FOURTH QUARTER 2019
VOLUME 9 |4
See Directory pp25-27
International Copper 2020 26 - 28 February | Amsterdam
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n Key Words: The issues affecting copper n News: Hamburg upgrades Latest stats Majors progress Studies and lists n Pyrometallurgy: Boliden Rönnskär innovation n Rolling Focus: Coil logistics Capabilities n U.S. Market: Supply and demand situation n South America Insight: Discussions from IMARC n Quality: ASi delivers
#CRUcopper
12/11/2019 08:46
ISSN 2046-9438
www.copperworldwide.com
COPPER CASTING PLANTS
Copper billet
Copper wire rod
Copper tubes
INTEGRATED SYSTEMS FOR COPPER PROCESSING We offer our customers plant configurations in
Our plant and machinery are always equipped
which all equipment is chosen and matched to their
with the latest technology, and the high quality
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reliable service. Our after sales service is equally
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reliable when it comes to maintenance support or
Our product portfolio includes CONTIROD * casting
machine upgrades or revamps. Our staff are always
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time of the plant. Let’s add value along the entire
for semi-finished products, anode casting plants as
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®
well as casting, rolling and drawing lines for copper tube production.
Leading partner in the world of metals
* CONTIROD® is a registered trademark of Aurubis Belgium
SMS group GmbH Ohlerkirchweg 66 41069 Mönchengladbach, Germany Phone: +49 2161 350-2321 copperplants@sms-group.com
www.sms-group.com
CONTENTS | 1
w ww.copper worl dw ide. co m
Key Words
3
The issues affecting copper
News
4,5
Investments at Aurubis Hamburg; Latest ICSG data; Wind power outlook;
Flotation in Cape Town; Brülhart appointed; Copper semis study; Refined figures; WCC 2020
6,7
ICSG market forecast; Antofagasta progress; FQ Cobre Panama gains;
China NF Forum; Renewable BHP; IWCC forecast; Tia Maria; Aurubis trains; Producer directory
Managerial Review
23
Four top enterprises’ comparative results
The Copper Worldwide 2020 Primary Wallmap comes with this issue
Inside this issue PYROMETALLURGY
8,9
Boliden Rönnskär is a neat operator with a distinguished
history of innovation
REFINERY TECHNOLOGY
10
25
Contracts & People
20
Henry at BHP; Outotec win European orders; Glencore
Technology on processing
COM + Copper coverage
Moving coils around and a roundup of supplier
21
Glencore latest; FCX and Indonesia; SMM holds NF Summit
Supplier Directory
25-27
Get the best results here
U.S. MARKET
14,15
Consultant Jonathan Barnes provides a snapshot
EVENT REVIEWS
16
QUALITY CONTROL
DC power supply design
capabilities this time
Tuyere line management
froth beware
24
12,13 Secondary Smelting
22
Tenacious
A valuable insight into value-added
ROLLING FOCUS
Firms are developing floating offshore wind turbine designs. Photo: Gicon (see Page 4)
EFFICIENCY
3rd Minor Metals Symposium; Asia Copper Conference reports;
LME Metals Seminar; 17 FUTURE COPPER -
Inspection and sampling from ASi; More paper summaries conclude
SOUTH AMERICA INSIGHT
28
The IMARC perspective is well worth a look
Front Cover Copper Worldwide celebrates its 10th Anniversary in 2020. As a family-owned business headquartered in the UK, we are committed to the success of our customers and strive to add value along the entire value chain of the global metal industry.
ICA / IWCC joint Seminar
Now where have I heard that recently (see
EVENT PREVIEWS
and featured event providers are also celebrated
18
opposite)? Some of this issue’s other advertisers
IERC 2020; International Copper 2020;
on the cover here, all representing branches
IWCC Technical Seminar; Copper 2020
of the wonderful copper family tree.
in Peru
Copper Worldwide Vol 9 No 4
Here’s to the next ten years!
4 | NEWS In brief… According to an IEA Report in October, an estimated 40% of the lifetime costs of an offshore wind project, including construction and maintenance, have significant synergies with the offshore oil and gas sector. That translates into a market opportunity of US$ 400 billion or more in Europe and China for that sector over the next two decades.
www. c op p e r wor l d w i de. co m
Busy scheduled shutdown in Aurubis Hamburg
Flotation’19 - The 9th International Flotation Conference organised by Minerals Engineering took place in Cape Town, South Africa from 11 14 November. Froth flotation is the largest tonnage separation operation in the world and a key mineral processing technique. There were two discrete symposia: Flotation Fundamentals: Physics and Chemistry and Flotation Applications and Plant Practice. In total 293 delegates from 33 countries attended.
