mexico – Shanghai Metal Corporation

Copper dreamland

One small town, located in Mexico, where almost every member of every family that lives there, has something to do with copper. I bet that if you visit them, all of the houses will have at least one thing made out of copper!

People in Santa Clara del Cobre (del cobre – copper), this Mexican copper town founded in 1553, have been working with copper since the pre-Hispanic era, which made this town become dominant in copper crafts over the colonial period until the 19th century. After some crisis they got their copper prominence back in 1970’s.

The town has mostly conserved its colonial look and houses have decorations such as doorbells, flowerpots, doorknockers are made out of copper. The center of the town has two plazas. There is a kiosk with a copper roof, many shops selling copper wares, two main churches of course with copper decorations and Museum of copper can’t be missing.

One of the main churches with copper chandeliers and decorations

82% of the town’s population is employed in the making of copper items. There are more than 250 family-owned workshops around the town that produce about 450 tons of copper per year. Nowadays loads of this metal are poured into Santa Clara del Cobre and these pieces are melted here first into pure copper ingots. Then guys taking turns in whacking the red and hot ingots with sledge hammers. It takes four days to one month to complete the items depending on the size, thickness and decorative features.

Two internationally recognized artists James Metcalf and Anna Pellicer established a studio in this town to bring new approaches to working with copper. The culture, heritage and colonial ambiance qualified this town to become one of the 51 “magic cities” across Mexico. (via wikipedia, huffingtonpost )

Shanghai Metal Corporation offers customers many varieties of copper – foil, strips, tapes, sheets, fittings and many others. Find out more and visit our website or send us inquiry. English speaking staff will help your find the best product. Download our application by scanning QR code or follow us on Social Media.

Silvia M.//SMC Editor

Read more articles written by this author here.

Credits : wikipedia.org, huffingtonpost.com, googleimages

Walking on the Streets of the City of Containers

A small community of businesses have established a city of shipping container restaurants, bars, stores and living spaces in the barrios of Cholula, only two hours from Mexico City. The city of containers, that is built out of used shipping containers is a great center for shopping and entertainment.

The area of ‘Los Contenadores‘ comprises 50,000 square feet of shipping containers and construction made out of other recyclable material such as bottle caps and plastic tubing. The alleys and streets formed by containers are great places to stroll around and enjoy the local style. There’s also plenty of outdoor space to sit around and hang out and there are events and bands scheduled all the time.

Shipping containers are mostly used to import products from abroad and are very seldom sent back. Thereby taking advantage abandoned and used shipping containers are a great solution for affordable housing. Containers are also an excellent tool for setting up pop-up retail stores, such as in the ‘ciudad de los contenadores‘.

The Container city is designed by Gabriel Esper Caram to combine both elegance and sustainability. The harmony of the container’s bright colors and the city’s live music ensure an unforgettable experience for visitors.

Shipping containers can be used in many circumstances. As the City of Containers goes to show even luxurious stores, restaurants, night clubs, hotels or even homes can be built by using this durable and highly available material. For more information about containers, please visit Shanghai Metal Corporation‘s website or send us an inquiry. Please also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Tuomas P.// SMC Editor

Pictures and original articles: Inhabitat, Retail Design Blog, City Lab

Can You Guess What’s Wrong In This Picture?

The photograph series “For What It’s Worth” by photographer and artist Dillon Marsh is at the very least surreal. By combining photographic precision and computer-generated imagery Marsh produces illogical images as an attempt to provide a graphic visualization of the quantity of copper extracted from the Blue Mine in Springbok, situated 550 km north of Cape Town.

