In terms of metals production capacity, China has gone from very small to nearly 50% of world capacity for most metals. This growth in primary heavy metals prodiction must have consumed lots of the various metals they produced. If they expect to grow at the same rate, they have to switch to more 'manufactured' goods.
They have coal and cheap labour, what do they want to do with that? So it does not surprise me that they will increase copper production. VMS should benefit; I bet they will soon be taken over