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China news tagged with: copper (14)

• China Willing to Spend Big on Afghan Commerce

  

  The New York Times reports on China’s efforts to extract copper from Afghan mines, “by far the largest foreign investment project in war-torn Afghanistan”:

  Two years ago, the China Metallurgical Group Corporation, a Chinese state-owned conglomerate, bid $3.4 billion — $1 billion more than any of its competitors from Canada, Europe, Russia, the United States and Kazakhstan — for the rights to mine deposits near the village of Aynak. Over the next 25 years, it plans to extract about 11 million tons of copper — an amount equal to one-third of all the known copper reserves in China.

  While the United States spends hundreds of billions of dollars fighting the Taliban and Al Qaeda here, China is securing raw material for its voracious economy. The world’s superpower is focused on security. Its fastest rising competitor concentrates on commerce.

  S. Frederick Starr, the chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, an independent research organization in Washington, said that skeptics might wonder whether Washington and NATO had conducted “an unacknowledged preparatory phase for the Chinese economic penetration of Afghanistan.”

  “We do the heavy lifting,” he said. “And they pick the fruit.”

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  • December 30, 2009 2:02 AM

• Two Die in Attack on Chinese-owned Mine in Peru

  

  Reuters reports that two workers died and several disappeared in an armed attack on the controversial Chinese-owned Rio Blanco copper project in northern Peru:

  About 15 to 20 armed people invaded the mining camp on Sunday and fired at its security guards, Wu said. Peru’s interior minister said several people were missing and that one was killed.

  The attack may have been an act of revenge. In 2005, one protester was killed and two dozen others were tortured when townspeople mobilized to stop construction of the mine, which they said would cause pollution and hurt water supplies.

  The mining development is run by Monterrico Metals of Britain, which was bought by Zijin Mining Group (2899.HK: Quote) (601899.SS: Quote) in 2007. Other Chinese miners have been investing in Peru, despite periodic conflicts over who controls natural resources.

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  • November 2, 2009 10:49 AM

• Chinese Company’s Contract to Mine Afghanistan’s Rich Copper Deposits Criticized as a Bad Deal

  

  A Chinese mining deal in Afghanistan illuminates the complexities facing President Obama as he determines America’s course in the country. AP reports:

  At a former al-Qaida stronghold southeast of the Afghan capital, a state-owned Chinese company is at work on a $3 billion mine project to tap one of the world’s largest unexploited copper reserves, a potential financial boon for an impoverished country mired in war.

  The promise of a bright future at Aynak, however, cannot conceal the troubling reality of how business is often done in Afghanistan, according to critics of the Kabul government’s decision to reject bids from competitors in the U.S., Canada and other countries.

  The bidding process unfairly favored China, they allege, and epitomized the back-room deals and abuse of power that has turned Afghans against their government and undercut the U.S. military effort there.

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  • November 1, 2009 10:58 PM

• China’s Copper Mine Project in Peru Reflects its Economic Power

  

  The Los Angeles Times is the latest to report on China taking advantage of their cash flow to buy up natural resources around the world. They report from Peru on a copper mining project:

  The open-pit mine is expected to produce a quarter of a million tons of copper a year and is one of five major Chinese mining projects planned for Peru that appear to be advancing despite the darkening economic climate. The reason? The Asian giant’s insatiable need for raw materials.

  Erica S. Downs, a China expert at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said Chinese mining companies are aggressively expanding worldwide, often through mergers and acquisitions that target companies that have been laid low by the crisis. An example is Chinalco’s bid to acquire control of Rio Tinto, a giant Australian-British mining company.

  “When the economy was booming, there were fewer attractive assets for sale, and often stiff competition for those that were available,” Downs said. “Today, Chinese firms are finding the opportunities for international mergers and acquisitions to be much more plentiful.”

  Meanwhile, Reuters reports that a Peruvian investigation has found police officers guilty of torturing opponents of a mining project run by a British-Chinese company.

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  • March 22, 2009 3:42 PM

• China’s Thirst for Copper Could Hold Key to Afghanistan’s Future

  

  While much attention has focused on China’s exploitation of natural resources on the African continent, McClatchy reports that the country is turning to Afghanistan for its copper reserves, and is getting some unintended assistance from the American troops there:

  U.S. troops set up bases last month along a dirt track that a Chinese firm is paving as part of a $3 billion project to gain access to the Aynak copper reserves. Some troops made camp outside a compound built for the Chinese road crews, who are about to return from winter break. American forces also have expanded their presence in neighboring Logar province, where the Aynak deposit is.

  The U.S. deployment wasn’t intended to protect the Chinese investment — the largest in Afghanistan’s history — but to strangle Taliban infiltration into the capital of Kabul. But if the mission provides the security that a project to revive Afghanistan’s economy needs, the synergy will be welcome.

  [...] Beijing faces enormous challenges in completing the project and gaining access to the estimated 240 million tons of copper ore that are accessible through surface mining. Taliban-led insurgents operate in large parts of Logar and Wardak; the area is sown with mines; and China must complete an ambitious set of infrastructure projects, including Afghanistan’s first national railway, as part of the deal.

  China’s willingness to gamble so much in one of the world’s poorest and riskiest nations testifies to its determination to acquire the commodities it needs to maintain its economic growth and social stability.

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  • March 8, 2009 9:54 PM

• Zambians Sacked Over China Attack

  

  From BBC News :

  Some 500 Zambian mine workers have been sacked after rioting and attacking a Chinese manager .

  Those sacked have three days to reapply for their jobs, while seven union officials have also been arrested.

  The Chinese manager at the Chambishi copper smelter in northern Zambia was admitted to hospital after the assault.

  China has become a major investor in Zambia’s run-down copper sector but workers have complained of low wages and poor conditions.