Blue Mine, Springbok (1852 to 1912) 3,535 tonnes of copper extracted

The blue in ‘Blue Mine’ is in reference to the color of rocks in the mine as a result of copper coming into contact with oxygen in the air. Back to the mid-19th century copper was the primarily driving force behind the establishment of relatively remote area of the country such as Springbok, Okiep and Nababeep as formal towns. Following operations that began in 1852, the Blue Mine is recorded as the first commercial mining endeavour in South Africa. South Africa hasn’t been so commercial before, and with the discovery of copper deposits the town became a centre for mining prospectors with movement of people coming to Springbok also attracted by its near and steady supply of drinkable water.

Nababeep South Mine, Nababeep (1882 to 2000) 302,791.65 tonnes of copper extracted

By 2007, however, most of these mines had run their course and production had stopped almost completely. As an attempted to represent the uncertain future for the towns and people of the region, Marsh placed impressive copper spheres in the arid scene of what once served as copper mine. “Whether they are active or long dormant, mines speak of a combination of sacrifice and gain”, describes Marsh. He also adds “their features are crude, unsightly scars on the landscape – unlikely feats of hard labor and specialized engineering, constructed to extract value from the earth but also exacting a price”.

Jubilee Mine, Concordia (1971 to 1973) 6,500 tonnes of copper extracted

Mash’s intention is “to create a kind of visualization of the merits and shortfalls of mining in South Africa, an industry that has shaped the history and economy of the country so radically”. On the one hand, the development of the mines around Okiep contributed significantly to the demise of copper mining in south-west of England. On the other hand technology and skill were still transferred from these mines to other parts of the world. Unesco classifies the principle value of the copper mine site of Springbok an extension of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape in the UK, for instance, also sharing a close association with other mining landscape in Australia, Brazil, India and Mexico.

Tweefontein Mine, Concordia (1887 to 1904) 38,747.7 tonnes of copper extracted

Shanghai Metal Corporation offers a wide range of metals such as copper, widely used in varying artifacts. To find out more, please visit our Website, WordPress, LinkedIn , Twitter , Facebook and Instagram. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code. Moreover, we sell directly from Alibaba , EC21 ,Tradekey or directly at sales@shanghaimetal.com.

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Source and picture credit: springbokinfo.co.za, designboom.com, visualnews.com, ignant.de, whc.unesco.org, dillonmarsh.com

Camilla G.//SMC Editor

Cheers To The Naked Greener Coke Can!

Imagine a time when we recycle all aluminum cans in the world. Now imagine a time when all aluminum cans are “greener” than they claim to be. That is what the Ryan Harc design studio had in mind when a Coca-Cola can was re-created without toxic paint that tends to sink into the metal.

Being a leader in the soft drink industry and having the US as the largest market, followed by Mexico and China, the Coca-Cola Company owns the most innovative marketing campaigns worldwide. We saw the latest marketing campaign launched in China, Coke Lyric bottle, and Chok, the so-claimed best marketing campaign in over 35 years released last year in Hong Kong, reaching the top of the local app downloads for iOS in a single day, 380,000 downloads in one month, and over 9 million total views for the television commercial.

Although seen as an innovative player in the marketing space the Coca-Cola Company has yet a lot to catch up on the sustainability side. It is true that the aluminum cans are 100% recyclable, but it does not mean that the cans are as green as they could be. The current design favoring flashy colors uses toxic ink that tends to seep into the metal. What the consumers don’t realize is that the memorable experiences promoted by the marketing efforts tag along the risks for their own health and the environment that surrounds them.

In an endeavor to address such an issue, the NY-based Design studio Ryan Harc created a colorless can design that will reduce the cost of recycling and pollution. At least elegant, the minimalist touch given to the Coke can uses a pressing machine to insert a convex logo as an alternative to the colorfully toxic sprayed can.

The gains in environment benefits when skipping painting are huge if looked from the right perspective. Based on Alcoa statistics for aluminum can recycling, over 112 billion aluminum beverage cans are sold per year in the USA alone. But before aluminum cans can be recycled, the coating that goes on the cans to make them more beautiful and appealing on the shelves must first be produced, which in other words means CO2 emission by thermal or chemical burn-off. According to a report examining the potential coatings market opportunity for soy-based products estimates that 33 million gallons of coatings are sold per year in the US (2007 data).

Although only present in the design studio, the colorless pressed cans could also become a real product along with last summer’s Coca-Cola’s refreshing Ice Bottle packaging. Introduced in Cartagena, Colombia, consumers were seen enjoying a bottle of Coke direct out of ice instead of plastic or glass bottles; very practical, innovative and eco-friendly Coke packaging as the Ice Bottle melts away right after use.

Shanghai Metal Corporation offers a wide range of aluminum sheet (aluminum plate) widely used in the manufacturing of Coke aluminum cans. To find out more about us, please visit our Website, WordPress, LinkedIn , Twitter , Facebook and Instagram. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code. Moreover, we sell directly from Alibaba , EC21 and Tradekey.

#BuildingValueAcrossTheGlobe

Sources: gamification.co, trendhunter.com, psfk.com, treehugger.com

Pictures: bevreview.com, greenerpackage.com

Camilla G.//SMC Editor

Play A Coke Lyric With Your Coke Bottle

It’s been 35 years since the Coca-Cola Company has been present in China. The company’s re-entry in China in 1979 followed the country’s economic opening after the Communist Party’s takeover. During the three decades of communism there were no foreign brands on Chinese soil. What existed of the Coke’s bottlers in 1949 were nationalized, and turned into the beverage of elites, which one could found at a few remaining exclusive hotels, if lucky enough.

Today, China is the company’s third-largest market, after the US and Mexico, respectively, to be its biggest any day soon. To create the company’s newest the Coke Lyric bottle campaign, Coca-Cola partnered with Isobar, a digital marketing agency. The new campaign features a QR code on the Coke bottle which can be scanned in WeChat in order to activate a short clip of the same lyrics on the bottle. Once scanned, the song can also be shared with friends on WeChat and other social platforms.

Coca-Cola has been taking advantage of social media and digital technology to help consumers connect with the brand, which ultimately increase sales. Isobar is calling these new digital objects ‘Musicons’, for musical emoticons. “The new ‘Musicons’ are to songs what tweets are to blogs. Sometimes a soundbite says it better,” said Tim Doherty, chief creative officer of Isobar China.

Embedding lyrics on Coke products is the new addition this year, following last year’s Nickname Coke campaign in China, where consumers had to decide which nickname to give to which person – “whatever nickname bottle you received, signaled how people identify you”, added Doherty.

Typically, a smartphone is used as a QR code scanner, displaying the code and converting it to some useful form (external Web site or social media page), where brands can exhibit a mix of content that showcases product use, perks or contests.

Shanghai Metal Corporation is proud to announce our newest mobile app by scanning our QR code. o find out more about us, please visit our Website, WordPress, LinkedIn , Twitter , Facebook and Instagram. Moreover, we sell directly from Alibaba , EC21 and Tradekey.

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Sources: mobilemarketer.com

Pictures:

Camilla G.//SMC Editor

The World’s Biggest Copper Mines Based On Their Contained Reserves

Escondida, Chile

Escondida copper mine in the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile is currently the world’s largest copper mine by reserve. The mine contained more than 32 million tonnes (Mt) of recoverable copper reserves at the end of 2012. Escondida is also the world’s largest copper producing mine, in the financial year ending June 2013 output stood at 1.1 million tonnes (Mt), accounting for about five percent of global copper production. The mine has been in operation since late 1990 and is currently one of the10 deepest open-pit mines in the world. The reserve life of Escondida is estimated to be 54 years.

Cananea, Mexico

Cananea, also known as Buenavista copper mine, located in Sonora, Mexico, is the world’s second biggest copper mine by reserve. The open-pit mine was estimated to contain 26.874Mt of copper reserve as of December 2012. A total 200,000t of copper was mined from the pit in 2012. Opened in 1899, Cananea is one of the oldest open-pit mines in North America and is currently owned and operated by the Southern Copper Corporation (SCC), a subsidiary of Grupo Mexico. The mine extracts the porphyry copper deposit lying within the southern Cordilleran region. The ore is refined at an on-site concentrator, which has a milling capacity of 77,000 tonnes per day.

