By Carole Vaporean
NEW YORK (Reuters) - As marginal zinc mines begin to shut down in the surplus environment projected for the Western World, prices will firm again, likely in the next year to 22 months, according to Canadian mining giant Teck Cominco Ltd. (TCKb.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Chief Executive Don Lindsay on Tuesday.
"Zinc will go back up, it's a question of when," Lindsay told the Reuters Global Mining Summit in New York.
"If you roll the clock forward to December of 2009 -- 21 months away -- at that point, plus or minus six months, a number of mines start to shut down. And the Western World becomes quite tight," said the CEO of the world's second biggest zinc miner.
Western World is a term in mining circles that usually refers to all areas of the world except China.
The two key factors he said he was focused on were tighter supplies of Western World zinc because of mine shutdowns in a more difficult market and the possible imposition of an export tax on China's super-high-grade zinc.
Referring to Teck's own zinc mine portfolio, Lindsay said it has two marginal zinc mines currently under review for possible closure. Both lost money last quarter.
"I don't want to do that much longer," he said.
In addition, the executive surmises that an analyst's review of zinc mines would find about 10 Western World mines that might shut in the next couple of years. Continued...
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