the feasibility for use in removing copper from Cu-CMP wastewater. A model Cu-CMP wastewater was developed and tested, as well as actual Cu-CMP wastes. Continuous-flow packed column experiments were performed to obtain adsorption data and show copper recovery from the waste. A predictive, empirical model was used to accurately describe Cu removal. Additionally, the immobilized cells were regenerated, allowing for the concentration and potential recovery of copper from the wastewater.     

INVESTMENT REQUIREMENTS IN THE NON-FUEL MINERAL SECTOR IN THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIE

Concern over the financial requirements for the long-term expansion of the world non-fuel minerals industry has led to growing interest in estimates of the magnitude of the requirements. The authors focus on the requirements in the developing countries for nine major minerals and deal with the most important among these, copper, in an appendix.     

Book reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Moving Africa forward in the 1990s : SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: FROM CRISIS TO SUSTAINABLE GROWTH, A LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE STUDY by Ramgopal Agarwala, Pierre Landell-Mills, Stanley Please AFRICA'S COMMODITY PROBLEMS: TOWARDS A SOLUTION : by Malcom Fraser, Chairman The future for oil : WORLD OIL PRICES: DEMAND, SUPPLY AND SUBSTITUTES by Yousuf H. Mohammad, Walter J. Mead The world oil industry : ENERGY WATCHERS I: SHADOW OPEC: NEW ELEMENT FOR STABILITY? AND A ‘REINTEGRATED’ OIL INDUSTRY edited by Dorothea H. El Mallakh     

Viability of processing in copper-mining areas : An economic analysis

Although copper is exported mainly in the form of semi-refined or refined copper, exports of copper in the form of ores and concentrates increased their share of world copper exports in the 1970s. These exports mainly originate from copper-mining areas with limited access to the inputs required for stages subsequent to mining. This article surveys the options open to copper-producing countries to increase their revenue from copper, and concludes that changes in the composition of exports to favour the export of more processed forms of copper would require substantial changes in the economic structure of a country. Trade barriers are not felt to constitute a substantial obstacle to world trade in refined or semi-fabricated copper.     

Leaching characteristics of copper flotation waste before and after vitrification

Copper flotation waste from copper production using a pyrometallurgical process contains toxic metals such as Cu, Zn, Co and Pb. Because of the presence of trace amounts of these highly toxic metals, copper flotation waste contributes to environmental pollution. In this study, the leaching characteristics of copper flotation waste from the Black Sea Copper Works in Samsun, Turkey have been investigated before and after vitrification. Samples obtained from the factory were subjected to toxicity tests such as the extraction procedure toxicity test (EP Tox), the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) and the "method A" extraction procedure of the American Society of Testing and Materials. The leaching tests showed that the content of some elements in the waste before vitrification exceed the regulatory limits and cannot be disposed of in the present form. Therefore, a stabilization or inertization treatment is necessary prior to disposal. Vitrification was found to stabilize heavy metals in the copper flotation waste successfully and leaching of these metals was largely reduced. Therefore, vitrification can be an acceptable method for disposal of copper flotation waste.     

World copper market, 1973–1982, and international stabilization policies

This article critically examines international price stabilization policy in relation to the main features of the world copper market and the structural changes that have affected the industry in the decade up to 1982. The first section summarizes the main features of the world copper market, briefly discussing the principal structural changes; the second part examines the recent pattern of investment in copper and changes in ownership of some copper producing companies resulting from the need for improved cash flows due to the adverse effects of the recession; and the third part analyses the practical and theoretical issues relating to the question of price instability. A number of formidable problems are likely to arise from such price stabilization policies and it is concluded that it is because of these difficulties that the policies have not been implemented. Consequently, international commodity agreements designed to minimize or avoid price instability have proved difficult to conclude. New questions on which consensus is likely should be examined to promote intergovernmental co-operation, and hence market stability. With that end in view, this article lists some new questions that could form the basis of an agenda for exploratory intergovernmental discussions on copper.