Collahuasi, Chile

Collahuasi copper mine is 180km south-east of the port of Iquique in northern Chile ranks as the third largest copper mine in the world. Proven and probable copper reserves of the open-pit mine as of December 2012 stood at 25.895Mt. The mine produced 282,096t of copper in 2012, accounting for 5.1% of Chile’s total copper output. The mine produced 245,288t of copper concentrates and 36,808t of copper cathodes in 2012. It has been in operation since 1999. It exploits three mineral deposits, namely Rosario, Ujina and Huinquintipa, in the Pica municipal district of Tarapacá Region. The mine life is 70 years.

Andina, Chile

Andina copper mine, located 80km north-east of Santiago in northern Chile, is the fourth biggest copper mine in the world by reserve. The mine was estimated to contain 18.8Mt of fine copper at the beginning of 2013. Andina is owned and operated by Chile’s state-owned Codelco (Corporacion Nacional del Cobre de Chile), the largest copper producing company in the world. The copper deposit was discovered in 1920 and mining operations began in 1970.

Toquepala, Peru

Toquepala copper mine, situated 870km away from Lima in Southern Peru, ranks as the world’s fifth largest copper mine by reserve. The open-pit mine was estimated to contain 17.65Mt of copper reserve as of December 2012. Southern Copper Corporation (SCC), a subsidiary of Grupo Mexico, owns and operates the mine. Toquepala produced about 152,000t of copper in 2012, including 120,000t of copper concentrates and 32,000t of copper cathodes. Ore is extracted from the Toquepala porphyry copper deposit located in the southern-most Andes Mountains of Peru. The extracted ore is refined at an on-site concentrator with a milling capacity of 60,000tpd.

As an international manufacturer and supplier for copper sheet and bronze sheet, Shanghai Metal Corporation produces slitting, edging, and oscillates winding to fit your specific copper requirements. For more information on our copper products please visit our website here. Be sure to join the conversation in our Linkedln group, Facebook and Instagram.

You can also read more articles by our team at SMC:

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3 Most Creative Statues

How To Do A Better Job Than Jack

Sources: www.mining-technology.com,caprari.com.au

#BuildingValueAcrossTheGlobe

William P.//SMC Editor

The 5 Worst jobs

Do you think your job is bad? Well prepare to be challenged with the 5 worst jobs around!

1) Armpit Sniffer

Peta Jones works as a deodorant producer for Unilever in Australia, developing the Dove, Lynx and Impulse brands.

2) Rectal Thermometer Tester

“Every rectal thermometer made by Johnson and Johnson is personally tested”. Needless to say more here.

3)Mosquito Bite Victim

Helge Zieler works in the Brazilian rainforest, offering himself as bait so he could study the bugs’ behaviour.

4) Sewer Diver

Julio Cu Camara swims through sewers in Mexico City to clear blockages and repair pipes by hand. He has notched up 1,400 dives in 30 years – each one lasting up to six hours in 7,500 miles of tunnels.

5) Human Beehive

A beekeeper in Poland escapes with a few stings after releasing 30,000 bees on his body.

Speaking of beekeeping, Shanghai Metal Corporation manufactures the stainless steel wire mesh used for beekeeping. As an ISO 14001 (International Quality Management System) Company and recipient of the “Star Enterprise Award,” Shanghai Metal Corporation prides itself on exceeding international standards of quality and reliability. We guarantee the best prices, quality support, and fast delivery. To find out more, please visit our Website, WordPress, LinkedIn , Twitter , Facebook and Instagram. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code. Moreover, we sell directly from Alibaba , EC21 and Tradekey.