Sojitz and Nittetsu Mining Get Cu Deposit Exploring Right in Laos

Sojitz Corporation, Japanese trading house, announced on Thursday the firm acquired a copper deposit exploration right for Moune district of 226 square kilometers in Laos in cooperation with Nittetsu Mining, Japanese nonferrous metal smelter. Moune district is located about 100 kilometers west from Vientiane. Sojitz and Nittetsu Mining will start exploration to open a new copper mine. This is the first case that Japanese enterprise acquires a copper deposit exploring right in Laos.

Japan is the secondly largest copper ore importer in the world with annual import at approximately 1.3 million tonnes of copper content, following China. Latin America accounts for 60% in Japanese copper ore import. Japanese copper smelters aim to diversify supply sources. With this background, Japanese government will support the exploration project from the initial phase with funding or investing circumstance improvement.

Laos is expected to have copper ore resource at more than 6 million tonnes. The reserve volume could increase along the progress of explorations. Laos is near to China and India, where large demand growth for copper is estimated. The country would become an important supply base of copper ore to Asian market.

World demand for copper is forecasted to exceed 20 million tonnes in 2012, increasing from current 18 million tonnes. Sojitz eyes investment for other copper mines in Asia, North America, Latin America and Australia for stable ore supply to Japanese consumers.