China Copper Smelters Plan to Cut Output After Margins Fall
- Daye and Baotou Huading plan to reduce production next year
- Shortage in ore concentrate squeezes smelters’ profit margins
This article is for subscribers only.
Two Chinese copper smelters have laid out plans to reduce production next year as an imbalance between mine supply and smelting capacity continues to drive down processing margins.
At a quarterly meeting of Chinese smelters in Shanghai last week, representatives from Daye Nonferrous Metals Group Holdings Co. and Baotou Huading Copper Industry Development Co. disclosed plans to cut smelting output that converts ore concentrate into blisters or anodes, the intermediate products for making refined copper, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named citing private talks.