Since the second quarter of this year, the main Shanghai copper futures prices have begun to rise unilaterally, with the largest increase in the range exceeding 50%.

　　In my country's copper consumer market, the consumption of copper scrap accounts for about a quarter. Does the increase in copper prices have any impact on the recycling of copper scrap?

1 Shanghai copper's main futures rose unilaterally in the second quarter

Scrap copper purchase price rises

　　The reporter saw at a waste recycling station that there were only a few motors containing scrap copper on the ground.

　　The owner of the recycling station told reporters that after recycling the copper scrap is usually sent directly to the market or sold to the copper scrap processing plant, but now it is more difficult to collect copper scrap, and there is no inventory in the recycling station.

　　The owner of a waste recycling station in Shanghai said that the price increase would not be able to be collected. Without copper, he would usually receive bits and pieces, such as small decorative threads and air-conditioning pipes.

　　The scrap copper recovered in the waste recycling station is priced according to the level of copper content. The copper content of red copper reaches 99.9%, and the recycling price is relatively high, while the recycling price of brass with only about 60% copper is relatively low.

　　The person in charge of another recycling station said that the current scrap copper purchase price has increased significantly compared to the end of the first quarter.

　　Owner of a waste recycling station in Shanghai: Brass is more than 20 yuan per kilogram, and copper pipe is about 43 yuan per kilogram, which is much higher than before. During the New Year, it was only 33 yuan per kilogram.

　　The reporter learned that my country's annual supply of scrap copper raw materials is about 800,000 tons, and scrap copper imports are about 1.2 million tons. Scrap copper raw materials are generally used to produce recycled refined copper or scrap copper rods. Terminal enterprises process the scrap copper products into power cables or parts for air conditioners, refrigerators and other equipment.

　　The increase in scrap copper prices this round has been greatly affected by the epidemic. In addition, the second quarter of this year itself is the peak period of delivery by copper companies, and the demand for copper in the market has increased significantly.

　　According to analysis by industry insiders, the outbreak of the epidemic in major global copper mine suppliers such as Chile and Peru has resulted in the failure of copper mines to start operations and transportation disruptions. The contradiction between supply and demand directly caused the domestic copper inventory to drop from 380,000 tons to about 100,000 tons.

　　2 Chilean copper mining actively responds to the epidemic

　　Rising copper prices bring benefits

　　Chile has rich mineral resources, and nearly one-third of the world's copper production comes from Chile. As one of the countries most severely affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic in Latin America, what is the current situation of copper mine production in Chile? How does the rising copper price in the international market affect Chile?

　　In response to the epidemic, Chile's major mining companies currently adopt a rotation policy of "14 working days and 14 days off". So far, 3264 people have been diagnosed in the country’s copper mining industry, and the infection rate is less than 2%. The Chilean government believes that the annual decline in copper production can be controlled within 200,000 to 240,000 tons.

　　Recently, the copper price on the New York Mercantile Exchange and the London Metal Exchange has been hovering around 2.9 US dollars per pound, which is also the highest price in nearly a year and a half.

　　The international market’s expectations of a decline in copper production and the demand for the recovery of the international economy have become the two major reasons for stimulating copper prices. As Chile's largest trading partner, China's economic recovery has shown a positive momentum for Chile's mining industry.

　　Liviros, vice chairman of the Chilean Copper Commission: The recovery of China's economy and the infrastructure projects announced by China are definitely a positive signal for Chile, and even more so for the mining industry.