Pan Pacific Copper To Cut Refined Copper Output

Production To Fall By 1.6 percent

Pan Pacific Copper Co., the Nippon Mining/Mitsui Mining & Smelting joint venture that is Japan’s largest producer of the metal, has announced plans to cut its refined copper output by 1.6 percent in the first half of this fiscal year compared with 2009.

Output will drop to 291,600 metric tons in the six months ending Sept. 30 from 296,300 tons in the year-earlier period, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement today.

Mutsui Cuts Zinc Production

Fall In Demand Blamed for Cut

Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co is to cut zinc production by 0.9 per cent in the April-September period compared to a year earlier. The cut reflects a fall in demand for zinc, which is usually used as an anti-corrosive coating in galvanised steel production.

Mitsui Raises Zinc Price

Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co. has raised its zinc selling price by Y20,000 to Y240,000 a metric ton.

This brings the average selling price for zinc in February to Y234,500.