Aurelian Resources Was Stolen By Kinross and Management But Will Not Be Forgotten
The company whose shareholders were better than its management
Message: "The "Nath" will never lie-"ARU" will sell for $300.00/share-Value
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I saw this and though about previous dicussions the board has had on the copper plays, Chinese investments and Ecuador.
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Speaking at the annual Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada conference, he noted that global copper smelting capacity is growing by 2.7% annually, while concentrate production is only rising 2.3%.
What's more, Roebuck said, much of the new smelting capacity - principally in China - doesn't have its own source of feed concentrate, making the market for copper concentrate "extremely tight."
In addition, new mines expected to enter production shortly are in politically unstable regions of the world. That could hamper or delay startup.
As well, he noted, there is a high probability that some sort of disruption will lower mine production this year. Over the past three years, unforeseen labor, political or other problems have taken 1 million tons out of planned copper production.
Already this year, there have been power outages in Zambia and South Africa, labor problems in Mexico and severe winter conditions in China that have reduced production.
And even though copper consumption in the U.S. and Western Europe has been declining, consumption growth in China has more than made up for it, he said. Chinese demand for copper has risen by 11.4% annually over the last 10 years. That demand is expected to continue as more and more Chinese move into the middle class and purchase their first cars, air conditioners and refrigerators.
Concentrate stocks are currently at very low levels, Roebuck said, and will likely be in a deficit for the next couple of years. That will likely have smelters dipping into their inventories, he said.
"Any more supply disruptions will have a dire impact," he said.
Teck Cominco is a Vancouver-based diversified mining company that produces zinc, metallurgical coal, copper, and other metals.
Related Web Sites: http://www.pdac.ca
-Monica Gutschi, Dow Jones Newswires; 416-306-2017; monica.gutschi@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-02-08 1839ET
Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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