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Gold/Mining/Energy : Mining News of Note -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LoneClone who wrote (38082)	6/3/2009 7:46:01 PM
From: LoneClone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 193039

Copper Prices May Reverse in Coming Months, Rio Says (Update1) bloomberg.com By Tony Barrett and Brett Foley June 2 (Bloomberg) -- Rio Tinto Group, owner of stakes in the world’s two biggest copper mines, said the metal may reverse recent gains in the next nine months because of an “uncertain” outlook. Copper for three-month delivery rose for five months in a row through May on the London Metal Exchange, surging 57 percent. Higher prices have “not necessarily been supported” by demand, Bret Clayton, chief executive officer of Rio Tinto Copper, said today at a conference in London. The metal advanced to a seven-month high in London and New York yesterday after manufacturing increased in China, the world’s largest user. Some analysts view copper as an indicator for global growth because of its use in pipes and wiring. London-based Rio, the world’s third-biggest mining company, owns a 30 percent holding in Chile’s Escondida, the largest mine. “The copper price could go lower in the second half and next year from where it is today,” Clayton said. “There is some downside risk to the copper price in the next nine months.” Rio is developing copper projects in Mongolia, Peru and the U.S. to counter falling output from old mines. The company is “bullish” on the outlook for the metal over three to five years because of supply constraints and a lack of new discoveries, Clayton said. Copper production at Escondida may drop 30 percent this year because of the failure of a processing mill and lower grades, Melbourne-based BHP Billiton Ltd. said April 22. BHP owns a 57.5 percent holding in the mine. To contact the reporters on this story: Brett Foley in London at bfoley8@bloomberg.net; Tony Barrett in London at tbarrett4@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: June 2, 2009 12:59 EDT