The world's zinc mining and smeltingindustry will continue to become more concentrated and more
integrated in the 1990s, Dr Klaus Goekmann, vice-president of
marketing and sales for Cominco Ltd, said.
    Opening a Metal Bulletin base metals conference here,
Goekmann forecast the number of individual businesses in the
industry would continue to decline as companies merged or
formed conglomerates with increased market shares.
    At the same time, the conglomerates would become more
integrated, handling the entire chain from basic ore production
through marketing, he added.
    "The key to future viability will be flexibility. Prices are
likely to remain at current historically low levels at least in
the medium term, and competition with other metals and
materials will continue to intensify," Goekmann said.
    "In the past, we have only reacted to changes in the world's
market and economics. In the future, we have to act less
defensively and more aggressively."
    The industry also has massive overcapacity and this problem
has to be tackled quickly, he added.
    "Attempts in the past to cut out this excess capacity in
Europe have all failed miserably. However, there is some hope
that current efforts may be successful," Goekmann said.
    At the same time, companies must move to limit their
geographical and currency risks and become far more marketing
orientated, he added.
    "With all these changes and rationalization, the industry
can survive to recover its past strength and profitability.
Without them, the future does not look very rosy," Goekmann
said.
 Reuter
