OBITUARY: Metals veteran Francisco Testor dies at 81

Francisco (Paco) Testor, founder and president of RP Metaltrading, died on August 6, 2018, after battling with cancer for a year.

Francisco (Paco) Testor, founder and president of RP Metaltrading.

Paco began his metals career at Rio Tinto Patiño in late 1968 after achieving a PhD in industrial engineering from Barcelona University in the same year.

At Rio Tinto Patiño, later known as Rio Tinto Minera, Paco held the role of commercial vice president responsible for copper concentrate purchasing for the Huelva smelter, as well as copper metal and sulfuric acid sales.

He moved to metals trading in 1990, becoming global head of concentrate trading at Pechiney World Trade (PWT) in Connecticut, the United States. He returned to Spain in 1993 and established Gesmetal SL in 1994, representing PWT in Spain, Portugal and Morocco for concentrate trading and metal brokerage.

Paco set up RP Metaltrading in 2006.

Paco is survived by his wife Isabel, and four adult children: Isabel, Francisco, Carlos and Marta, as well as numerous grandchildren.

What to read next
Fastmarkets has corrected the rationale for its MB-AL-0346 Aluminium P1020A premium, in-whs dup Rotterdam, $/tonne that was published incorrectly on Thursday January 29.
Fastmarkets has corrected the rationale for its MB-AL-0299 aluminium 6063 extrusion billet premium, ddp Spain that was published incorrectly on Friday January 23.
Learn about the recent trends in AI metals costs and their effect on lithium, copper and aluminium prices for energy storage.
Following a consultation period, which closed on January 14, Fastmarkets will increase the frequency of its MB-BX-0016 Bauxite, cif China, price assessment to a weekly basis, from a monthly basis. Fastmarkets will also extend the timing of the price to include cargoes for arrival within 90 days and move the publishing time to 7pm Shanghai time on Friday. […]
European aluminium scrap and secondary ingot prices are on the rise, driven by a significant shortage of scrap. Trade sources indicate that low generation has constrained domestic supply, and this is happening even before the expected EU scrap export restrictions in Spring 2026.
The capacity to smelt an additional volume of more than 800,000 tonnes per year of copper was advancing toward production readiness, Fastmarkets heard on Monday January 19.