bingorama| Mexico Group's Asarco plans to restart production at U.S. copper smelters in light of soaring copper prices

Gelonghui May 24| Market participants said on Friday that as copper prices hit a record high, Grupo Mexico's subsidiarybingoramaMining company Asarco is planning to restart its mothballed copper smelter in the United States. Market participants said Asarco is currently negotiating with union workers to restart the Hayden smelter in Arizona and nearby copper mines, as well as the Amarillo refinery in Texas. The restart of the Hayden smelter will increase U.S. copper supply. There are currently only two copper smelters in the United States, one is Freeport McMoran's Miami smelter in Arizona and Rio Tinto's Kennecott smelter in Utah. Market participants said that in view of the recent rise in copper prices, Asarco plans to restart the Hayden copper smelter. It is unclear when the Hayden smelter will restart production, but the company is said to be in talks with union representatives and smelter workers. According to data from the International Copper Research Group (ICSG), the United States produced 880880 tons of refined copper in 2023, imported 770900 tons of refined copper, and consumed more than 1.6 million tons of refined copper.