mining – Shanghai Metal Corporation

China, Second Biggest Producer of Copper In The World (List of Top 10 producers)

copper bloomberg — copper tubes source: bloomberg.com

Most copper is mined/extracted as copper sulfides from large open pit mines in porphyry copper deposits that contain between 0.4 to 1.0% of copper. This is the case in some mines in Chile and the United states .

According to the British Geological Survey The amount of copper in use is increasing and the quantity available is barely sufficient to allow all countries to reach developed world levels of usage.
It was reported by the US Geological Survey (USGS), the global production of metal increased by 400 million tons between 2013 and 2014 reaching 18.700 million tons, although the demand for copper decreased compared to the previous year.

1. Chile (Mine Production: 5.800 million tons)

Chile’s copper production has been increasing for the last decade although technical and regulatory issues could slow down the trend. between 2013 and 2014 the production increased from 5.780 to 5,800 tons.

2. China (Mine production : 1.620 million tons)

china's copper mine production 2006-2014 — china’s copper mine production 2006-2014 Source: statista.com

China is the largest refined copper producer, but it lacks copper mineral deposits. It has to import unprocessed copper ores and copper scrap.
China increased its copper production in 2014, putting out 1,620 million tons of the metal compared to 1,600 million tons in 2013. Reuters reports that notes that the country’s production increased during the second half of the year, due to the re-lauching of a 100,000-tonne-a-year smelter Liaoning province (North east of China) after 5 years of inactivity.

3. Peru (Mine production: 1,300,000 tons)

between 2012 and 2013 peru’s prodcution didn’t change much. In 2013 the country produced 1.300.000 tons. But it is expected that the mine production could rise by as much as 10 percent in 2014, and Peru’s energy and mines minister, Jorge Merino, has projected a 17-percent increase in copper production alone thanks to several new projects and also the the expected increase of foreign investments in the mining industry.

Copper factory – Source: cnbc.com

4. United States (Mine production: 1,220,000 tons)

5. Australia (Mine production: 990,000 tons)

6. Russia (Mine production: 930,000 tons)

7. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (Mine production: 900,000 tons )

8. Zambia (Mine production: 830,000 tons)

9. Canada (Mine production: 630,000 tons)

10. Mexico (Mine production: 480,000 tons)

Being at the heart of the booming copper industry, Shanghai Metal Corporation offers a wide range of copper products . You can visit the company’s website , contact us and follow us on twitter and facebook for more information and news on metal.

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Houria // SMC Editor

China to end export tax on rare earths and other metals

On April 23, 2015, China decided to eliminate tariffs on rare earths and other such as tungsten, molybdenum and fluorspar starting from May 1 according to the Chinese Ministry of Finance. This might be the end an international trade dispute caused by this controversial policy.

sands cones - minerals of mining industry — sands cones – minerals of mining industry

China is the biggest producer and consumer of rare earths and responsible for approximately 93% of the world’s rare earth output, but in 2009 the country imposed export restrictions in an attempt to develop its own industry. As a reminder, rare earths are crucial elements for the manufacturing of a wide range of high tech devices, mobile and smart phones, products in the automotive industry etc.

After the implementation of the export tax ,an abrupt reduction in export quotas in 2010 left traders short and froze a high demand on the global market.

As a response to the abolishment of the tax , Bejing will put in place reforms to keep a certain control on its market: today’s chinese rare earth export tax rates currently range from 15 to 25%: 15% for light rare earth elements and 25% for heavy rare earth elements but Bejing will implement a rare earth resource tax on domestic rare earth products.

rare earth minerals found in China- bloomberg.com

The abolition of this restriction could push up the demand of rare earth demand on the global market and has already pushed a number of market speculation.

Forecasting the boom of demand and export of rare earth products , Shanghai Metal Corporation offers a wide range of rare earth metal products . You can visit the company’s website , contact us and follow us on twitter and facebook for more information and news on metal

source: bloomberg.com and www.mining.com

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Houria // SMC Editor

How Much Do You Know About Copper?

1.Pyramid of Cheops

The first point of facts about copper is related to pyramids of Cheops. There were water pumping construction found by the archaeologists in this pyramid which was made partly from copper dated more than 5000 years ago.

2.Dead Sea Scrolls

When people Sea Scrolls, they will think that the classic items are made from animal skin. This principle does not apply in one of the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in Israel. It is created by using copper. In the scroll, you will see the clues to find the hidden treasure.

3.New York’s Statue of Liberty

One of the materials used to construct the statue of Liberty is copper. It features 80 tons of copper from Norway. The craftsmanship was done in France.

4.Gold

When people want to get firm and tough gold, the manufacturer will add small amount copper. The train of gold is soft so that you can mould this material using your hands. Even though your jewelry is made from 24 k of gold, it still contains some copper.

5.Hieroglyphs

Copper was believed as the symbol of the eternal life. In the hieroglyph system, the ancient Egyptian people utilized the ankh symbol to represent copper.

6.Columbus

Columbus is one of the greatest sailors and explorers in the world. When he made a voyage to America, his ship was protected by using copper skin which eliminate the bio-fouling or even barnacles.

7.Copper cookware

Copper is the best material recommended by most high class chefs in the world. The material can transfer the heat better than any other material.

8.Copper products

Copper is widely used as the construction and frame in water piping and distribution since it can resist from any bacteria. Some products made from copper include handrail, door knobs and finger-plates.

9.Copper tools

Copper is also helpful to lower the risk of explosion. The tools or products made from copper will never cause any fire or even spark. That’s why the electronic tools are made by using this material to prevent the explosion to occur.

10.Anti corrosion

Copper can last longer and it prevents corrosion to form. The nuclear authority in Sweden and deep sea exploration uses copper as the protection for their equipment and pipework.

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. To find out more, please visit our Website or send your inquiry here. Our English speaking personnel will be more than pleased to help you. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code.

Source and photo credit: findfast.org, periodictable.com

William P.//SMC Editor

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

Rolling Steel Coil to Make Sheets

The process of getting galvanized steel from its prepared form (coiled and wrapper up) is completed with the aid of a roller. This device allows the user to roll the galvanized sheets into any number of profiles depending on the intended purpose. The practice of rolling metals has been around since 1590, but really took off in approximately 1850.

Of the most well know of these purposes if for the use in metal roofing. For this application corrugations are rolled into the galvanized steel to match the environment of the area. For example the most typical corrugation seen is the circular wavy corrugation which performs best when there is some degree of pitch to the roof, whilst a flatter and wider pan may be used when the roof has less of a degree of slant. This wider pan has more surface area to transport water off the roof.

Corrugations for external use, such as the cladding of external and internal walls or ceilings may use what is referred to as a mini-orb (smaller corrugation) so as to provide a particular aesthetic, especially when emphasis is put on the internal. Furthermore galvanized steel coil can be pre painted to provide a particular color to meet the end users specification; this paint is baked on and provides an extra layer of protection from the elements.

Shanghai Metal Corporation, being one of the world’s leading suppliers and manufacturers of metal products offers galvanized steel in a multitude of forms that can be used to satisfy the applications mentioned above. These include piping, galvanized steel coils, strips, sheets, plates, wire, pre-painted steel, roofing material (in a number of profiles) as well as steel grating. We also stock and supply coil rollers so you can do it yourself or have the sheets repainted and cut by us.

To find out more about these products or to discuss customization and individual requirements please visit our website Here. For more updates on this and other exciting developments follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin. Or by using your smart device, scan the QR code below!

Dominick F.//SMC Editor

Sources: Drexmet; Union Corrugating; Galvanizing Association of Australia; Wikipedia; Gulf Coast Steel, Vostelpine

#BuildingValueAcrossTheGlobe

How Should You (Not) to Use Gold?

If only I had a lot of gold, I would have a bathroom of gold and every day I would use golden toilet paper to wipe my tush. Come on, who really wants to use gold that way? Well apparently there are people who do, because some companies manufacture gold bathrooms and gold toilet paper. People can purchase 22-carat gold toilet paper rolls with US 1.4 million in Dubai. These are not the only weird instances of using gold. The expensive material has made a lot of people crazy.

Some people take really extreme with gold. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. Creative out-of-the-box thinking has made it possible for people to create beautiful gold masterpieces.

