Lead Prices

[johnho]

My company subscribes to a commodities pricing service as we buy a lot of materials in the world market. I had our guy pull up lead prices. the following is interesting.

Jan. 2003 price of lead was $469 per metric ton or $0.21 per pound
July 2005 price was $927 per metric ton or $0.42 per pound
February 2006 price was $1410 per metric ton or $0.64 per pound
July 2006 price is $953 per metric ton or $0.43 per pound.

Over a one year period however, there has been a 2.8% increase with that peak in February. price per pound figures are rounded.

[Doble Troble]

What's brass been doing?

[targetshootr]

There's a good reason to scrounge more ww. Never imagined lead was so much but copper has been through the roof the last few years too. A roll of 12 gauge romex was $25 a few years ago, now it's around $90.

[Buckshot]

...............You KNOW copper is up! They're re-working the tailings from the Copper Queen in Bisbee, AZ and Phelps-Dodge has consolidated all their labs just out side Safford, AZ and is opening a new open pit copper mine there.

..................Buckshot

[FISH4BUGS]

I am paying a case of Harpoon Ale (19.99) and a 6 pack of Moxie($2.99) per TWO 5 gallon buckets, and I get a bucket every 4-8 weeks or so. My other source is $10 per bucket and can get those every 4 weeks or so. I have over 1200 lbs of WW to smelt down, and have 200lbs in WW ingots now, and 100lbs of linotype ready to go, but I just can't seem to get enough. Given the price of lead these days, I'll continue to scrounge and hoard. I hope I don't have to move!

[John Boy]

... and keep hoarding those WW's! The industry is cutting over to zinc based WW's. More environmentally friendly when they fly off the rims.

[johnho]

I don't have the specific prices for copper with me now but did have them yesterday as I was pricing copper price change from September of last year to today. What I do remember is that copper has just more than doubled in price in one year.

Copper mining companies are killing it now on profits. It is a highly fluxuating market and they lost money for many years in the past.

If you really want to think about something we are no longer self sufficient in lead and zinc and haven't been for many years. I suspect the same for copper. There are almost no smelters left in the US and concentrates used to be shipped overseas for processing. How is that for thinking about another war like seems to be brewing in the middle east.

[Bucks Owin]

...............You KNOW copper is up! They're re-working the tailings from the Copper Queen in Bisbee, AZ and Phelps-Dodge has consolidated all their labs just out side Safford, AZ and is opening a new open pit copper mine there.

..................Buckshot

I've been told at a gun store I frequent that the rise in copper is responsible for the rise in price of reloading components......

I thought he was BSing me....

Dennis

[Doc - J]

With ww getting harder to get , and finding more and more Zink mixed in, has any one checked if scrap dealers would buy / trade Zink ww for lead?