Copper is one of the necessary metals essential for developing industrial financial system. The copper mining business is one of the leading metal mining businesses in the world. Most of the copper available is scattered over large regions, blended with rocks and mineralized materials. Ores of copper pass through various phases of separation processes to produce copper (as a by-product). Main copper mining countries like Peru and Chile are making huge investments in copper mining industry to increase the output of the copper mining industry. The global demand for copper is increasing due to rapid industrial development and so it has become necessary to increase the production of copper to match the demands (& fulfill requirements) of the industries. The global copper mining market is projected to grow at a considerable rate due to heavy investments in construction projects and manufacturing sector which are the key clients of copper business.
Countries of Asia-Pacific Zone are converting into key industrial economies boosting the demand for copper. There is a heavy demand for copper in countries like India and China due to continuous and rapid industrial growth (particularly heavy growth observed in manufacturing sector). This leads to heavy investment of capital in the copper mining industry in these countries. Enormous developments in Infrastructure planning & management in sub-continent of South America, Asian Continent and regions of Africa are also expected to nourish the growth of copper mining sector. Copper adds to the growth of power sector, manufacturing sector and telecom sector.
copper mining market is bifurcated into two key divisions based on the techniques of mining employed in copper extraction, namely, open pit mining and underground mining. Today, open pit copper mining is a predominant technique used for extracting copper metal (from copper ore) because of its optimum levels of copper production, flexible operation methods and less investments expense. Equipment producers, transportation industry and real estate industry are the end users of copper as well as major consumers of the copper mining industries.
Recently, South America is the key market for copper mining industry. Chile in South America is the leading manufacturer of copper as some of biggest copper mines of the world (natural resources) naturally exist in this nation. Region of Asia pacific also hold a key position in the copper mining business and contributes a major portion/share in the consumption of copper. Today, China is a leading importer of copper and accounts for a large portion of global copper reserves. Growing demand for copper from various industrial segments is one of the key factors attracting investments in this copper mining sector and adding to its growth.
Some of the key players in the copper mining market are Amerigo Resources Limited, Freeport- McMoRan Incorporation, Bougainville Copper Limited, Codelco and BHP Billiton Limited.
