Mar. 19, 2010 (China Knowledge) - Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co Ltd<000630> has stated building a new copper smelter in Anhui Province that will have an annual capacity of 400,000 tons, a company executive revealed.

The official said the smelter, which is expected to begin full operation in 2012, will raise the company's total refined copper capacity to 1.2 million tons annually, making it the largest copper producer in China.

Tongling Nonferrous reported a net profit of RMB 608 million for 2009, 1.10% more than in the previous year. The company's operating revenue last year was RMB 30.76 billion, down 17.64% year on year, due to decreases in the prices of its major products.

In 2009, Tongling Nonferrous produced 718,600 tons of cathode copper, 10.80% more than in 2008. The output of sulfuric acid was 1.75 million tons last year, up 9.46% year on year.