Analysis of the causes of copper shortage in China
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For a long time, the land of China has been envied by the world for its geographical advantages of vast land and abundant products. This magical and vast land stretches from the Mohe River of Heilongjiang to the dark sand of Zengmu in the South China Sea, from the Pamir Plateau of Xinjiang to the intersection of the center line of the main channel of the Heilongjiang River and the Ussuri River, and has countless rare beasts and treasures.
However, even this vast land of 900,000 square kilometers is facing the embarrassing situation of "it is difficult for a good woman to cook without rice" - a lack of copper. In the face of such a dire situation, what should China do?
Let's ** this issue together.
1. The "copper shortage" challenges copper, because of its excellent electrical and thermal conductivity, second only to silver, and is currently the world's most important conductive material. More than half of the world's copper ore is used in the power and telecommunications industries, and copper is a popular raw material for bullets in the military and defense sectors of many countries.
The special properties of copper meet the needs of the military industry, due to the soft texture, the bullet made of copper will expand at the moment of discharge, so that the bullet is evenly stressed, improve the shooting accuracy, and avoid barrel wear.
There is no doubt that the global demand for copper is rising.
China is one of the fastest-growing copper markets in the world. With the rapid development of modern industry, China's demand for conductive materials such as copper cables has increased significantly. According to conservative estimates, China has become the world's largest producer and consumer of refined copper and copper for many years, and this status will not change in the short term.
However, in the contrast between the intensive modern industrial process and the vigorous demand for copper ore, China's copper ore reserves are stretched, it is difficult to meet the domestic application demand, and even once faced a "copper shortage crisis".
The shortage of local copper ore has contributed to the rapid growth of imported copper ore consumption. According to statistics, China's refined copper imports in 2010 were 2.92 million tons, which increased to 362 after 202070,000 tons, an increase of 70 in 10 years70,000 tons.
In order to solve the problem of lack of copper ore resources, China has promoted the widespread use of steel bullets. Although this bullet is inferior to copper bullets in some respects, it has reached a military quality comparable to it after years of technological improvement.
This fully shows that the situation of China's copper ore resources is very grim. From the former witness of Chinese civilization to the scarce minerals in short supply, the shortage of copper ore resources has become an important factor restricting the development of many industries in China.
The global copper resources are unevenly distributed, and Chile and Peru on the west coast of South America have more than 40% of the world's total proven copper resources, forming the "three mountains" of copper mining development.
Although China's copper ore resources are somewhat scarce compared to other regions, we don't need to worry too much, because China's copper ore reserves account for 4% of the world's total reserves, ranking sixth in the world.
But why do we still have a shortage of copper? Getting to the root of the problem can reveal the truth. Through an in-depth study of the distribution of copper ore resources in China, I found that the distribution of copper ore resources in China has three main characteristics: first, the distribution of copper ore resources is relatively concentrated and small.
According to the survey, China's copper ore resources are mainly distributed in the southwest, northwest and east China, and most of these areas are close to the crustal movement activity zone in geological history, forming a vast variety of underground deposits.
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, the history of copper mining in China can be traced back to the 90s of the last century, when China's mines produced 48 percent of copper680,000 tons, the number of copper mining areas is close to 1,000, and the copper reserves are about 20 million tons.
However, by 2015, China's proven copper reserves had grown to 9,91020,000 tons. By 2017, that number had risen further to 10,60780,000 tons.
However, despite the dense distribution of copper mines in China, the scale of the minerals is not optimistic. Among the proven copper deposits in China, the proportion of large, medium-sized and small-scale deposits is 27：8.9：88.4. This ratio is seriously unbalanced.
This indicates that most of the deposits are small in size and do not contain high copper content. In addition, due to the complex topography of China, many small deposits are often not valuable for extraction. Together, these headwinds have led to a limited capacity for China's self-sufficiency in copper mines.
Despite China's abundant copper resources, the actual scale of mining is quite limited, mainly due to the scattered distribution of the deposits, most of which are small. As a result, China faces considerable challenges in meeting its own copper ore needs.
Second, the ore grade is generally low, and there are many types of associated ores. Ore grade refers to the amount of useful components or useful minerals per unit volume or unit weight of ore, usually expressed as a percentage.
