Sumitomo Metal Mining to Improve Profitability

Sumitomo Metal Mining targets more than 10 billion yen of cost cutting in fiscal 2009 starting April. The firm, which expects major profit down for fiscal 2008 due to lower sales and metal prices along with higher yen rate, tries to improve the profitability through cost cutting, better operation efficiency and restructuring loss making operations. The firm revises the investment projects for metal and resources while the firm improves the competitiveness for electronic and high performance materials.

The firm tries to reduce the cost at Toyo copper smelter in Ehime after the expansion to annual 450,000 tonnes of production capacity. The firm seeks opportunity to get interests in competitive copper mining projects in order to increase the ore purchase rate from mines with the interests from current 45 to around 70%.

The firm tries to reduce the cost structure of Pogo gold mine with US$ 460 per tonne of cash cost, which is higher than Hishikari mine in Kagoshima. The firm sends mining engineers to improve the operation.

The firm launches second phase of Coral Bay Nickel in Philippines in April. The firm expands the annual production to 22,000 tonnes at the site. The firm invests in nickel resources to expand the annual capacity from current 36,000 tonnes to 65,000 tonnes in 2012 for better profitability.