Nippon Mining Holdings to Expand Metal Business

Nippon Mining Holdings, which operates oil and metal businesses, tries to expand resource development, electronic materials and metal fabrication in metal unit. The president Mitsunori Takahagi said the firm tries to expand the annual sales to 300 billion yen of annual sales, which is estimated at 180 billion yen for the year ending March 2007, for electronic materials and metal fabrication business through improved research & development along with merger and acquisition. The firm also tries to expand the oil refinery and petrochemical business for oil unit. The firm controls the oil unit of Japan Energy and the metal unit of Nippon Mining & Metals after the firm integrated metal related group companies including former Nippon Mining & Metals, Nikko Materials and Nikko Metal Manufacturing in April. The firm tries to expand electronic materials and metal fabrication business for the metal unit. Mr. Hakahagi said the firm tries to improve electric materials and metal fabrication business enough to generate 40% of profit for the firm. The firm tries to seek new metal resources along with development of Regalito copper mine in Chile. The firm also tries to improve cost competitiveness of smelting business after the integration of the copper smelting operation into Pan Pacific Copper, which is joint venture with Mitsui Mining and Smelting.