FACTBOX-Japan smelters' metal output plans for H1

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TOKYO, April 6 (Reuters) - Pan Pacific Copper Co Ltd, Japan's
top copper smelter, plans to produce 291,600 tonnes of copper in
April-September, down 1.6 percent from the same period last year,
the company said on Tuesday. [ID:nTKX006735]

Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd (5713.T), Japan's second-largest
copper smelter, said it plans to produce 404,000 tonnes of copper
in the full year that started on April 1, up 0.7 percent from its
plan a year earlier. Half that amount will be produced in
April-September.

Third-ranked Mitsubishi Materials Corp (5711.T) said it plans
to produce 157,512 tonnes of copper in the first half, up 7.5
percent from a year earlier. [ID:nTOE63002F]

Japan's copper output has been slow to pick up, hampered by
strong deflationary pressure and sluggish demand from the
construction sector, a major consumer of the metal.
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Copper production by most Japanese smelters had been about 10
percent less than their capacity since early 2009 as the worst
economic downturn in decades forced manufacturers to reduce
production and led to a sharp decline in metals consumption.

The following table shows the latest output plans that have
been announced so far for April-September.

It shows scheduled production of base metals at Japanese
smelters for the first half, with comparisons against estimated
output in the second half and actual production in the first half
of 2009/10 (in tonnes):
COPPER H1 10/11 H2 09/10 H1 09/10 PCT yr/yr
Pan Pacific 291,600 285,400 296,300 -1.6
Sumitomo 202,000 201,000 195,195 +3.5
Mitsubishi 157,512 156,102 146,472 +7.5
Dowa 56,970 55,872 43,866 +29.9
Furukawa 46,350 44,222 40,575 +14.2
Nittetsu n/a 21,699 n/a n/a
TOTAL n/a 764,295 n/a n/a
ZINC H1 10/11 H2 09/10 H1 09/10
Mitsui Mining 113,200 106,000 114,200 -0.9
Dowa 67,176 70,386 45,942 +46.2
Toho Zinc n/a n/a 48,813 n/a
Sumitomo 34,700 32,800 32,105 +8.1
Mitsubishi 4,146 4,344 2,970 +39.6
TOTAL n/a n/a n/a n/a
LEAD H1 10/11 H2 09/10 H1 09/10
Toho Zinc n/a n/a 39,000 n/a
Mitsui Mining 29,400 29,200 27,800 +5.8
Sumitomo 11,800 12,100 8,432 +39.9
Mitsubishi 12,780 11,580 11,922 +7.2
Dowa 5,952 6,402 6,210 -4.2
TOTAL n/a n/a 93,364 n/a

NOTE: Japanese smelters include Pan Pacific Copper Co Ltd,
Mitsubishi Materials Corp (5711.T), Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co
Ltd (5706.T), Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd (5713.T), Dowa
Holdings Co Ltd (5714.T), Furukawa Co Ltd (5715.T), Toho Zinc Co
Ltd (5707.T) and Nittetsu Mining Co Ltd (1515.T).
(Reporting by Chikako Mogi)