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"But across Europe, energy costs are threatening the survival of the industry: 11 out of 24 smelters in the EU have shut since 2007. And industry chiefs have no doubt about what is strangling their business, complaining that the EU's environmental regulations are making electricity prices prohibitive. "

"1. Chinese smelters are jointly calling on the government to scrap the 15% export tax on aluminium ingots, as they hope to benefit from a global market deficit. Yet many market participants cast doubts on the proposal as it is against Beijing's industrial policy on the light metal. 2. Beijing has cancelled approval requirement for aluminium smelting projects, but it continues to keep tight control over the sector, ordering local governments not to register new aluminium smelting..."

Jiangxi Copper, the large vertically-integrated Chinese miner, smelter and semis manufacturer announced on 27th March that its output of semi-finished copper products was 582,100t in 2012, an 18.6% increase on 2011. The company said that it expects to expand production further in 2013, to 845,000t, which would be an annual increase of 45%. The company will do this by adding additional capacity, increasing available capacity to 920,000t in 2013, from 720,000t in 2012.

Paranapanema, the Brazilian copper smelter and semis fabricator, has started test operations at its new 30,000t/y seamless commercial copper tube plant in Utinga. The plant, which cost BRL100M (US$50M) to build, will initially produce 400-600t/m of commercial tube before ramping up production to reach 2,500t/m within 12 months. The company plans to make copper commercial tube for use in the HVAC sector in Brazil. According to CEO Edson Monteiro, Brazil still imports around 40% of its copper tube from abroad.

CEF, the Brazilian government controlled development bank, announced on 4th January that it is purchasing a 17.2% stake in smelter and semis producer Paranapanema from the Brazilian development bank BNDES. Paranapanema is primarily involved in the smelting and production of semi-finished copper products for the Brazilian and South American market, including copper tube, wires, bars and strips.

* Aurubis Group, the large German copper smelter and semis producer, announced on 13th December that its operating earnings before tax for the fiscal year Q4 2011-Q3 2012, had increased to EUR296M from EUR292M the previous year (US$385.5M from US$380.3M). Despite the headline increase in profitability, which was driven by the group's smelting unit, Aurubis reported that profits from "copper products were considerably down on the prior-year level due to weak markets for rod and shapes." Operating profits at the group's semis business fell to EUR10.1M this fiscal year from EUR49.7M the prior year (US$13.2M from US$64.7M), with Aurubis citing "the economic influences of the European debt crisis" as a factor weighing on the demand for copper products. Aurubis reported that copper tube output had fallen by 18% to 646,000t in 2011/2012 from 785,000t in 2010/11, copper continuous cast shapes output had fallen by 17% to 164,000t from 197,000t , whilst the output of flat rolled products fared better with output roughly unchanged at 217,000t.

Aurubis, the Germany-based copper smelter and semis producer, announced increased operating earnings before tax of €140M (US$188M) in the final quarter of 2012*, compared to €86M in the previous year (US$116M). Despite an improved group level performance, Aurubis noted weaknesses in its copper semis business, saying "sales volumes were down on the previous year due to weak markets." The company attributed the weak sales to poor demand from Southern Europe and a typical seasonal slowdown in Q4, however, the company noted a slightly better environment in North America. In their outlook for the coming year, Aurubis said they expect weak conditions to remain in Europe in the coming months, but expect stronger demand from North America and the Far East. The company said that they are experiencing slower demand for wire used in automotive harnesses but hope that wirerod will replace some of the current weakness. In other semis sectors, Aurubis expects better global demand for flat-rolled products and stronger appetite for copper shapes outside of Europe.

Yangzhou Baosheng Copper Industry, a large Chinese manufacturer of wire and cable, announced on 12th December that it had placed an order with Germany's SMS Meer for a CONTIROD system to be installed at its plant in Baoying, Jiangsu province. The new system, which has a capacity of 48t/h, will come into action in 2014 and will enable the company to expand its range of products.

According to an annual survey from Antaike, operating rates at Chinese copper fabricators were on average 2.66 percentage points lower in 2012 than in 2011. The sector that saw the largest slow down in utilisation was the copper tube sector, down 7.27 percentage points in 2012, due to low operating rates in air conditioner sector denting the demand for copper tube in China. Wire manufacturers and foil manufacturers were reported to have fared better in 2012, with utilisation rates rising modestly.

Henan-based Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube (Henan Golden Dragon), the world's largest manufacturer of commercial copper tube, will open a new 30,000t/y high precision copper tube factory in July 2013. Henan Golden Dragon begun production of the facility in May 2012 and have invested a total of RMB 380M (USD60.5M). The factory will produce high precision copper tube.

"It exceeded 780,000 tons on the half term basis, for the first time since the first half of fiscal 2010. "