Sumitomo Metal Mining Aims Mining and Smelting Business Model

Nobumasa Kemori, the next president of Sumitomo Metal Mining who is now a director and a managing executive officer of Non-ferrous Metals Division, explained SMM’s mid-term strategy to Japan Metal Bulletin when the mineral oligopoly advances among world major non-ferrous miners and the business condition becomes severer for Japanese custom smelters.Mr. Kemori said SMM places the higher priority on the business model shift to the mixture of own resource development and custom smelting than relation improvement with offshore copper miners. He pointed out world major non-ferrous miners currently became “supermajor miners” with stronger control over the world ore market. He also referred to the advent of large ore purchasers such as China and India.SMM plans to expand its electrolytic nickel production to 65,000 tonnes per year during the mid term from current 30,000 tonnes. Mr. Kemori explained SMM becomes to procure intermediate materials for 30,000 tonnes nickel metal from the second high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL) plant in Taganito Region, Philippines. He said SMM pursues intermediate materials of 20,000 tonnes from Coral Bay Nickel Corporation in the Philippines and 18,000 tonnes from Soroako, Indonesia. The firm will cover another 2,000 tonnes with intermediate materials generated in copper smelting and recycled nickel from the users, he said.As to the electrolytic copper production, Mr. Kemori said SMM planned to produce average 430,000 tonnes of copper per year at Toyo smelter in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. The output capacity of Toyo smelter will reach 450,000 tonnes per year after October 2007. However, he said, SMM won’t operate the smelter fully in the case that the firm fails in ore price negotiation with offshore miners and be forced to purchase spot copper ore at unprofitable prices. Mr. Kemori insisted profitability is the highest priority.