71% y/y rise in May copper theft prompts call for specialised SAPS unit
The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (Sacci’s) Copper Theft Barometer has increased to R15.4-million in May, from R12.5-million in April and R11-million in March, representing a 71.1% year-on-year increase and marking the third consecutive monthly increase in the value of stolen metal.
Similarly, the Copper Theft Volume Indicator increased to 214 t in May, from 176 t in April and 153 t in March.
Sacci said recent incidents of copper theft had resulted in large-scale property damage and a variety of economic costs, which, together with the upward trend in the barometer, suggested that urgent policy response was required.
“Although the South African Police Service (SAPS) has done excellent work with practical legislative initiatives to curb copper theft thus far, this project needs to move forward by way of introducing a specialised copper theft police unit,” Sacci CEO Neren Rau suggested.
Meanwhile, the international average monthly spot price of copper increased to $6 796/t in June from $6 885/t in May.
The monthly average had fluctuated between $6 500/t and $7 000/t since March, compared with the slightly higher 2013 average of $7 330/t.
The value of South African exports of waste copper products dropped to $24-million in April, down from $30.3-million in March and $33.1-million in February.
“The outlook for copper theft levels for the year is troubling, especially in light of recent high-profile incidents of copper theft that have resulted in large-scale power outages and severe injuries,” Sacci cautioned.
Comments
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation