Satellite data analysis shows copper smelting activity surged in November

Global copper smelting last month reached its highest level since February, according to a report released Wednesday that tracks smelter inactivity.Average smelter inactivity fell 2.7% from October to 13.4% last month, according to Earth-i, a satellite data analysis firm that runs the Savant Global Copper Monitoring Index.Unlike typical trends, the increase stemmed mainly from gains outside China, Earth-i said in a release. China, which has over 40% of the monitored capacity, saw inactivity edge down only 0.2% to 15.3%.China’s custom smelters, which take feeds from diverse sources, struggled with low treatment and refining charges. This cut their profits from processing imported concentrate, Earth-i’s report found.Regions outside China, with the exception of South America, drove the recovery, according to Earth-i. Captive smelters led the gains, slashing inactivity by 5.3% to 10.7%, while custom smelters saw a smaller decline of 0.7% to 15.5%. Captive smelters, those usually designed to process a specific major mine’s ore, benefited from their uptime. They also benefitted from post-maintenance recoveries.In its metals market review released Tuesday, Russia’s Norilsk Nickel forecasted a 200,000-tonne copper surplus this year. It expects a balanced market next year, but demand will outpace supply growth later in 2025, driven by renewable energy, electric transport and strong investment in power grids.Earth-i’s Savant platform tracks 95% of global smelters using satellite data and machine learning. Its indices provide near real-time insights and a historical dataset spanning more than eight years, according to the company.Credit: Savant Global Copper Monitoring IndexFalling inactivityEurope’s inactivity dropped 8.3%, the report showed. This was due to Poland’s Glogow smelter resuming full production after maintenance on its 540,000-tonne-per-year line.In North America, Grupo Mexico’s 300,000-tonne-per-year La Caridad smelter in Sonora state drove an 8.7% decrease in inactive capacity.Africa’s inactivity fell 3.1%, with Zambia’s 310,000-tonne-per-year with Konkola Copper Mines’ Nchanga smelter, a unit of Vedanta Resources (LSE: VED), ramping up production.Asia and Oceania had the lowest inactivity at 3.6%. This was due to steady operations at Russia’s Norilsk smelter and Kazakhstan’s Zhezkazgan and Balkhash facilities, owned by Kazakhmys, one of the country’s largest copper producers.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com