COPPER 345 
 
of 4,000 tons of copper in concentrate per year. The mine, 80 kilometers
southwest of Medellin, had reserves of 1 million tons with an average grade
of 4% copper and 3 grams of gold per ton. 
 Indonesia.—Freeport Indonesia Inc., an 81% owned subsidiary of
Freeport-McMoRan
Inc., produced copper concentrates from two mines in Irian Jaya. Copper production
set a new record high in 1985 at 88,700 tons of copper in concentrates produced.
The Ertsberg East Mine accounted for most of it. Copper reserves at yearend
1985 were 846,000 tons in ore, according to the company's annual report,
compared with 993,500 tons at the end of 1984. Work continued on evaluation
of deep reserves at Ertsberg East. 
 Japan.—Electrolytic copper production was almost the same as in
1984
while consumption of refined copper was down to about 1.2 million tons during
1985 from the 1984 record high of 1.37 million tons. Communication cable
shipments in Japan were 21% below 1984 levels and exports were 
*halved. Electrical power cable shipments increased and were 14% above 1984
levels as a result of increased public housing and power generation investments.
Production of copper pipe and tubing was down by about 4.6% in the second
half of 1985, compared with the first half, as a result of a drop in exports
and a sharp production fall of air conditioners; both were presumed to be
the result of the increasing value of the yen. Imports of refined copper
cathode were 351,000 tons in 1985, down sharply from 
463,000 tons in 1984. The decline was explained in terms of reduced economic
expansion and an accompanying fall in domand for finished products.60 Exports
of 51,000 tons of refined copper in 1985, on the other hand, were higher
than the rather low figure of 18,400 tons reported for 1984. Alloy ingots
and scrap exports were also much higher than in 1984. Although wire rod exports
to China were down, exports of cathodes to China in 1985 jumped to 39,102
tons and accounted for 77% of Japan's total cathode exports, compared with
only 378 tons in 1984. Imports of concentrates were at an increased level
of 812,600 tons contained copper in 1985, compared with 785,000 tons in 1984
when concentrate market tightness forced a cutback on imports. 
 Nineteen Japanese zinc and copper producers made applications for assistance
from the Ministry for International Trade 
and Industry's (MITI) emergency loan fund in 1985. MITI announced it would
lend $12.5 million at an interest rate of 3% to 16 domestic copper and zinc
mines in fiscal year 1986-87. The loan arrangement was set up in 1978 to
help the mines maintain production while nonferrous metal prices remained
low. The changing picture in 1985 was blamed on the strengthening yen against
the dollar. 
 Japanese smelters continued to operate at a reduced output in 1985. Japanese
smelters had begun to reduce operating capacity to about 1,348,000 tons of
metal per year 2 years ago with the closure of the Hitachi, Ibargi (84,000
tons), and Okayama (7,200 tons), smelters. Mitsui Mining & Smelting
Co.
Ltd. was to stop smelting at its Hibi, Okayama, smelter (39,600 tons) in
1986 and planned to toll process at the larger Tamano, Okayama, smelter (164,000
tons), which was a joint venture with Mitsui (25%), Nittetsu Mining (20%),
and Furukawa Mining Co. Ltd. Godo Shigen Sangyo Co. intended to stop blister
copper production at its Miyako, Iwate, smelter at the end of May 1986. Although
the smelter had two furnaces with a combined blister capacity of 36,000 tons
per year, only one furnace was utilized, producing about 2,000 tons of blister
per month for export only. Dowa Mining Co. Ltd. completed the installation
of new oxygen blowing facilities at its Kosaka smelter. This will increase
capacity to 66,000 tons of blister per year. Nippon Mining decided to shut
down the Sagnoseki flash furnace for 6 months. Nippon said that this did
not affect electrolytic output during the year because the company was able
to process from blister copper stocks. The Saganoseki flash furnace was producing
about 19,100 tons of cathode copper per year, about 15% below previous levels.

 Furutobe Mining Co. Ltd. expected to close its copper-lead-zinc mine in
the Akita Prefecture by the end of January 1986 because of ore reserve exhaustion.
In 1985, Furutobe produced 10,000 tons of copper concentrates. 
 Mexico.—Domestic demand for refined copper was about 118,000 tons
in 1985, nearly double that of 1984. Smelter expansions were well under way
at Mexicana de Cobre S.A. (44% state-owned) and CIa. Minera de Cananea S.A.
(92% state-owned). When completed, the two smelters would raise Mexico's
total smelter capacity to about 362,000 tons of blister per year, reducing
Mexico's role as a major exporter of