Brazilian miner Nexa Resources Inc will likely decide this year to open a sales office in Asia as it looks to grow its customer base in China and the region, its chief executive told Reuters on Thursday.
Nexa, a top-five global zinc producer, sees opportunities to sell more zinc and copper in China as the country rolls back its own production in a bid to reduce air pollution, Tito Martins said in an interview, less than a month after the company’s $496 million initial public offering.
“Entering the Asian market has been a challenge for us,” said Martins, former chief financial officer of mining giant Vale SA. “It is very likely that we will decide to open a commercial office in the region.”
Martins said there had been a lack of zinc concentrate in the market and expects global prices for the commodity to remain at or above their current levels for the next two years.
Zinc prices are currently around $3,200 per tonne, highs last seen in 2007.
Nexa’s capital spending next year is likely to be in line with 2017 at around $200 million, Martins said, although the company has yet to set official targets.
Its main focus is opening its Aripuana zinc mine in Brazil by 2020 and Shalipayco mine in Peru by 2021, he said, along with improving the capacity of existing Peruvian operations.
The company does not rule out growth through acquisitions, although it is not considering any deals at the moment, he said.
Earlier this month, Nexa posted its first financial results since the IPO, with third-quarter net income rising 67 percent from a year earlier to $81 million.
By Marta Nogueira;
Source: Reuters
France has launched an offshore green hydrogen production platform at the country’s Port of Saint-Nazaire this week, along with its first offshore wind farm. The hydrogen plant, which its operators say is the world’s first facility of its type, coincides with the launch of another “first of its kind” facility in Sweden dedicated to storing hydrogen in an underground lined rock cavern (LRC).
The project sets up the Hydrogen Valley in Rome, the first industrial-scale technological hub for the development of the national supply chain for the production, transport, storage and use of hydrogen for the decarbonization of industrial processes and for sustainable mobility.
At first glance, hydrogen seems to be the perfect solution to our energy needs. It doesn’t produce any carbon dioxide when used. It can store energy for long periods of time. It doesn’t leave behind hazardous waste materials, like nuclear does. And it doesn’t require large swathes of land to be flooded, like hydroelectricity. Seems too good to be true. So…what’s the catch?
