Flooding delays two Xstrata shipments of copper
April 16, 2007
By Brett Foley
busrep.co.za
London - Two copper shipments from Xstrata's Bajo de la Alumbrera mine in Argentina had been delayed by flooding, which disrupted rail services, the mining house said on Friday.
The company had declared force majeure after flooding, which began on March 29, delayed two deliveries of copper concentrate to the port of Rosario, said spokesperson Claire Divver.
Production at the mine was not affected, she said.
"We are investigating alternative methods of transport to get the material to the port," Divver said.
The shipments, due to be delivered this month, would instead arrive in May.
Nuevo Central Argentino, which operates the railway service, had told Xstrata the repairs would be completed by April 21, Divver said.
Pan Pacific Copper, Japan's largest copper producer, was among those that had received the force majeure notice, said Yoshihiro Nishiyama from the company's raw materials and marketing department.
Nishiyama did not say how much copper the firm bought from Xstrata.
Swiss-based Xstrata, which is listed in London and Zurich, has grown rapidly over the past 10 years to challenge the likes of Anglo American, according to a report by The Independent. Today it mines copper, coking coal, thermal coal, nickel and zinc. - Bloomberg |