The list of unusual gold products is long. Vibrators, iPhones. MacBooks, Legos, Coffee makers, Christmas Trees and so on. There are even golden Porches and Mercedes cars. A golden iPhone 5 is worth of seven normal iPhone 5s.

Even more interesting is that they even make edible objects out of gold. There are gold cheese, ice cream, chocolate and mineral water with gold chips. Do some people actually have so much gold that they can afford to eat it? See the list of original articles to find out more of bizarre gold objects.

In order to find that much gold or even silver, you need a professional rock crushing tool for separating commercially valuable minerals from ores and a vibrating screen from locating them from the crushed rocks. Shanghai Metal Corporation has a long experience in offering excellent mining machinery for businesses worldwide. To know more about our machinery, please visit our website. Please also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. Try also our new mobile application by scanning the QR code below.

Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

Pictures and original articles: Buzzfeed.com, Oddandstrange.blogspot.com, Nuffy.net, swns.com, Goldstriker

铁矿石简介-较于碳钢

凡是含有可经济利用的铁元素的矿石叫做铁矿石。铁矿石的种类很多，用于炼铁的主要有磁铁矿（Fe3O4）、赤铁矿（Fe2O3）和菱铁矿（FeCO3）等。铁矿石试样经盐酸溶解后，其中的铁转化为Fe3+。在强酸性条件下，Fe3+可通过SnCl2还原为Fe2+。Sn2+将Fe3+还原完毕后，甲基橙也可被Sn2+还原成氢化甲基橙而褪色，因而甲基橙可指示Fe3+还原终点。

铁矿石是国际大宗商品，战略物资，属于经济命脉一类的东西。世界铁矿资源集中在澳大利亚、巴西、俄罗斯、乌克兰、哈萨克斯坦、印度、美国、加拿大、南非等国。中国作为世界上最大的铁矿石需求国，自身的铁矿石储量虽然不算少，但品质不幸比较低，从工业经济的角度来讲，倒不如从盛产富铁矿的澳大利亚、巴西等国进口。

可以直接投入炼钢炉炼钢的铁矿石旧称“平炉富矿”，可以直接用于炼铁的铁矿石旧称“高炉富矿”，都带个“富”字。这些富矿一般是磁铁矿和赤铁矿，它们的含铁量都在70%以上。

贫矿，或者是有害杂质较多的铁矿，则需要先经过选矿，成本一下子就上去了。铁矿石的分类十分复杂，可以按主要成分、有害杂质、结构形态、脉石种类等许多角度来分，每种角度都能分出许多种，工业上选用哪一种，对应于什么样的工艺流程，有非常多的讲究，是一门很大的学问。

分类

磁铁矿

是一种氧化铁的矿石，主要成份为Fe3O4，是Fe2O3和FeO的复合物，呈黑灰色，含Fe72.4%,O27.6%，具有磁性。在选矿时可利用磁选法，处理非常方便；但是由于其结构细密，故被还原性较差。经过长期风化作用后即变成赤铁矿。

赤铁矿

也是一种氧化铁的矿石，主要成份为Fe2O3，呈暗红色，比重大约为5.26，含Fe70%，O 30%，是最主要的铁矿石。由其本身结构状况的不同又可分成很多类别，如赤色赤铁矿、镜铁矿、云母铁矿、粘土质赤铁等。

褐铁矿

褐铁矿这是含有氢氧化铁的矿石。它是针铁矿 HFeO2和鳞铁矿FeO（OH）两种不同结构矿石的统称，呈现土黄或棕色，含有Fe约62%，O 27%，H2O 11%，多半是附存在其它铁矿石之中。

铁相对于碳钢，含碳量高出很多，但是在很多特性上，例如韧性上碳钢要胜出一筹。在名佳利，我们提供多种多样的碳钢产品，包括基本的钢板，钢管，覆铜钢带，甚至还有锅炉板等产品。我们能满足您的需求，让您充分体会到一站式采购的快感。

Andrew G.//SMC Editor

Dispute Resolution Moves To Stabilize World Copper Prices via Indonesia

According to the London Metal Exchange on Monday 28^th July 2014 world Copper prices appear to have stabilized despite rising global demand putting inflationary pressures on the price. This is a direct result of the American natural resource company Freeport-McMoRan who has an industry leading global portfolio in mineral assets, significant oil and gas resources and a growing production profile. Yesterday Freeport was able to settle a six month long tax dispute with the Indonesian government, allowing for the resumption of Copper exports from major Indonesian mines such as in the Grasberg mineral region in West Papua (containing approximately 35.6 billion pounds of Copper) to key global Copper consuming nations such as China and India. Freeport-McMoRan is expected to export approximately 756,000 tonnes of Copper in the second half of 2014.