Another Chinese customer has awarded SMS group an order to supply a cold rolling mill for high-quality strips of copper and copper alloys. The new reversing cold mill (RCM) will be of six- high design and be established at the customer’s site on the Chinese east coast. The RCM will roll a wide material range comprising copper, brass and bronze as well as copper alloys of first-class quality. The minimum strip width will be 400 millimetres, the maximum 650 mm. The thickness of the rolled strips will range from three mm entry thickness to 0.3 mm final thickness. Production capacity is planned to be approx. 20,000 tpy. High-class components make sure that current as well as future market demands on strip quality will reliably be met. CVC ® plus (Continuously Variable Crown) technology for roll shifting, for instance, combined with work and intermediate roll bending, provide s a big technologic al advantage in terms of precision and flexibility. For the precious copper materials, the continuous monitoring of strip thickness and flatness tolerances as well as the prevention of inferior quality and residual lengths is of particular importance. All core components that determine the product quality will be manufactured in Germany. To protect the sensitive strip surface, semi- automatic paper coilers will be installed at the entry and exit sides of the mill. State of the art equipment for work and intermediate roll changes and sleeve handling will help achieve high plant output. Also integrated in the plant will be an efficient and environmentfriendly rolling oil cleaning system together with a multi-plate® filter from SMS group. This filter is able to clean up to 3,100 litres of rolling oil per minute. The lead management of the order is with SMS Siemag Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. - Wuhan Branch (SWB), a company of SMS group. The Wuhan site, active since 1995, employs 77 people and has been headed by Christoph Andr ycz since 2013. Chinese customers placed orders for four copper rolling mills (two six-high and two four-high) at the end of 2017. Commissioning of the latest cold rolling mill is scheduled for September 2020.
www.min-eng.com/flotation19
www.sms-group.com
www.iea.org
According to the Zhejiang Hailiang Co., Ltd., in the first half, the sales volume of copper semis reached 365.7 kt, among them, the sales of self-produced products reached 365 kt, up by 23.09% year on year. During the report period, the operating revenue reached US$ 3 billion (20.845 bn yuan), up by 3.61% year on year. www.hailiangstock.com
Deputy General Manager of Fenwei Energy, Sarah Liu, told IMARC Melbourne attendees in October that China was close to reducing the coal proportion in its energy mix to below 58 per cent by 2020. Coal accounted for 59 per cent of China’s overall energy consumption in 2018, with gas, nuclear power and renewable energy making up around 22 per cent. www.imarcmelbourne.com
In the first half of 2019, China Daye Non-Ferrous Metals Mining Limited (China Daye) and its subsidiaries produced a total of approximately 13,184 tonnes of mined copper, an increase of 2.7% over the same period last year, and approximately 269,308 tonnes of copper cathode, an increase of 5.8% over the same period the previous year. www.antaike.com
The second phase of the Jiangxi Copper Co. Ltd (JCCL) copper rod project in Guangzhou was successfully put into trial run on 30 September. It comprises an SCR9000 production line. Which increases its overall copper rod production capacity by about 350,000 tonnes per year to 750,000 to 800,000 tpy, and the output value will exceed 35 billion yuan. www.en.jxcc.com
Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co., Ltd. (TNMG) produced 27.3 kt copperin-concentrate, up by 4.20% year on year, in H1 of 2019. Copper cathode output was 707.6 kt and increased by 8.84% y-o-y. Sulphuric acid output reached 2.15 Mt and rose by 8.24% on a yearly basis. Copper semis output was 173.1 kt, with a y-o-y rise of 4.85%. www.antaike.com
Delivery of one of the primary converter vessels. Photo: Aurubis
A scheduled maintenance shutdown has taken place in Aurubis AG’s Hamburg plant from 1 October to mid-November 2019, mainly to facilitate the internal overhaul of the waste heat boiler in the primary smelter, which is legally mandated every three years. The entire primary smelter and the associated contact plant used to produce sulphuric acid were decommissioned for this purpose. In addition to the inspection and overhaul of the waste heat boiler, the primary smelter’s three converter vessels were also replaced. Restorations to the lower furnace roof, and environmental protection
measures such as optimisation of the off-gas system, have also taken place in the flash smelter. A total of 450 individual technical renovations, maintenance, and measures to fur ther improve environmental protection were executed, representing around EUR 50 million in investment. Planning started directly after the completion of the last routine largescale shutdown in 2016. Measures were carried out around the clock and around 750 Aurubis employees plus many hundreds of contractors were involved. www.aurubis.com
Preliminary ICSG data to August 2019 The International Copper Study Group (ICSG) released preliminary data for August 2019 world copper supply and demand in its November 2019 Copper Bulletin. Subscriptions are available. Preliminary data indicates that world mine production declined by about 0.5% in the first eight months of 2019, with concentrate production remaining essentially unchanged and solvent extraction-electrowinning (SX-EW) declining by 1.5%. Production in Chile declined by 0.5% mainly due to lower copper he ad gr ade s and produc tion disruptions in early 2020. Indonesian output declined by 51% as a consequence of the transition of the country’s major two mines to different ore zones leading to temporarily reduced output levels. After growth of 13% in 2018, aggregated production in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia declined by 2% as consequence of temporary suspensions at SX-EW mines, reductions in planned production and a few operational constraints.
