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Gold/Mining/Energy : Copper - analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Stephen O who wrote (392)	12/4/2002 7:17:32 PM
From: Stephen O	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2131

Melbourne, Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) -- BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company, said it will keep copper production below mine capacity next year because of weak demand for the metal, even as it increases output in Chile. Overall copper production in 2003 will be 305,000 metric tons below capacity, the company said in a statement. Output from Escondida in Chile, the world's largest copper mine, will rise 38 percent in 2003 after a reduction this year, leaving production 200,000 tons below capacity, the statement said. Copper futures traded in New York have risen 16 percent from a nine-month low in October, partly on efforts by mining companies to limit supply. Chile's Codelco, the world's biggest copper producer, said last week it would stockpile 12 percent of its output next year because of weak demand. ``BHP Billiton has shown its intent to try and alleviate the surplus,'' said Glyn Lawcock, director of resources research at UBS Warburg in Sydney. Copper production worldwide during the first eight months of the year exceeded demand by about 74,000 tons, according to the International Copper Study Group. The company said it will re- evaluate production plans in six months. Production at Escondida will rise to 1.05 million tons in 2003 from 760,000 tons this year, BHP Billiton said. Production Falls This Year The mine produced a total of 597,018 tons of copper in the first 10 months of the year, down from 674,839 during the same period last year, according to a statement issued by the mine on Nov. 18. The mine has the capacity to produce as much as 1.25 million tons of copper a year after an expansion project was completed in October. The company had said in November 2001 that it would slash production from Escondida and Tintaya in response to weak demand. Production at the Tintaya in Peru will be 90,000 tons below capacity, the company said. The mine produced no copper concentrate this year. Melbourne-based BHP Billiton owns 57.5 percent of Escondida. Rio Tinto Group owns 30 percent and a group of Japanese companies led by Mitsubishi Corp. owns 10 percent. The World Bank's International Financial Corp. arm owns the rest.