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Most Metals Experienced Increase in Production Between 2002 and 2003, WBMS 2004 Yearbook Results
May 24, 2004 |Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
UK — The World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS) has released its 2004 Yearbook.
It contains a comprehensive review of metals production on a global scale for the last decade. The publication includes country-by-country data for the LME, precious and many speciality metals. WBMS reported that almost all metals experienced an increase in production from 2002 to 2003.One of the star performers in 2003 was mine production of chromium, which rose by 13 percent compared to 2002, which followed on from a similar increase in 2001.Output in South Africa has more than doubled in the last decade and was the main driver of the increased global output.Chinese output of magnesium rose by more than 50 percent between 2002 and 2003, which contributed to a global production hike of almost 16 percent. China now increasingly dominates the world market for magnesium producing 70 percent of the world's supply of the metal.For the precious metals sector the indications were for an almost 5 percent rise in the mine output for platinum, a 2 percent fall for silver and a 3 percent gain for gold. A 7 percent rise in South African production for platinum was a major factor in the increased world supply. Output of both silver and gold in South Africa were lower than the previous year.Production of uranium fell by more than 2,200 tons to 35,372 tons in 2003. A decline in the production of Canadian uranium of 23 percent was the major contributing factor in the world decline. Over the 10 years between 1994 and 2003, output peaked in 2002 at just more than 37,600 tons.Output of titanium both in ore and sponge form rose slightly in 2003 to levels still short of the peak levels achieved in 1998. Production of tungsten in concentrates fell slightly following four years of continuous growth.Bismuth mine production recovered some of the ground it lost in 2002 due largely to increased availability from Peruvian sources. Production of antimony contained in ores was 3 percent higher than in 2002 with increases reported for most of the world's producers of the mineral. Manganese also recorded a 10 percent increase between 2002 and 2003.For aluminium production rose to just more than 28 million tons (up 7.4 percent) and consumption was 27.4 million tons (up 8 percent). Output of the raw material, bauxite, rose by only 2 percent between the two years. For copper the metal production fell by 1 percent, which was met with increased consumption of nearly 3 percent.Lead and zinc recorded metal production gains of around 2 per cent and smaller increases in demand. Nickel production rose for the fourth consecutive year to a record 1.2 million tons. Consumption of nickel rose to 1.24 million tons, another record leading to concerns about shortage of supply. A similar scenario surrounds the tin market, where production rose from the slightly depressed levels recorded in 2002 to a record 273,000 tons. Despite a major drawdown from stocks the market remained in deficit due to a 10 per cent hike in the demand for the metal. The World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS) is the data resource of first resort for anyone involved with the global metals industry. For more information, visit www.world-bureau.co.uk.