* SDI copper wire rod mill to come on line in Q2
* Predominant feedstock will be No. 2 copper scrap
* Chinese seen as main competition
By Chris Kelly
NEW YORK, May 2 (Reuters) – Steel Dynamic Inc’s (SDI) new
copper wire rod mill in New Haven, Indiana, will use a grade of
copper scrap popular in China as its raw material, putting it in
direct competition with the Far East and potentially driving
prices higher, market participants said.
Developed through a partnership with Barcelona, Spain-based
LaFarga Group, the $39 million facility is on track for a
second-quarter start-up and should be running at full capacity
by the fourth quarter of the year.
The mill, SDI’s second non-ferrous operation but its first
foray into copper, is expected to produce roughly 180 million
lbs (82,000 tonnes) of copper rod per year using a similar
quantity of scrap as its raw material.
No. 2 Birch Cliff, a mix of wire and tubing with a
96-percent copper content, will be the predominant feed, Russ
Rinn, president and chief operating officer of OmniSource, SDI’s
scrap unit that will be supplying the mill, said.
The mill’s monthly feed is small compared with the over
230,000 tonnes of copper scrap exported by the United States to
China in March.
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