Nonferrous Department

ALUMINUM CAN RECEIVES SPECIAL STATUS IN DELAWARE

The aluminum beverage can is now permanently exempted from the state of Delaware’s mandatory deposit and return laws. Aluminum cans had received a series of temporary exemptions before the permanent exemption was signed into law in June. The can’s high recycling rate and agreements by aluminum recycling centers to remain operational helped industry groups successfully lobby for the permanent exemption.

DOWNWARD PRICE PRESSURES DETECTED

Increases in supply will soon outpace the global demand for copper, one industry analyst is predicting. Thomas McNamara of Oppenheimer & Co., New York, is revising his firm’s copper price estimate for 1997 downward by 8 cents per pound. “The copper market is in a state of transition from years of deficits to future years of surpluses, which is creating downward pressure on prices,” McNamara wrote in a recent edition of Oppenheimer & Co.’s newsletter. He cited a 5.1 percent increase in supply increases scheduled to come on line in 1997 coupled with a further 4.2 percent increase estimated for 1998. Demand, meanwhile, is predicted to increase at a somewhat slower 3.5 percent rate over the same two-year period.

U.S. RANKS THIRD IN SILVER FOR 1996

Last year marked the second straight year of increased silver mine production in the United States, according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s annual review. The 76 mines operating in 16 states accounted for 10 percent of the world’s silver output. The total value of the 1,570 metric tons mined was $263 million. Nevada, Idaho and Arizona were the leading silver producing states. Mexico and Peru were the only nations that mined more silver than the U.S. in 1996, while Canada and Poland ranked fourth and fifth.

LESS ZINC MINED, CONSUMED IN FIRST HALF OF 1997

The amount of recoverable zinc mined in the first six months of 1997 was down by 17,000 metric tons compared to the first half of 1996, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The 6 percent decrease coincided with a 17 percent decrease in refined zinc consumed in the first half of 1997 compared to 1996. Consumption is down in the steel galvanizing segment.

SCRAP ALUMINUM CONSUMPTION

Consumption of scrap aluminum in the United States is up 9.7 percent over last year’s pace, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). More than 4,650 million pounds of scrap aluminum was consumed in the first six months of this year, compared to 4,244 million pounds in the same period last year. Metallic recovery from scrap rose 9.8 percent in the January to June period of 1997 versus 1996.