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Xstrata halts Australia smelting
Xstrata, the world’s fourth-largest copper producer, plans to phase out copper smelting and refining in Australia by the end of 2016 in the face of a worldwide capacity glut, dismantle its plants and shift to sales of concentrates. Steve de Kruijff, chief operating officer of the company’s Copper North Queensland division, cited poor margins in smelting and refining for the move to phase out smelting and refining in Australia.