Chinese smelter capacity to continue growing despite a tightening copper concentrates market

CHUNLAN LI 01 AUGUST 2016 Although copper prices have fallen by over 50{1c8721459c474d1d5b48ba9ae7120e36de45aa62207fb48292a0a282be55d27f} since they reached a peak in 2011, Chinese copper smelters have not reduced the pace of capacity expansion, thanks to historically high treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) over the same period. Despite excess smelting capacity and progressively tighter concentrate markets, we expect the Chinese smelting industry to continue growing during the next four years. In fact,…

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New Source of Helium Found In Tanzania!

“A new approach to gas exploration has discovered a huge helium gas field, which could address the increasingly critical shortage of this vital yet rare element. Now, a research group from Oxford and Durham universities, working with Helium One, a helium exploration company headquartered in Norway, has developed a brand new exploration approach. The first use of this method has resulted in the discovery of a world-class helium gas…

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Anticipated Impact on NEON: US Tariffs on China Steel Increased Further

China is critical to the electronic supply chain, especially for noble gases like NEON.  Reduction in China steel production means reduced Neon supply, a by-product of the ASUs which support steel factories with oxygen. Recently, the U.S. Department of Commerce imposed even more duties on steel imports from China. The longer this tariff is in place the more likely Chinese Neon production capacity will be negatively impacted. For details on the…

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What’s happening to Japan’s semiconductor industry?

The 2016 global semiconductor market is forecast to decrease by 2.4 percent from the previous year according to the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS). SEMI forecasts that the global semiconductor manufacturing equipment market will be effectively flat this year. However, SEMI also forecasts double-digit growth in 2017 with significant new fab construction starts in 2016 and 2017 that will drive later equipment. The forecast foresees the Japan market will…

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