"We are going to work with copper mines and funds so we can secure our own supply," he told the Asia Copper Conference in Shanghai. Jiangxi Copper is signing more contracts to source concentrate from miners directly, while the "proportion of our contracts with traders is going down", Xu said. "Our supply of copper concentrate is ... being strained in terms of lower grades and greater demand from our smelting business, but we are looking to improve our supply structure, for example (using more) scrap, so we don't have to depend so much on concentrate." He did not elaborate on where China, which has been cracking down on scrap copper imports, would source the material. Qi Zhigang, executive vice president of private smelter Shandong Xiangguang Group, which uses 100-percent copper concentrate and no scrap to make refined copper, said his firm was also looking to deal with copper mines directly.