As the economy turns...???

[TC]

They still use copper tubing for plumbing new houses in the states?

PEX has been used in Alberta for close to 10 yrs.

I will use nothing but copper when plumbing a house......

Many years ago a Condo complex here used plastic pipe for their water supply lines and after about 20 years it started falling apart and caused major flooding, the contractor was sued and they had to re-plumb all the units with copper........

[Grumpy]

inventory is ran out, jobless rates a joke they dont count people that have quit looking for a job because they cant find one.
Its a election year they are going to try to save all their jobs because those are the only ones they worry about.

bingo!

[TheSilverBuick]

Randal - with the surge in popularity of PEX tubing - do you think there's any chance the price of copper may stabilize as housing starts are still slow (housing using wiring and plumbing - both lotsa copper)

any affect at all? Do you have a breakdown of where the copper you mine goes? That would be interesting.

Two big drivers in the copper market. The industrialization of BOTH China and India are driving copper demand for plumbing and infrastructure and the second is no new LARGE deposits have been found then brought into production in almost 20 years. All operating copper mines as far as I'm aware of are of known old deposits and 90% have been mined before. So supply remained a relatively fixed number over the last 20 years. Sure most mines find a bit more every year (for tax purposes they try to not find more than a year's worth of production a year, basically replace what was mined), but none compare to finding a 50+yr mine life new deposit. Lots of time reserves are added to a mine simply because of the increase in price means more can be spent to extract harder to get copper, not newly found copper. This administration hasn't done anything to help our industry, and infact has taken plenty of steps to hinder it. Here is one for the job market, the administration made sure to get rid of two out of three mine/exploration regulator jobs. So paperwork takes twice as long, and the people that remain are against mining or exploration. It's not just oil exploration in the news that get's hit by the land usage and mineral rights changes. Can't build or drive your Prius from stuff growing off trees.

Like TC, I'm not convinced PEX will upset the copper plumbing market. At least not in the short term, maybe after lots of PEX installations have been in houses over 25yrs. PEX is more common in markets where pipes can freeze in winter and the PEX is a bit more tolerant of that from what I gather.

[Huskinhano]

I've been working steadily for the last 22 years no problems. Out by my place in the PA Marcellus shale, things are booming. got a CDL with A endorsement, pick and choose your job, welders are busy as well as the rigs. Like flies on poop.

[TC]

I've been working steadily for the last 22 years no problems. Out by my place in the PA Marcellus shale, things are booming. got a CDL with A endorsement, pick and choose your job, welders are busy as well as the rigs. Like flies on poop.

I here up in North Dakota they are paying McDonald employee's $15 an hour to sit behind a register........

They found some gigantic oil reservoir up there and are using some sort of water pumping technique to extract the oil from the ground......So I guess there is a high demand for Truck Drivers, one's for Water, Dirt/Sand, and Oil........Big Money to be made up there if you can afford to leave the situation your in now..........

[bishir]

Or in other words .004% of the population..........

I'd recheck that math. It's more like .35% of the US population and a much higher percent compared to the actual workforce.

[bishir]

I've been working steadily for the last 22 years no problems. Out by my place in the PA Marcellus shale, things are booming. got a CDL with A endorsement, pick and choose your job, welders are busy as well as the rigs. Like flies on poop.

Until the EPA discovers groundwater contamination or a large earthquake is triggered... Of course it may depend on who's in charge when that happens....

[Monk]

I'd recheck that math. It's more like .35% of the US population and a much higher percent compared to the actual workforce.

Good one.......

[oldsman496]

Until the EPA discovers groundwater contamination or a large earthquake is triggered... Of course it may depend on who's in charge when that happens....

Ohio's Govenor John Kasich has stopped all fracking operations in an area of south eastern Ohio due to Earthquakes generated recently - allot of small ones. We don't get earthquakes here...

This oil extraction is not being done by american companies, Its being funded by about 9 Billion dollars from Chinese and French companies. This oil is then sent directly into the world's oil market. So finding oil in our back yard does nothing for us. It is just the same price to buy for us as if it came from Russia or Saudi Arabia. That's what's wrong...