Thai Copper says to shut for almost three weeks

Thai Copper Industries Plc., Thailand's first producer of the red metal, said on Tuesday it will shut down for almost 3 weeks, resulting in an expected cut in annual output of 8.3 percent. "We have shut down our operations since February 1. Operations are expected to be resumed on February 18 or 19." executive director Wanlop Kunanukornkun told Reuters. He denied market talk of technical problems. "It is a maintenance shutdown," he said.
"It is a sophisticated industry and we are a new smelter. We can also upgrade our feeding system while operations have been shut down," said Wanlop.
The smelter had cut its production projection by 10,000 tonnes to 110,000 tonnes of copper cathode this year, Wanlop said.
"We will need to start slow once operations resume. We expect to gradually ramp up back to around 8,000-9,000 tonnes a month by July," said Wanlop.
The smelter had produced, however, inconsistently at around 8,000-9,000 tonnes of copper cathode a month, or around 60 percent of capacity, since it began commercial operations last September, Wanlop said.
It had stockpiled enough copper concentrate to last until May and covered long-term forward contracts over the next few years, but would still need to buy on the physical market, Wanlop said without specifying a figure.
The smelter, which supplies the domestic auto, electronics and building sectors, would later expand annual capacity to 180,000 tonnes of copper cathode to satisfy domestic demand, he said without giving a time scale.
Thailand's domestic consumption is estimated at around 220,000 tonnes this year, up from 200,000 tonnes in 2004, Wanlop said.
Thai Copper had also exported several thousand tonnes of cathode monthly, mainly to countries in Asia including Vietnam, Malaysia and Bangladesh, Wanlop said.
Thai Copper was established in 1994 but was forced to halt construction of its plant when it was 70 percent completed because it ran out of money during the 1997/98 Asian economic crisis.
Construction of the $600 million smelter in Rayong province, 210 km (130 miles) south-east of Bangkok, resumed in late 2002 after the firm sold stakes to strategic partners and restructured its debts.
Thai Copper's main shareholders include Thailand's debt restructuring body, the Thai Asset Management Corp, packaging firm Thai Film Industry and Norwegian group Aker Kvaerner ASA.