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Gold/Mining/Energy : FMNJ - Franklin Mining, Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: NYBob1 who wrote (95)	2/8/2007 3:14:29 PM
From: NYBob1	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 184

Boliden Says Zinc Production Shortfall to Persist Through 2007 2007-02-08 09:00 (New York) By Chanyaporn Chanjaroen Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Boliden AB, Europe's second-largest zinc producer, said a shortfall of the metal used to galvanize steel will continue this year as users increase purchases after running down inventories in 2006. Zinc users consumed about 100,000 tons of stockpiled metal last year and will need to replenish those inventories, Stockholm-based Boliden said today in an e-mailed report. Boliden's forecast contrasts with that of Societe Generale, which predicts a zinc surplus of 70,000 tons this year. The global zinc market has been in shortfall for the past three years, driving prices up threefold. The deficit last year was 400,000 tons, Boliden said. UBS AG, Switzerland's biggest bank, says it may have been as much as 500,000 tons. Zinc output expanded 4.7 percent to 10.7 million tons last year and usage grew 3.9 percent to 11 million tons, Boliden said today. Mine production gained 3.6 percent to 10.5 million tons, turning the market for the raw material for zinc, known as concentrate, toward balance following several years of shortage, Boliden said. The world copper market will have a surplus again this year after global stockpiles increased in 2006, the company said. Growing demand in China, the world's largest consumer of the metal, drove global use up 5.4 percent to 17.8 million tons last year, the company said. Production grew 6.4 percent to 17.6 million tons. China sold about 200,000 tons of copper from its strategic stockpiles last year, increasing global supply, Boliden said. ``A balanced copper market is expected in the beginning of 2007, and during the year a reduced copper surplus is expected,' Boliden said. --Editor: Carrigan. news.tradingcharts.com