Rio Tinto PLC

China overtook the US and Japan as the premier manufacturing location. China doesn’t have sufficient copper reserves, leading to the global copper trade.

Cathodes are not used directly by copper consumers. Cathodes are melted and cast into shapes based on end usage, such as cakes, ingots, rods, and billets.

Copper mining is concentrated in Latin America, while the major copper consumers are in Asia. More than 60% of global copper consumption comes from Asia.

Because of its excellent heat transfer capabilities, copper is also widely used in producing heat exchange equipment and other uses in extreme environments.

Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, BHP Billiton operates 100 locations in 25 countries. A merger between BHP and Billiton created the company in June 2001.

With over 65% exports going to China, China is the real swinger in global iron ore prices. A slowdown in China caused panic among all major commodity exporters.

In the seaborne met coal market, the swing producers are clearly the Australian producers. Australia is the second largest of the met coal producers. It’s the largest met coal exporter.

With the emergence of China’s demand, prices moved to quarterly contracts from annual private negotiations in 2010.

The cost curve also sets the floor for the price because if price falls below the cost of production of some players, those players will be out of the market.

Capital intensity is a measure used to determine the efficiency of production.

Chinese environmental protection and pollution control measures will necessitate the use of higher content.

Surface mining is done when the deposits of commercially useful minerals are found near the surface.

Prior to the industrial revolution, most of the iron ore was mined directly from hematite deposits.