Settlement of this on-going tax dispute has doused the predominately bullish global Copper market in cold water despite sturdy factory growth in both China and the Euro-zone strengthening the overall world demand for Copper ore throughout the month of July. Additionally, economic data from Beijing has confirmed that the Chinese economy has weathered the economically choppy first half of 2014 and is expected to return to calmer waters where economic growth and expansion can really regain traction. This emphasizes that the Copper industry is finally solidifying its expected movement away from a demand-basis and more toward supply-surplus, ultimately stabilizing the previous up-and-down nature of world Copper prices throughout the first half of 2014.

Furthermore, the London Commodity Futures Trading Commission has highlighted that global Long-positions of Futures and Forward contracts on Copper have peaked at an eight year high and have begun their descent into a predominately short-positions as world Copper supply moves into surplus, relieving excess demand and putting deflationary pressures on Copper prices. This is particularly so on the back of the news of Indonesia re-initiating their exports to major international Copper consumers such as China via Freeport-McMoRan.

Shanghai Metal Corporation stocks a wide selection of Copper-related products and raw materials for all your construction or manufacturing needs. Please take the time to browse our online catalog at: http://www.shanghaimetal.com/Copper–tpl3.html.

Zenn B.//SMC Editor

Monopolistic Concerns for the Iron Ore Market

Iron ore is a major raw material used to create steel. Therefore, demand for this raw material by the steel industry plays a major role in determining prices. Internationally, iron ore prices are largely determined by the Chinese because they are the largest consumer of iron ore in the world. China accounts for more than 60% of the seaborne iron ore trade.

The flagging demand for iron ore from China in the wake of an economic slowdown has put downward pressure on iron ore prices. According to data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics, growth in investment, factory output and retail sales has slowed to multi-year lows in the first two months of the year. A Chinese government crackdown on polluting steel plants has forced many of them to shut down. In addition, tightening of credit by Chinese banks to steel mills that are not performing well, will negatively impact these mills’ prospects. Furthermore, the Chinese leadership has proposed structural reforms of the economy, shifting the emphasis from investment and export driven growth to services and consumption led growth. Such a transformation of the Chinese economy may negatively impact Chinese demand for steel in the long term. Chinese steel demand growth is expected to slow to 3% and 2.7% in 2014 and 2015 respectively, from 6.1% in 2013. Weak demand for steel has indirectly resulted in weak demand for iron ore as well as metallurgical coal.

On the supply side for iron ore, expansion in production by majors such as Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton has created an oversupply situation. A combination of weak demand and oversupply is likely to result in lower iron ore prices in the near term. Lower iron ore prices will impact smaller mining companies much more than the major mining companies. It appears that the price of iron ore is being manipulated in favour of larger producers. This is due to the smaller company’s higher cost of production of per ton, as compared Rio Tinto and BHP who have lower prices. Iron ore spot prices stood at $92.74 per dry metric ton (dmt) at the end of June 2014, about 19.2% lower than a year ago. The outlook on iron ore prices remains bleak in the near term, in view of the oversupply situation.

It’s not surprising that so many Chinese producers are being forced to close up shop. According to data supplied by Bloomberg, around 80% of China’s mines have operating costs of around $80 to $90 per ton. In comparison, BHP Billiton, and Rio Tinto produce ore at around $53, $68, and $44 per ton respectively.
But it is not just BHP ramping up supply — Rio Tinto and Vale are also ramping up output, compounding the supply problem.
BHP Billiton is increasing output by 260 million to 270 million tonnes from a 217 million tonne target in 2014, and Rio Tinto is on track to produce 295 million tonnes of ore this year, up from 266 million last year.