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Japan's Mitsubishi Materials aims to more than triple its copper concentrate output through equity holdings by 2030, possibly through buying stakes in early and mid-stage mining development projects, its president said on Thursday. "We will be targeting projects that have considerably progressed in terms of the development stage, and those that are in the early stage," President Naoki Ono told a news conference, when asked about investment plans for copper mines.
Under a mid-term business plan unveiled last Friday, the company plans to invest 250-billion yen ($1.9-billion) by 2030 in the resource recycling business which include copper mining and smelting. Mitsubishi Materials, which owns stakes in several copper mines including Los Pelambres and Mantoverde in Chile, aims to boost its copper concentrate production to 500 000 t/y by fiscal 2030 from 150 000 t now. Japan's third-biggest copper smelter also plans to expand its smelting capacity in Japan by about 30% by 2030, Ono said. "We will also consider mergers and acquisitions in rare earth and lithium-ion battery recycling," he said.