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  • March 6, 2008 9:30 AM

• Chinese Beaten Up in Zambia Mines

  

  From BBC News :

  A Chinese manager at a copper smelter in northern Zambia has been admitted to hospital after being assaulted by workers demanding better conditions.

  An estimated 500 workers at the Chinese-owned Chambishi mine site started throwing stones at the managers as they attempted to hold talks.

  Police came in to restore order and rescue the Chinese who had taken refuge by locking themselves in their offices. Several buildings were burned in the violence and a protester was injured.

  » Read more
  • March 5, 2008 8:58 AM

• China’s Manufacturing Sector Now Larger Than US – John J. Tkacik, Jr.

  

  From Spero News:

  Despite breathless media reports about the World Bank revising downward its estimate for the size of China’s economy,[1] what the figures really show is that China has indeed overtaken the United States in manufacturing output. As an industrial giant, China needs to be taken seriously as an international economic force and a strategic and military power.

  The World Bank’s Figures: China’s new status is not surprising. China has been the world’s leading producer of steel, copper, aluminum, cement, and coal for several years. As a consumer, China surpassed Japan as the globe’s second largest importer of petroleum in 2005. In 2006, China surpassed Japan as the world’s No. 2 auto market, with total sales of 7.2 million vehicles and production of 7.3 million. In 2007, China also became the world’s top producer of merchant ships.[2] In short, one needs no number-juggling from the World Bank to know that China is an economic superpower. [Full Text]

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  • December 31, 2007 11:16 AM

• China Group Wins Afghan Copper Rights – Jon Boone and Geoff Dyer

  

  From The Financial Times:

  A state-owned Chinese company has won the right to develop a large copper deposit in Afghanistan after agreeing to invest $3bn (€2.02bn, £1.45bn) in the project, the Afghan mines minister announced on Tuesday.

  The deal is the largest foreign investment in Afghanistan’s history and will give China Metallurgical Group (MCC) the right to extract high-quality copper from the Aynak copper field near Kabul. The company will pay the Afghan government $400m a year to exploit what some geologists think could be the world’s biggest copper deposit. [Full Text]
  
  

  » Read more
  • November 21, 2007 10:55 AM

• Copper in Shanghai Tumbles by Daily Limit as Rate Rises Stoke Growth Fears – Bloomberg

  

  From Bloomberg:

  Copper futures in Shanghai fell by their daily limit after central banks in Asia and Europe raised interest rates to curb inflation , threatening to slow economic growth and demand for commodities. Aluminum also dropped.

  The European Central Bank , the Reserve Bank of India , the Bank of Korea and the Reserve Bank of South Africa increased benchmark rates yesterday, sending copper down in London and New York. The slump may signal the end of a five-year commodity rally fuelled by demand from China and increased investment by hedge and pension funds.

  “The rate increases will slow down economic growth,” said Li Rong, copper analyst at Great Wall Futures Co., by phone from Shanghai today. “Copper has been declining from records since mid-May on expectations of such rate increases.”

  [Full text]

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  • June 8, 2006 9:55 PM

• China makes its presence felt – Mure Dickie

  

  From Financial Times (link):

  From 2000 to 2005, it accounted for more than 90 per cent of growth in seaborne iron ore trade, according to Macquarie Research. Between 1994 and 2003, China was responsible for 54 per cent of growth in global copper consumption.

  While growth in demand for such commodities is set to slow, analysts say that, barring unforeseen economic mishap, China can only continue to suck in an increasing portion of global resources.

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  • April 10, 2006 2:21 PM

• A reality check on China – William Pesek Jr.

  

  From The International Herald Tribune:

  If you want a reality check on China’s economy, look no further than the copper market. It’s a story that reads more like a spy novel than financial news: A few weeks back, markets buzzed with rumors as Liu Qibing, a well-known metals trader for China’s government, went missing. It happened amid talk someone had taken a huge short position – selling copper futures in a bet prices would fall – and was losing big as the market went the other way. The government at first denied Liu even worked for it.

  Technorati Tags: China

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  • November 28, 2005 4:37 PM

• New China Stumbles Into Old-Fashioned Trade Scandal – Peter S. Goodman

  

  From the Washington Post:

  China on Thursday acknowledged that a since-detained government trader placed a series of disastrous bets on the price of copper in London this summer, leaving the state to cover hundreds of millions of dollars in losses, according to a report in official Chinese media.

  As rumors of the scandal filtered out this month, China first denied the existence of the trader, and then branded him a rogue operator. Thursday’s report in the official China Daily newspaper suggests that the Communist Party-led government has resolved to take responsibility for a scandal that has roiled commodity markets while renewing fundamental questions about the transparency of the fast-growing economy.

  See also “Copper auctions aim to bring down prices” from China Daily.

  » Read more
  • November 28, 2005 9:30 AM

• Buy! Sell! Run! – Bill Powell

  

  From Time Asia:

  To the club of hapless traders who have squandered fortunes in global commodities markets”think Nick Leeson, who bankrupted 232-year-old Barings Bank in 1995, or the Sumitomo Metals trader who blew $1.8 billion in 1996″add a new member: Liu Qibing of Beijing’s State Reserve Bureau (SRB), whose wrong-way bet on copper prices may cost the Chinese government tens of millions of dollars.

  According to copper traders who dealt with him routinely over the past several years, Liu had taken “short” positions in copper in recent months”borrowing the industrial metal at current prices to sell to others, hoping the price would fall before he was due to replace what he had borrowed. Traders say he built up a huge position, shorting some 100,000 to 200,000 tons of the metal. But because copper prices have soared lately, Liu and the SRB”a secretive state agency responsible for buying strategic commodities”may have to absorb big losses, possibly up to $100 million, according to traders.

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  • November 23, 2005 8:49 AM

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