Abstract
This chapter deals with the production patterns of the red metal. First, a few non-technical remarks about the art of copper processing present the metallurgical background necessary to understand the detailed statistical description of the development of the various stages of copper production following in the later sections. Like all chapters in the first part of this book, chapter 2 provides the illustrative basis for the development of the econometric model in the second part of the book. But, moreover, it also intends to stress factors which have not been accounted for by the econometric model, and thus to remind the reader of its limitations.
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Notes
The standard reference about the extractive metallurgy of copper is Biswas, Davenport (1976). Very easily readable, but not up-to-date, are the short summaries of mining, smelting and refining by Milliken (1966) and Prior (1966). The following survey is compiled from all the sources mentioned.
The influence of smelting on the environment has been one of the main concerns of the copper industry and environmentalists recently. It is, of course, not a new problem. Already more than one hundred years ago, Merbach (1881) reported about severe air pollution arising from copper smelting in the Kingdom of Saxony.
The percentages refer to the United States in 1981. See Minerals Yearbook (1981: 289).
Biswas and Davenport (1976: 217-241) explain single-step and multi-step processes to produce blister copper.
Loc. cit.: 345-346.
United Nations (1981) for an analysis of the role and activities of transnational corporations in the copper industry.
Piesch (1975) excellently surveys this and other concentration measures. Although Piesch (1982) and Deffaa (1982) develop indices which are more qualified for oligopolistic markets, I chose the concentration ratio due to its simplicity, clearness and vividness.
See United Nations (1981: 29-32). The last point is stressed by Labys (1982).
This and the following examples are compiled from various issues of the Minerals Yearbook, from trade journals, and from annual reports of copper mining companies.
Gluschke et al. (1979: 66-69) describe the problems of measuring capacity.
Most figures in this section are calculated from unpublished data, compiled by the Phelps Dodge Corporation Controller’s Department.
In a study for the World Bank the Charles River Associates (1979) found that three years elapse on an average from the official start of production to the date, when output is finally in line with the designed capacity.
See Joralemon (1973: 371) and Minerals Yearbook (1972: 484; 1974: 506).
This figure was confirmed to me by industry officials.
See Gluschke et al. (1979: 67).
The problems of financing mining investments are rather complex and a description of them lies beyond the scope of this book. For an in-depth study of foreign copper mine investments in Papua New Guinea and in Peru see Mikesell (1975). Radetzki and Zorn (1979) analyze the financing of mining projects in developing countries. Their study is summarized in Radetzki (1980) and Radetzki, Zorn (1980). The following account mainly relies on these sources.
New York Times, August 13th, 1981, News of the Week, p.5. McGill (1983) studies the financing of the Ok Tedi project.
Petrick et al. (1973) analyze the economics of copper’s by-product metals.
See Minerals Yearbook (1976:492).
Calculated from Mineral Commodity Summaries (1984: 37).
Codelco (1982: 10).
See e.g. Mackenzie (1979: 22).
Section 4.1 describes the trade relations in the world copper industry.
New York Times, December 18th, 1980, News of the Week, p. 5. Sousa (1981: 52-56) lists comparative regulatory cost estimates for the United States.
It has often been recommended to copper producing developing countries to expand their domestic processing of ores to increase domestic value added and employment (see e.g. United Nations (1972)). This recommendation has been critically evaluated e.g. by Habenicht (1977), Adams, Behrman (1981) and McKern (1981). Gueronik (1974) concentrates on CIPEC’ s potential for semi-fabricating.
Spendlove (1961, 1969) and Davis (1975) survey the methods of secondary copper production.
Gordon, Lambo and Schenck (1972b) review the literature on the collection of copper scrap. Bonczar and Tilton (1975) survey important determinants affecting scrap supply and demand.
In the next few decades the recovery of copper from electronic scrap (e.g. from multiple-pin plugs and collectors) may gain in importance. See e.g. Salisbury et al. (1981).
Calculated from Fairchild Publications (1981: 86).
Estimates of the costs of converting scrap to refined copper vary considerably. See Gluschke et al. (1979: 89-91).
For data on energy requirements to recycle scrap see Chapman (1974), Arthur D. Little, Inc. (1978) or Kusik, Kenahan (1978), for instance. Data about the U.S. primary copper industry’s energy consumption are compiled in Rosenkranz (1976). The lower bound of the estimates in the text above is quoted by Siebert (1979: 411).
Section 4.3 describes the structure of the North American copper market.
The working of the London Metal Exchange is explained in Chapter 4.3.
See Labys, Rees and Elliott (1971) for empirical evidence supporting this hypothesis.
The preliminary 1983 figures are calculated from World Metal Statistics, March 1984.
Grace (1978) compares recycling efforts in different countries. For West Germany alone see e.g. Grund (1981), for the United States consult Bonczar and Tilton (1975), for instance.
See Gluschke et al. (1979: 98). Other studies for the United States point in a similar direction, for example Bergsten (1978: 149).
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Wagenhals, G. (1984). Production. In: The World Copper Market. Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems, vol 233. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-45585-8_2
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