According to Mining.com, the mining giant Anhui Bingtu and Glencore's Antamina copper mine in Peru announced on Monday that 210 employees have confirmed that the new coronavirus is positive. It is not yet when the mine will resume work. determine.
The Antamina copper mine is one of the largest copper-zinc mines in the world, with a copper mine mining volume of 101 million tons in 2019.
Earlier, Fortuna Silver Mines had six employees at the Caylloma copper mine in southern Peru confirmed to have tested positive.
Peruvian President Martin Biscala has announced that the country ’s blockade and travel restrictions will be extended until May 10, and its impact on the copper supply chain remains to be seen.
China ’s largest copper consumer, China ’s copper imports increased in March, but it also faces challenges because mining companies have suspended production or reduced exports.
Data analysis company GlobalData predicts that copper mine output will increase by 1.9% this year, compared with a 3.4% increase previously.
On Monday, the London Metal Exchange copper price rose to a new high since 6 weeks, or 2.3%, to close at 5260 US dollars / ton, the highest price since March 17.
The following are the production cuts or suspensions of some enterprises:
On Monday, the Freeport MacMoron Company announced at the El Abra copper mine in Chile that the company will cut its ore processing capacity by 40% due to the decline in copper prices due to the coronavirus epidemic. The mine is located in El Loa province in northern Chile and is one of the two largest copper mines in South America by Freeport Corporation. Last Friday, the company announced that it will cut investment by 18% due to falling copper prices, or $ 1.3 billion.
The Chilean National Copper Company (Codelco) was also affected by the epidemic prevention and control measures, and its expansion and upgrading projects were forced to be postponed.
Minmetals Metals Corporation (MMG) announced that in the first three months, copper mine output fell by 20% year-on-year. Due to the epidemic prevention and control measures, the company faced force majeure in Las Bambas, Peru.
The Anglo-American Group ’s Los Bronces copper mine in Chile was affected by the drought, and its output fell by 25% to 68,700 tons.
Affected by the sharp decline in copper prices, Grupo Mexico, the world's third largest copper mining company, reported a net loss of US $ 369.2 million in the first quarter. In response to the government's order to suspend non-essential activities, the company has slowed down mine production.
Vale has extended its maintenance period at the Voisey's Bay mine in Labrador, Canada by 3 months.
