Namibia’s New Horizon Copper Mine Targets November Restart as Processing Capacity Doubles

The U.S. Copper Development Association has released new guidance for evaluating recycled copper content, carbon performance and circularity. CDA argues that higher recycled-content requirements do not necessarily increase total copper recovery, as limited scrap may simply be redirected between products. Its 2020 material-flow example estimates recovered scrap at around 42% of semi-finished copper demand, rising to only about 59% even if all currently unaccounted end-of-life scrap were theoretically recovered. CDA recommends reporting recycled content and product carbon intensity separately and avoiding uniform recycled-content targets across copper rod, tube, wire, rolled products and alloys.

SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Overnight, LME copper opened at $14,677/mt, initially dipped to a low of $14,469/mt, then drifted higher to $14,779/mt, and finally consolidated near the high to close at $14,728/mt, up 1.61%. Trading volume reached 27,300 lots, and open interest stood at 267,000 lots, an increase of 453 lots from the previous trading day, driven by bullish positioning. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2610 contract opened at 111,170 yuan/mt, hit a session low of 110,960 yuan/mt right at the open, then rose to a high of 111,710 yuan/mt, and finally consolidated near the high to close at 111,300 yuan/mt, up 0.94%. Trading volume reached 50,000 lots, and open interest stood at 230,000 lots, an increase of 13 lots from the previous trading day, driven by bullish positioning.