Page 72 from: Recycling International – free September/October Issue

MARKET ANALYSIS

Aurubis fraud startles
listless sector
Shares tumble and profits suffer as copper giant is defrauded into buy scrap it did

not receive. Meanwhile China’s secondary copper imports are climbing back.

of nickel raw material, ensuring a sta-
ble supply of processed nickel and
battery materials, and exploring new
businesses including battery recycling.
In April, the car giant unveiled a plan
to achieve global EV leadership by
producing 3.64 million EVs, position-
ing itself among the top three global
EV manufacturers by 2030. To support
this aim, it is prioritising the procure-
ment of key raw materials such as
nickel and lithium and is actively seek-
ing collaborations with various global
partners in the procurement and pro-
cessing of raw materials and the man-
ufacturing of battery materials.
Korea Zinc established a subsidiary for
nickel sulphate production for EV bat-
teries in 2017 and is expanding its
presence in the EV battery business
with a focus on nickel. The expansion
includes establishing a subsidiary to

72

too calm. Trading thrives on trading,
but it has been very sluggish in recent
weeks. The weak economies and,
above all, not enough staff meant that
companies sent employees on vaca-
tion and temporarily stopped produc-
tion. This phase was expected to
come to an end by mid-September.

CHINA’S BACK
China’s scrap copper imports, which
fell markedly during the last decade,
have stabilised over the past three
years and rose a tenth in the first six
months of the year. In the first quarter
of 2017, around 300 000 tonnes of
scrap were imported every month but
that had slumped to around 70 000 in
early 2020 as the authorities sought to
crack down on low quality ‘waste’. But
after intense industry lobbying, they
relented and allowed in higher-quality
recyclable resources such as copper.
In the first six months of the year, total
imports were up 10% at 930 000
tonnes.
At the same time, as reported by
Andy Home at Reuters, ‘China’s
imports of refined copper fell to a
four-year low in the first six months of
2023, underlining the sense of stalled
momentum in the world’s manufactur-
ing powerhouse’.
Meanwhile, Reuters says Chinese nick-
el producers are looking to list metal
on the London Metal Exchange as
they seek improved access to global
markets and lock in profits while
increasing output. China’s refined
capacity accounted for about a quar-
ter of the global total last year. ‘That
could be a boost for the exchange

which is struggling to reinvigorate its
nickel contract after a severe price
crunch in March 2022 damaged its
trading volumes and its credibility,’
the agency notes. In March, LME
announced plans to cut waiting times
and remove fees for new brands of
nickel that can be delivered against its
contract.

BATTERY RECYCLER BOUGHT
South Korean waste manager IS
Dongseo has acquired BTS
Technology, a battery recycling spe-
cialist with operations in Poland,
Slovakia and Hungary. According to
the Korean Economic Daily, the deal is
worth 37.5 billion won (EUR 26 mil-
lion) and secures Donseo a 79.2%
stake in BTS Technology which was
established in 2007. An EV battery
facility is being constructed in Poland
and BTS expects a processing capaci-
ty of 150 000 tonnes by 2030. It is sit-
uated close to LG Energy Solution’s
battery manufacturing facility and on
land with scope for expansion.
The BTS website says EV battery recy-
cling is its distinctive expertise. ‘Our
robust and innovative processes are
meticulously designed to ensure profi-
cient and sustainable battery recycling
methodologies.’
On its own website, IS Dongseo says
it has ‘laid the foundation for estab-
lishing a global value chain for the
waste battery business as well as
domestically’.

HYUNDAI PARTNERSHIP
Hyundai Motor Group has committed
to work with Korea Zinc, South Korea’s
leading non-ferrous metal smelting
company, in a comprehensive collabo-
ration across the nickel value chain.
The partnership includes joint sourc-
ing of nickel raw material, processing

At the beginning of September, the
European copper market had only one
topic when Europe’ when largest cop-
per group, Aurubis in Hamburg, was
defrauded into paying for scrap mate-
rial it did not receive. It warned it
would miss its full-year profit target
after this criminal activity. At one point
its shares were down 17%.
‘The exact amount of the damages
incurred by Aurubis cannot yet be
accurately assessed,’ a company press
release said. ‘Aurubis has begun a
special inventory of metal reserves
and anticipates the final results at the
end of September 2023. It cannot cur-
rently be ruled out that the damages
might be in the low, three-digit-mil-
lion-euro range. The losses will impact
the 2022-23 fiscal year result. As such,
the forecast range for the current
2022-23 fiscal year (EUR 450-550 mil-
lion) will not be achieved.’
The release added that the executive
and supervisory boards had initiated
investigations by internal and external
experts to clarify the facts and ‘with a
view to further improving the security
concept’.
According to mining.com, Aurubis has
now been hit by two different and
possibly connected crimes, following
the theft of precious metal residues a
few months ago.

LISTLESS MARKETS
Although prices on the London Metal
Exchange remained listless in recent
weeks, they ultimately moved within a
narrow range. Why bothers market
participants the most is not the price
but the metal market itself, which is

A U T H O R Robin Latchem

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