Swapping aluminum for copper will maintain China’s resources, group says
China depends on overseas imports for 60% of its aluminum resources as opposed to 70% of its copper resources.
China’s refined tin output rose 11.1% in August from the prior month, state-backed research house Antaike said on Wednesday, as top smelter Yunnan Tin’s return from maintenance offset ongoing curbs on power use.
The 20 smelters in Antaike’s monthly tin production survey churned out 13,369 tonnes of the metal last month, with Yunnan Tin announcing the end of its 45-day smelter maintenance in mid-August.
The increase came despite southern Chinese provinces including tin heartland Yunnan restricting metal producers’ electricity consumption due to a shortage of power supply and a drive to reduce carbon emissions.
A resumption of production at the Yinman tin mine in Inner Mongolia in mid-August will alleviate tight supply of raw material tin concentrate as output ramps up, Antaike said.
It sees September refined tin output rising slightly from August, even as an equipment and plant overhaul at China Tin may not be completed until mid-month and another smelter, Guangdong Hanhe, goes on maintenance.
(By Tom Daly; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Comments