Mitsui Mining & Smelting Expands Electrolytic Copper Foil Capacity

Mitsui Mining & Smelting expanded the output capacity for specialized electrolytic copper foil to 3.5 million square meters per month at Ageo plant in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, about a month earlier than originally planned October 2006. The firm increased the capacity by more than 10% from 3.1 million square meters in late March to meet the active demand for flexible printed circuit (FPC) including tape automated bonding (TAB) and chip on film (COF) for liquid crystal display.The Ageo plant is in full operation for about a year after the demand recovery for electrolytic copper foil in summer 2005. The shipment of specialized copper foil maintains favorable for FPC equipped in cellular phone, digital camera and liquid crystal television, which is produced at the second factory in Ageo plant. The second factory keeps full operation and barely fills the orders even after the capacity expansion, while the orders relatively settled down after July 2006.Mitsui Mining & Smelting expects the demand for specialized copper foil could increase again in the half year to spring 2007. The firm plans to continue the output capacity expansion at the second factory in Ageo plant to 4.3 million square meters per month within fiscal 2007 ending March 2008.