China mill order for SMS group
Panama started mining copper earlier this year, with the commissioning of the Cobre de Panama mine, and is the biggest contributor to world mine production growth in the first eight months of 2019. On a regional basis, mine production is estimated to have increased by around 3.6% in North America, 1.3% in Latin America and 8% in Oceania but declined by 7% in Asia, 1.2% in Africa and 2.5% in Europe. www.icsg.org
Cape Town flotation
Copper Worldwide Vol 9 No 4
NEWS | 5
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Refined production holds steady Preliminary ICSG data indicates that world refined production remained essentially unchanged in the first eight months of 2019 with primary production (electrolytic and electrowinning) declining by 0.3% and secondary production (from scrap) increasing by 1.8%. World refined production growth was constrained as a consequence of a 32% decrease in Chilean electrolytic refined output due to temporary smelter shutdowns whilst undergoing upgrades to comply with new environmental regulations. Total Chilean refined production (including Electrowinning) declined by 12%. There was also a 33% decrease in Zambian refined output due to power supply interruptions, smelter outages and temporary shutdown and the introduction on 1 January 2019 of a 5% custom duty on copper concentrate imports constraining smelter feed.
Country trends
The decline of 25% in India’s production was impacted by the shutdown of Vedanta’s Tuticorin smelter in April 2018. There was reduced output in Japan, Peru, the United States and a few European countries due to smelter maintenance shutdowns. The reductions were offset by growth in Chinese output and by increases in countries recovering from production constraints in 2018 such as Australia, Brazil, Iran and Poland. On a regional basis, refined output is estimated to have increased in Asia (3.5%) and in Oceania (15%) but declined, in North America (-3%), in Latin America (-9.5%), in Africa (-8%) and in Europe (-1%).
Apparent usage
Preliminary data indicates that world apparent refined usage grew by a modest 0.5% in the first eight months of 2019. Although Chinese net refined copper imports declined by 13%, Chinese apparent usage grew by around 2.4% as a consequence of higher Chinese refinery output. World ex-China usage declined by around 1.5%. In the first eight months of 2019, the world refined copper balance, based on apparent Chinese usage (excluding unreported/bonded stocks), indicated a deficit of about 330,000 t. The world refined copper balance adjusted for changes in Chinese bonded stocks indicated a market deficit of around 408,000 t. www.icsg.org
Brülhart appointed to roll out Copper Mark
Michèle Brülhart is the first Executive Director of the Copper Mark. Photo: ICA The Copper Mark website
The International Copper Association (ICA) is pleased to announce Michèle Brülhart as the first Executive Director of the Copper Mark. Brülhart has over 10 years of experience working on the design, implementation and independent assessment of sustainability standards at every level of the supply chain and across multiple materials. She was previously the Director of Innovations at the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), Head of Auditing at RCS Global for several years, and held roles focused on
responsible sourcing at Underwriters Laboratories, the German Center for International Cooperation (GIZ) and STR Responsible Sourcing. Investors and consumers of copper increasingly demand products with lower carbon footprints that require fewer resources and are constructed safely and responsibly by fairly treated workers. Under Brülhart’s leadership, the Copper Industry will continue to coordinate closely with the OECD, RMI, ICMM, LME and IRBC to meet due diligence guidelines and help as many members as possible commit to sustainable and responsible operations. “On behalf of the members and staff of ICA, I am excited to see Michèle Brülhart become the first Executive Director of the Copper Mark,” said Tony Lea, ICA’s President. The ICA has been working and consulting with external stakeholders continually since February 2018 to ensure the Copper Mark incorporates their feedback. The formal application process launches in 2020. www.sustainablecopper.org www.coppermark.org