It is an important indicator of the economic value of a mineral deposit. In general, the ore grade determines whether a particular vein is valuable for mining. Currently, the average proven copper grade worldwide is 087%。
Among the proven copper deposits in China, the grade is more than 0Most of the 4% deposit has been developed, and most of the remaining deposits are of lower grade and have more associated minerals, such as copper and nickel, iron, lead and zinc, with limited mining value.
China has abundant copper ore reserves, but the difficulty and cost of mining are high. China's crustal junction zone is vast and complex, from the Saishang Plateau, the southwest border to the hilly areas, copper ore is widely distributed, but the terrain is rugged, and it is difficult to mine.
In addition, the cost of copper mining in China is high, almost a "loss-making business". These are the main difficulties faced by the development of copper mines in China.
Copper mining has too many associated ores and requires a specific process for purification. This requires a copper smelting facility in the vicinity, which places high demands on the local infrastructure, especially the power supply.
Most of China's copper mines are in remote areas with backward infrastructure, and it is necessary to improve the level of infrastructure construction before mining. Even without considering the cost of processing and transportation, electricity** is a huge dependent, especially in remote areas.
How to deal with the three "mountains" before the copper mine became self-sufficient? China carries forward the spirit of "foolish people move mountains" and actively looks for a reasonable way out. As it is said in the Book of Songs, "the jade of other mountains can be used to attack stones", implying that we can solve the problem of shortage of copper resources by introducing foreign talents.
In recent years, China's mining enterprises have accelerated the speed and scale of overseas acquisitions, with direct investment of more than 16 billion US dollars, most of which have flowed to copper mining projects in Africa, South America and other places.
At present, China's mining enterprises have 30 overseas large-scale copper mine projects that are operating and developing, as well as nearly 40 copper mine projects in the exploration and evaluation stage.
These overseas copper mines will become the supply of major copper mines in China**.
In the wave of overseas mining acquisitions, China's bold gestures have aroused widespread repercussions, among which the "acquisition of Las Bampas Copper Mine in Peru" is the most eye-catching.
The Las Bampas copper mine, located in southern Peru, was the world's largest copper mine under construction at the time, with an annual production capacity of 400,000 tons, accounting for 16% of Peruvian copper production.
In the face of this high-profile copper mine, China's largest metal mining leader, Minmetals Group, with 70US$0.5 billion** successfully acquired the right to operate the mine.
At present, the Ras Bangbas copper mine has become the eighth largest copper mine in the world, providing strong support for China's copper mines and providing a strong engine for China's development in the global market.
Zuo Chuan Xuangong Twelve Years" once said: "The people's livelihood is diligent, and diligence is not scarce." This ancient adage reminds us that thrift is a Chinese virtue that has been passed down from generation to generation. In the current context, this is also of far-reaching guiding significance for the sustainable development of our mining industry.
We should overcome all kinds of difficulties, strengthen the research and development of low-grade copper ore, and fully tap its value, so as to increase the reserves of China's copper resources. This road may be full of hardships, we may need to face lofty mountains and ravines, we may encounter a situation where the return on investment is not proportional, but in order to reduce the dependence of China's copper mines on foreign countries and improve the security of China's resources, we must adhere to the "diligence and thrift", so as to open up a way out.
In addition, the chemical properties of copper are very stable, and the value of utilization is also very high. At present, a large amount of reused copper can be found in old household appliances and construction waste.
If the relevant departments can further improve and simplify the process and more clearly guide the public to participate in copper mines, then this will undoubtedly bring great benefits to China's copper mines.
Although the utilization value of copper scrap is high, it may cause pollution to the environment in the process. Therefore, China can moderately purchase less polluting and high-value copper scrap at the international level to alleviate the shortage of domestic copper resources and avoid irreversible impacts on the environment.
Whether it is overseas acquisition or domestic self-sufficiency, it is the only way for China to deal with the shortage of copper ore. In the context of today's rapid development of socialist industrialization, ensuring the sufficiency of copper ore resources is crucial to ensure the normal development of major industrial links such as power supply, and is also a necessary prerequisite for achieving sustainable and healthy social and economic development.
In the "post-epidemic era", the copper inventory in the global spot market has declined rapidly, and the international copper price has repeatedly hit new highs.
The shortage of copper ore is not a short-term emergency problem, but I believe that the problem of copper shortage in China will eventually be better solved. Finally, I sincerely invite you to follow me and understand the essence of the problem in depth.