Copper Mining Moves Major $11.5 Billion Project Activity in North America

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas) – The North American copper mining sector, after years of downsizing in the 90’s and early 2000s, has undergone a major consolidation and re-arrangement of production capacity. A worldwide trend toward multi-metal producing company mergers and acquisitions is reflected in the recent acquisitions of Inco by CVRD, creating CVRD Inco Limited and the acquisition of Falconbridge by Xstrata. Since 2002, favorable copper demand and commodity prices have driven capacity increases and modernizations at existing copper mines and downstream processing facilities. Grassroot operations are also under development and projects that were unfeasible for years have become feasible sparking a rush in copper mine, mill, as well as related pyrometallurgical (smelter/refinery) and hydrometallurgical (heap leach/SX-EW) projects. Most of the new copper mines are incorporating the more environmentally friendly hydrometallurgical technologies as opposed to the construction of new pyrometallurgical or smelter capacity.

Probably the best representation of the current copper growth trend in North America is the development of the Safford copper mine by Phelps Dodge Corporation (NYSE:PD) (Phoenix, Arizona). In development for more than 15 years, the $550 million Safford project involves two surface mines and hydrometallurgical processing facilities. Fluor Canada is currently managing construction at the site in Safford, Arizona. Full production is expected in 2008. A slew of other copper mining projects are being developed in Arizona and Canada as copper prices remain favorable.

Since 2003, Industrial Info has reported on $11.5 billion worth of copper mine and primary copper (pyrometallurgical & hydrometallurgical) processing projects in North America (Canada, Mexico and the U.S.).

Click on the image at right to view a chart showing the distribution of copper projects reported since 2003.

The majority of this, about 90%, is still active and represents 28 grassroot mines, as well as 16 mine expansion/additions, four environmental projects, three modernizations and three restarts of previously shutdown capacity. Surprisingly, the U.S. is experiencing more capital spending in the Copper sector than Canada.

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