Copper Peaking as Inventories Signal Slowing Demand

HONG KONG, July 29 -- China has suspended the issuing of new antimony and tungsten mining licenses until end-June 2010 in a bid to protect the country's reserves of the minerals, which have fallen in recent years due to excessive mining, a source at state-run metals information provider Beijing Antaike said Wednesday.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &quot;The state's halting of mining licenses should control domestic antimony and tungsten mining activities this year and prevent a rapid fall in reserves,&quot; the Antaike source said. &quot;However, we don't rule out the possibility that some smaller mines will open stealthily,&quot; he added.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Other industry insiders in China said demand for antimony and tungsten had slumped as a result of the global economic slowdown and suggested the suspension was more a bid to shore up prices.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ganzhou Tungsten Industry Association set a domestic guide price for tungsten concentrate at Yuan 63,000/mt ($9,222/mt) for July, below the average in 2008 of Yuan 83,400/mt.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; China in May capped domestic antimony concentrate and tungsten concentrate output for 2009 at 90,180 mt and 68,555 mt, respectively, to control the mining of strategic metal resources.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In 2008, China produced 84,470 mt tungsten concentrate, up 5% from 2007, China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association data showed. But domestic tungsten concentrate consumption totaled only 50,500 mt in 2008, according to the China Tungsten Industry Association.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; China produced 49,339 mt of tungsten concentrate during the first half of this year, up 32.86% year on year, CNIA figures showed. Antimony concentrate output data for 2008 and H1 2009 figure was unavailable.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (Source: Platts)
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