Jiangxi Copper, the mainland's largest integrated copper producer, would invest 1 billion yuan (HK$1.13 billion) in a new sulphuric acid plant in Ruichang, Jiangxi province, at a time when prices of the chemical are rising, China Nonferrous Metals News reported yesterday.
The plant could have an annual production capacity of 800,000 tonnes of sulphuric acid and 350,000 tonnes of pyrite concentrates. It would be built in two phases, with construction of the first phase scheduled to begin in September, the newspaper said.
Sulphuric acid, a by-product of copper smelting, has rebounded since plunging to a low of about 200 yuan a tonne early last year. It had risen to 1,000 yuan by the end of last year and has further increased to about 1,800 yuan amid record oil prices, a metals analyst at a Shanghai-based fund said.
Raw materials for the new plant will come from Jiangxi Copper's Wushan copper mine, which also has abundant resources of sulphur-iron ore, which coexists with copper.
Jiangxi Copper has an annual production capacity of 1.5 million to 2 million tonnes of sulphuric acid.
Company secretary Pan Qifang said he did not know the details of Jiangxi Copper's individual projects. But he added that the firm aimed to increase its sulphur capacity to capture rising demand and prices.
Analysts said profit contributions from sulphuric acid and sulphuric concentrate at Jiangxi Copper would increase dramatically this year amid rising prices.