Mitsubishi Materials to Cut Copper Output by 9.3%

By Jae Hur and Yoshifumi Takemoto

April 1 (Bloomberg) -- Mitsubishi Materials Corp., Japan’s third-largest copper producer, said it will cut output by 9.3 percent at its Japanese smelters in April to September compared with a year earlier.

The Tokyo-based company is planning to produce 24,259 metric tons of copper each month for the fiscal first-half to Sept. 30, compared with its monthly output of 26,735 tons in the same period a year earlier, it said in a statement today.

The company will reduce refined lead production by 13 percent to 1,930 tons a month during the six-month period following slumping demand, it said.

The following table details monthly production plans:

(metric tons) =============================================================== Metal H1 2009 H2 2008 H1 2008 =============================================================== Copper 24,259 23,615 26,735 Lead 1,930 1,950 2,222 Zinc 654 854 653 Gold (kg) 2,867 2,067 2,277 Silver (kg) 29,500 31,000 30,933

* Note: The increase in gold output is due to higher grade of ore, while the drop in silver production is due to lower imports of raw material. ===============================================================

To contact the reporters on this story: Jae Hur in Tokyo at jhur1@bloomberg.net; Yoshifumi Takemoto in Tokyo at ytakemoto@bloomberg.net