200,000 tons of copper worth 500 million euros disappear and no one knows why

A group of Chinese companies is investigating the disappearance of about 200,000 tons of copper from a warehouse in northern China, after realizing that a third of the amount that was funded was there.

Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources, that representatives of more than a dozen public companies met this week in the city of Qinhuangdao, after reporting the substance’s disappearance.

In the warehouse at this Chinese site, 300,000 tons of copper should be stored, with a value of approximately 724 million euros, but it is facing only 100,000 tons. This means that an amount of 480 million euros of this ore will be partially uncertain.

This case comes a few months after a similar event occurred in other locations in China, where large quantities of aluminum had disappeared.

At the center of the latter case is a company called Huludao Risun Trading, which buys between 800,000 and 1 million tons of copper annually and then distributes it to smelters in China. This company will accept loans to purchase 300 tons of copper, but according to the information, it will not have implemented what was contracted with the financiers.

But analysts consulted by Bloomberg believe that the disappearance of the substance is likely not to have a significant impact on the activity of foundries, which will still have enough copper in their reserves to continue their operations.