Reply #1: While we are on the subject:

[bemildred]

World Scrambles to Feed China's Appetite for Metal

China's voracious appetite for metals is convulsing the world. It has led to economic booms in some nations and crime waves in others by so-called urban miners who steal metals from houses and public buildings. China's runaway economy needs the metals to build railroads, office towers, cars and appliances.

The Middle Kingdom is now the world's biggest consumer of copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, steel and aluminum.

China's hunger has boosted mineral-rich nations, from copper-laden Chile to Australia, which has vast iron deposits. Prices of new and used lead, copper, nickel and other metals have tripled or more in the last few years, triggering a worldwide scramble for the commodities.

Chinese state-owned mining companies are prowling the planet for fresh supplies, while armies of people such as Ying and Lin spend their days hunting for castaway metals from typewriter letterheads to 30-foot-long aluminum missile casings.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-chinametals19mar19,1,5613478.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage