Sterlite Industries (India) Limited - Sterlite Industries India Ltd.

The following table sets forth the regional consumption pattern of refined zinc from 2005 to 2008:
Year Ended December 31,
2005 2006 2007 2008
Region Volume % Volume % Volume % Volume %
(thousands of tons, except percentages)
Europe 2,716 25.0% 2,843 25.5% 2,894 25.2% 2,592 23.1%
China 2,853 26.9 3,166 28.4 3,531 30.8 3,795 33.9
India 388 3.7 428 3.8 469 4.1 479 4.3
Rest of Asia (1) 2,219 20.9 2,190 19.6 2,149 18.7 2,075 18.5
North America 1,365 12.9 1,409 12.6 1,275 11.1 1,131 10.1
Latin America 623 5.9 647 5.8 673 5.9 671 6.0
Oceania 262 2.5 273 2.4 284 2.5 284 2.5
Africa 185 1.7 193 1.7 198 1.7 178 1.6
Total 10,611 100.0% 11,149 100.0% 11,473 100.0% 11,205 100.0%
Note:
(1) Rest of Asia is Asia excluding China and India, but including the Middle East.
Source: Brook Hunt Zinc Metal Services Report, March 2009
Zinc Supply
There are zinc mining operations in approximately 50 countries. The five largest zinc mining countries are China (26.9%), Peru (13.5%),
Australia (13.1%), the United States (6.6%) and Canada (6.5%), which together accounted for 66.6% of total zinc mined worldwide in 2008.
India accounted for about 5.3% of the global mine output in 2008. Mine production has fallen in North America in the last few years as a result
of mine closures, which has resulted principally from reserve exhaustion and also from economic pressures. The five largest zinc mining
companies in 2008 were Xstrata (9.5%), Teck Cominco Limited (6.3%), our majority-owned subsidiary, HZL (5.7%), Oz Minerals Limited
(5.6%) and Glencore International AG (3.7%).
Australia and Peru are the largest net exporters, and Peru is the world’s largest supplier of zinc concentrate. Much of this is supplied through
traders rather than sold directly to smelters. The largest importing region is Western Europe, followed by China, South Korea and Japan. The
main custom smelters are located in these regions.
Zinc smelting is less geographically concentrated than zinc mining. With a production of 3.9 million tons of zinc in 2008, China is the
largest single zinc-producing country in the world. The other major zinc producing countries and regions include Europe and Canada, which
along with China account for approximately 65.0% of total global zinc production. The four largest zinc producing companies in 2008 were
Nyrstar NV, or Nyrstar (7.9%), Korea Zinc Company Limited (7.3%), Xstrata (6.4%) and HZL (5.4%), which together accounted for about
27.0% of the total zinc produced worldwide in 2008.
The zinc manufacturing industry continues to exhibit a degree of fragmentation. The recent trend towards industry consolidation is expected
to continue in the current favorable pricing environment, as evidenced by the recent merger of the smelting assets of Umicore SA and Zinifex
Limited to form Nyrstar, the acquisition of Falconbridge Ltd. by Xstrata and the potential acquisition of Oz Minerals Limited by China
Minmetals Corporation.
The following table sets forth the regional production pattern of refined zinc from 2005 to 2008:
Year Ended December 31,
2005 2006 2007 2008
Region Volume % Volume % Volume % Volume %
(thousands of tons, except percentages)
Europe 2,538 25.1% 2,436 23.3% 2,474 22.2% 2,454 21.3%
China 2,761 27.4 3,163 30.2 3,728 33.4 3,909 34.0
India 302 3.0 410 3.9 444 4.0 595 5.2
Rest of Asia (1) 1,903 18.9 1,907 18.2 1,893 17.0 1,944 16.9
North America 1,056 10.5 1,079 10.3 1,057 9.5 1,018 8.8
Latin America 807 8.0 766 7.3 778 7.0 802 7.0
Australia 456 4.5 461 4.4 501 4.5 506 4.4
Africa 273 2.7 256 2.4 286 2.6 280 2.4
Total 10,095 100.0% 10,475 100.0% 11,162 100.0% 11,541 100.0%
Note:
(1) Rest of Asia is Asia excluding China and India, but including the Middle East.
Source: Brook Hunt Zinc Metal Services Report, March 2009.
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