Asarco Amarillo "consumption is picking up and will continue to outpace production [i.e. refining] for five years...."

Google Alert
"Research and Markets: United States Metals Report Q3 2011 - A Recovery Is ...
Business Wire (press release)
Output is also undermined by ongoing problems at the 450000 tonnes per annum (tpa) Asarco refinery in Amarillo, TX, one of the country's largest copper refiners. Consumption is picking up and will continue to outpace production over the next five years ...
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"Despite growth in demand, US copper refining/smelting was at its lowest level in 20 years by Q111 as the industry continued to deal with cutbacks imposed in 2008. High copper and by-product prices favoured the restart of concentrate production at the expense of refined copper. Output is also undermined by ongoing problems at the 450,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) Asarco refinery in Amarillo, TX, one of the country's largest copper refiners. Consumption is picking up and will continue to outpace production over the next five years, leading to net imports of well over 1mn tonnes by 2015."


Asarco Amarillo received product from the Asarco site(s) that disposed of nearly ten years of illegal hazardous wastes for profit.  

Asarco Bankruptcy: "big judgment and a unique procedure to auction off that judgment"

Saturday, August 20, 2011
Bidders Reimbursed For Auction Which Never Occurred: The Fifth Circuit's ASARCO Opinion.........."This was a case about a big judgment and a unique procedure to auction off that judgment....(I have included the citations here because they are informative opinions for fraudulent transfer litigation). ...  In order to entice the bidders to perform the expensive legal due diligence necessary to evaluate the asset, ASARCO sought and obtained an order from the Bankruptcy Court authorizing it to reimburse qualified bidders for their due diligence expenses.... it can be used to tilt the auction procedures in favor of the stalking horse. ......"

"Court Awards Fees, Applauds Baker Botts’ performance in Multi-Billion Dollar ASARCO Bankruptcy"

http://www.bakerbotts.com/court-awards-fees-applauds-baker-botts-performance-in-multi-billion-dollar-asarco-bankruptcy-08-19-2011/

In my opinion, this reminds me of foxes congratulating themselves outside of the hen house (the "hens" being the residents living around the various Asarco locations with their pockets inside out...).   How else to describe a performance that ignored all liability from Asarco's illegal multi-state unpermitted hazardous-waste disposal operation; and, that earned profits for just one of the many law firms involved which exceeded twice the amount given to just ONE of the communities to clean up over 100 years of wastes.....(the Paso del Norte region received only 52 million dollars -- and the clean-up of the old american canal that delivers over 60% of the drinking water and all the irrigation water was estimated to be almost half of that alone....)

"Privatizing profits and socializing costs" ...