European copper semis report published The International Copper Study Group (ICSG) has brought out a new report entitled ‘European Semi Manufactured Copper Products Capacity Operational in 2019’. The report, prepared by the UK consultants Oakdene Hollins, summarises the main findings of an ICSG funded research project that assesses the copper and copper alloy semi-fabrication sector in Europe by country and by product type. The study covers 38 countries, i.e. the EU Member States plus Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Macedonia, Norway, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Switzerland and Ukraine. The definition of products within the semi-fabricated product category is that used by the ICSG and fabricators industry associations. For Germany, Italy, France, Poland and Spain, a full analysis is presented along with market information and profiles of key actors. For smaller markets, the results of the research are grouped by region and described alongside relevant market data. The 7 categories of semi-manufactured products used in the report are: • Wire-rod and alloy wire • RBS (Rods, bars and sections) • PSS (Plates, sheets and strips) • Foil
• Tubes • Chemicals, Powders & Flakes • Casting & Ingots. Additionally, matrixes for copper wire rod and other semis such as tubes, flat rolls, foil and rod bars show trade between European countries and the rest of the world. The Report costs EUR 500 from orders originating from institutions based in ICSG member countries, and EUR 1,000 from non-member countries. www.icsg.org
CRU World Copper The 19th CRU World Copper Conference, part of CESCO Week, takes place from 23-25 March 2020 in Santiago, Chile. Annually, nearly 500 senior executives convene at this crucial industry conference, with more than 46% being C-level decisionmakers, from over 30 countries. Confirmed Speakers include: Michael Staffas, President, Boliden; Octavio Araneda, CEO, Codelco; Harry M. ‘Red’ Conger, President and COO - Americas, Freeport McMoran; Diego Hernández Cabrera, President, Sociedad Nacional de Minería; and Jorge Gomez, Executive Director, Collahuasi. www.events.crugroup.com
Copper Worldwide Vol 9 No 4
In brief… Bougainville Copper Limited has appointed Mr David Osikore to its Board, whose Executive Chairman Sir Mel Togolo was appointed in February 2018. Mr Osikore has 30 years’ experience in exploration and mining in both Papua New Guinea and Australia. Born in Buin, Bougainville, he began his career with the Papua New Guinea Department of Mines. www.bcl.com.pg
Beijing Antaike Information Co. Ltd will publish 2019 Copper Industry and Copper Fabrication Industry Yearbooks in March 2020, containing fundamental analysis on the Chinese copper market, key influencing factors driving the industry forward, inter-relations between copper industry and China’s economy, and analysis of copper smelting costs. Pre-order now. www.antaike.com
China’s bonded stocks are estimated to have declined by about 80,000 t in the first eight months of 2019 compared to the year-end 2018 level. Bonded stocks declined by around 35,000 t in the same period of 2018. As of the end of October, copper stocks held at the major metal exchanges totalled 431,192 t, (+23% y-o-y), according to ICSG data. www.icsg.org
The average LME cash price for October 2019 was US$ 5,742.89 /t, down 0.04% from the September average of US$ 5,745.48/t. The 2019 high and low copper prices up to October were US$ 6,572 /t (on 1 Mar) and US$ 5,537 /t (on 3 September), respectively, and the year average was US$ 6,007.69 /t (down 7.9% on the 2018 average), according to ICSG data. www.icsg.org
BHP has announced it has entered into a new share subscription agreement with SolGold Plc (SolGold) under which BHP will subscribe for 77 million new SolGold shares for an aggregate subscription price of £17,055,500. SolGold is the majority owner and operator of the Cascabel porphyry copper-gold project in Ecuador. www.bhp.com
FCX has identified a significant resource at its wholly owned Lone Star copper leach project located near the Safford operation in eastern Arizona. An initial project to develop the Lone Star leachable ores commenced in 2018, with first production expected by the end of 2020, at a ramped-up rate of around 200 Mlb of copper per year, with future expansion potential. www.fcx.com