Japan's Pan Pacific Copper to raise copper output by 6% in H1 07
Source: Platts
Japan's largest copper producer Pan Pacific Copper plans to produce 310,000 mt of copper cathode in the first half of fiscal 2007, up 6.2% from the corresponding period in fiscal 2006, the company said on Monday.
Pan Pacific Copper's fiscal 2007 runs from April 2007 to March 2008. The company is a Nippon Mining & Metals group company focused on producing copper cathode and byproducts of copper. It runs the country's largest 450,000 mt/year smelting plant in Saganoseki in western Japan.
The 6.2% year on year increase in the output follows the several upgrade works in copper production equipment, including Saganoseki plant's smelting facilities and Hibi Kyodo Seiren's refining facilities, the spokesman said.
The feedstock used for PPC's copper is mostly copper concentrates from Chile. The company also uses recycled materials, which should not account more than 20% of the total feedstock, according to the spokesman.
PPC's 450,000 mt/year Saganoseki plant will be operating non stop throughout the April to September 2007 period. Its annual turnaround is scheduled in November 2007.
Meanwhile, PPC's gold production in the first half of fiscal 2007 is planned at 16,100 kg, jumping by 12.3% year on year. The strong 12.3% increase is due to the changes in the gold content in the copper concentrate. Gold recovered from industrial wastes has also been included in the 16,100 kg output, but does not have a major share.
Silver production is planned at 150 mt, down 12.3%. The decline is due to the decreased silver content in the concentrate. |
