The CEO of Milwaukee-based mining heavy equipment manufacturer Joy Global told analysts Wednesday that the mining market “has become even more challenging with declines in order rates for both original equipment and aftermarket.”

In their analysis, however, Joy Global management discovered “copper continues to have the best fundamentals of the mined commodities. Since reaching record highs in June, global inventories have declined 14% and prices have rebounded 10%. Additionally, inventories at bonded warehouses have declined 50% since the first quarter. These developments are supporting continued investment in mine capacity expansion.”

While increasing surpluses and continued pricing pressures have resulted in many of Joy Global’s customers slowing down many of their projects, Sutherlin told analysts Wednesday that the company’s updated prospect list is weighted to copper and iron ore.