Pan Pacific Copper Plants 12.3% Lower Cu Output in 1H F2011

Japanese largest smelter, Pan Pacific Copper announced on Wednesday the firm plants to make 257,494 tonnes of copper production at the smelters of Saganoseki in Oita, Tamano in Okayama and Hitachi in Ibaraki in first half of fiscal 2011 started April, which is 12.3% lower than same period of fiscal 2010. The firm tries to cover the production loss at Hitachi by increasing the production at operations in western Japan.

The Hitachi plant will resume the production in late April. The firm plans 53,430 tonnes of copper production at the plant in the fist half, which is 42% lower than the production in same period of fiscal 2010. The production is 15% lower than second half of fiscal 2010 when the firm focused the production cut at the plant caused by ore purchase condition.

Mitsubishi Materials’ Onahama copper smelter in Fukushima still stops the operation after the major earthquake. Sumitomo Metal Mining reduces the production by 12% in fiscal 2011 from fiscal 2010 due to the major repair at Toyo smelter in Ehime.

Japanese copper supply could be tight due to the production cut by the major smelters. Pan Pacific Copper increases the production by 2.8% to 114,127 tonnes at Saganoseki in the first half of fiscal 2011 from same period of fiscal 2010 while the firm plans 89,937 tonnes of equity based production at Tamano smelter, which is 0.3% lower than same period of fiscal 2010.

The firm plans 826,923 tonnes of sulfuric acid in the first half, which is 2.6% higher than the production in same period of fiscal 2010. The firm plans to reduce the output by 6.3% to 17.3 tonnes for gold and by 20.8% to 148.2 tonnes for silver.