Metal makers seek new markets
With the industrial engine cooling of minerals mine owners are looking for new uses to spur sales like in fertilizer, electric-car batteries and salmon cages, Bloomberg reports.
“Traditional demand isn’t going to fall off a cliff,” said Paul Gait, an analyst at Sanford C Bernstein in London. “But it’s true that no one wants to hear about industrial production growth or Chinese cement demand anymore.”
Purdue University in Indiana is purchasing weight-lifting equipment coated with the metal for a new athletic facility scheduled to open later this year. The goal is to reduce instances of flu and viral infections, said Justin Lovett, a Purdue football director. Cages lined with copper are being used on salmon farms in Chile, Japan, Canada, Australia and Norway to fight the spread of bacteria, said Ricardo Benavides, technical director at EcoSea Farming, which produces the cages in Chile.
