Mining output lags expected demand

摘要

"Rollercoaster" is the word Andrew Harding, head of RioTinto's copper division, uses to describe volatility in the copper price. There were spikes and dips even duringthe last boom, but the ups and downs of 2006 and 2007 were nothing compared to the sudden price shock in late 2008 - which can only be likened, he says, to the price crash just before the Great Depression.rnLuckily, this time there was Chinese demand to fall back on. Duringthe second half of 2009, the price recovered, demand got back on track and, by the firstquarter of thisyear, company results indicated that the industry is in recovery.