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South Korea-based LS-Nikko Copper, the world's second-largest copper smelter, said on Thursday it would cut copper cathode output by about 10 percent due to weak demand in its first such move in more than four years.

LS-Nikko Copper Inc. forecast copper demand in South Korea, Asia's third-biggest metals buyer, may improve "gradually" later this year and in 2010 buoyed by economic stimulus measures and a shortage of scrap material.

Furukawa Electric Co, the Japanese maker of wire, cable and copper semis announced on 15th April that it will consolidate its copper plate and strip business at its Nikko Offices. Company President Mitsuyoshi Shibata indicated that the company was taking contingencies for 10% drop in demand for copper sheets and strips, including consolidating finishing mills and casting lines. The company is in the midst of a large restructuring taking steps including closing its magnet wires business and off-shoring copper foil production to Taiwan.

An SCR-type casting and rolling facility for the production of copper wire rod is to be introduced at Nippon Mining & Metals' Chinese JV. Due to start in August and complete in 2010, the facility will expand output capacity by 50% to 300,000 tonnes per year with ¥3 billion capital expenditure. The JV, Chang Zhou Jin Yuan, will cease its current Contirod-type facility when the SCR-facility comes on line. Nippon decided to undertake the capacity expansion to meet strong demand from infrastructure construction in China.

Furukawa Electric announced that it will triple its output capacity for copper foil used in lithium ion batteries to 1,500t per month in 2013. The company will build a new factory with monthly capacity of 500t of foil in the western Taiwanese county of Yunlin. Investment will amount to 6.9bn yen and production is expected to begin in September 2012, gradually being brought up to speed by July 2013. Furukawa Electric has a factory nearby that makes copper foil for circuit boards, and therefore it will be able to procure supplies for both. In addition, the company said that electric power costs in Taiwan are half as expensive compared to Japan, and that will make it competitive in the growing segment of automotive lithium ion batteries. Furukawa Electric will consider exporting foil for lithium ion batteries from Taiwan to China, South Korea and elsewhere. Furthermore, 100ml yen will be spent in order to revamp spare equipment at the existing copper foil factory in Nikko, Japan. That will enable the plant to raise capacity by 80% to 1,000t per month by March 2012.

Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co. decided to return its electrolytic copper foil production to normal at its Ageo, Saitama plant. The facility currently operates on Saturdays and Sundays and plans to be operational around the clock in a few days. The decision of the company follows an announcement by Tokyo Electric Power Company to call-off power outages. In addition, Furukawa Electric Co. intends to resume production of copper foil for batteries at its plant in Nikko, Tochigi, after the Golden Week holidays in May.