The restriction on imports of some copper scrap products to China has already caused the industry to make some process changes but many questions are still unanswered, a panel of scrap experts said at the Metal Bulletin Copper conference.
The number of licenses granted by the Chinese government for copper scrap imports dropped by 94% year on year to account for 136,685 tonnes in the first two rounds of issuance from 2,397,565 tonnes a year ago.The Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) has set the threshold for impurities allowed in non-ferrous scrap imports including copper scrap at 1%. The restrictions are in line with a drive from the Chinese government and the MEP to crack down on pollution and pollutants in the country and is already...