“The Japanese are very concerned that the world will soon be faced with a shortage of base metals. Its Ministry of International 0000,1206 Trade and Industry predicts continued strong growth in copper and zinc consumption during the 1990s. Demand for copper is forecast to expand at an annual rate of 1.4% and at 1.7% for zinc. “By the end of the decade an extra two million tonnes of copper and 1.5 million tonnes of zinc will be consumed. However, ore supplies have rapidly declined following the virtual stagnation in base metals exploration during the recession of the mining industry in the 1980s and will continue unless exploration and development work is encouraged.”
From Metals and Mining, a monthly publication of Carr Kitcat & Aitken of London, England.
“While the short-term demand picture for copper is looking bleaker by the day some of the evidence emerging on the supply side confirms Japanese concerns that shortages may emerge in the medium term.
“Officials confirmed recently that one of East Germany’s largest copper producers, Mansfeld Kombinat, closed its mine and one of its two copper smelters in the past two months because of environmental concerns. The smelter had an annual output of 70,000 tonnes of copper, equivalent to 0.8% of world production. This was the second plant closure at Mansfeld but the first was a smaller 8,000-tonne-per-year smelter.
“These developments highlight the fact that environmental concerns are likely to impact quite severely on production levels of Eastern Europe.”
From Metals Watch, a publication of Barclays de Zoete Wedd Research of London, England.
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