September, 03 2005
TATA Steel to increase Jharkhand plant capacity to 15 million tonnes
Tata Steel had recently expressed its intention to put up a greenfield steel plant with 10 million tonne annual capacity at an investment of Rs 35,000 crore in Jharkhand but has now proposed to increase the ultimate capacity to 15 million tonnes
Jharkhand CM Mr Arjun Munda said that the 15 mt plant should entail an Rs 55,000-60,000 crore and investment in the 5 million tonne first phase, expected to be completed in four years time, is being estimated at Rs 15,000-Rs 20,000 crore.
According to the state finance cum urban development minister Mr Raghubar Das, the MoU is to be signed at Ranchi on September 8. TATA Steel MD Mr B Muthuraman had a few days ago declared that they would like to sign the MoU before September 10. Mr Ratan Tata is scheduled to be in Ranchi on the MoU signing occasion.
GOM to be formed for implementation of steel policy
The government has decided to form a group of ministers (GoM) to finalize action plans and monitor the implementation of much-awaited National Steel Policy NSP, which is yet to be announced. According to the steel ministry sources, the minister of steel would head the proposed GoM, which would have representation from the mine and coal ministries apart from some other ministries. The group would begin working after the finalization of NSP and would be responsible for formulating detailed action plans aimed at meeting the objectives and goals set in the policy
The steel ministry has already circulated draft NSP for Cabinet approval but has not yet got the go-ahead. The delay in announcing policy has even attracted flak from the standing committee on coal and steel, which has strongly criticized the ministrys lethargic approach.
The draft NSP has prepared a roadmap for the Indian steel industry in its journey towards reform, restructuring and globalization. The draft has also sought to remove supply side constraints to the growth of the industry in an open, globally integrated and competitive environment.
NMDC allocates 2.5 million from Jharkhand mines to local units
Chattisgarh Sponge Iron Processors Association CSIPA have, vide a press release dated 29th August, informed that National Mineral Development Corporation NMDC has agreed to allocate 2.5 million tonnes of iron ore to sponge iron units in the state reaffirming first rights to them as per demands made by them as well as State Government
CSIPA Chairman Mr Satish Goel has informed that they had requested the state government to accord priority for iron ore to the units in the state. On the basis of recommendations of state government, NMDC has allocated iron ore from Bailadila Mines the state and has also signed agreements for long term supply with some of the units
The sponge iron units were sourcing iron ore from Orissa in past and would be benefited due to lesser freight component
MoU's to exhaust Jharkhands ore in 20 years
The states 3,000 million tonnes of iron ore reserves will be exhausted in less than 20 years if all 34 MoUs signed in the steel sector see the light of day. Approximately 1.92 tonnes of exhaustible natural resource are required to produce a tonne of steel and once the MoUs turn into reality, Jharkhand will produce 81 million tonnes every year. Once that happens, the effective reserves of 1,562 million tonnes (3,000 divided by 1.92) will get over in no time, says mineral consultant V.D. Manjrekar.
Experts believe that instead of getting peanuts as royalty from exports, Jharkhand can get more revenue and generate employment if it promotes value addition within the state. They argue that while the lessees spend Rs 400-500 on mining a tonne of iron ore and sell it for Rs 1,200-1,800 in the market, the government gets less than Rs 50 as royalty. Against this, value addition results in raw steel being sold for Rs 12,000-14,000 and finished steel for Rs 24,000-28,000. In this case, the state benefits on all counts since the cost of raw material is less than 25 per cent and the rest is in the form of services.
Govt may cut iron ore export to feed local firms
India, the world's third largest iron ore supplier, may reduce exports to ensure ample stocks for domestic steel makers, the steel minister said on Friday. It could lower sales to China, which buys nearly three-quarters of the country's annual iron ore exports of over 75 million tonnes million tonnes. State run National Mineral Development Corporation NMDC has been directed to reduce its annual iron ore exports by half to 3 million tonnes and keep a small reserve aside for domestic buyers.
India, which produces about 145 million tonnes of iron ore every year, plans to export about 78 million tonnes until March 2006.
Steel Minister has said that India's ore resources are at a comfortable 22 billion tonnes and annual production is expected to rise to 185 million tonnes by 2011 and 290 million tonnes by 2020 and the domestic demand is estimated to rise to 113 million tonnes in 2011-12 and 190 million tonnes by 2020.
Australia to ease FDI rules for Indian companies
The rules for foreign direct investment into Australia will be made "clearer and easier to assist Indian companies in their investment plans, Mr John McCarthy, Australian High Commissioner to India, said on the annual day of the Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce in Chennai
Mr McCarthy said Indian companies have started investing in a big way in Australia starting with TATA Steels acquisition of a greenfield coalmine in New South Wales and Gujarat based companys purchase of two coal mines in another part of Australia.
"A lot of interest is shown by Indian companies for investments in Australia. We, at the Australian High Commission office at New Delhi, will make the regime for FDI lot clearer and easier to deal with," he said.
Ispat Industries raises steel prices
Similar to other steel majors, Ispat Industries Ltd has also raised product prices by 2.3 per cent with immediate effect. Prices of benchmark hot-rolled coil products have been raised by 500 rupees a tonne to 22,500 per tonne, Mr Lalji Dwivedi, Ispat's president for marketing said.
Other steel makers also raised steel prices on Thursday due to rising domestic demand and firm global prices.
Competitive bidding likely for coal mining
Power, cement and iron, and steel companies may now have to go through a competitive bidding process to win captive mining blocks. This may be on the lines of the bidding process outlined in the New Exploration and Licensing Policy for the petroleum sector. The ministries of law and coal will examine the bidding proposal which has received a go-ahead from the Prime Ministers Office.
The power ministry had objected to the proposal, saying it could affect thermal power plants. The PMO has directed the two ministries to work out the details within two months and send a report to the Energy Coordination Committee headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
At present, allocation of captive mines is decided on the basis of recommendations made by a screening committee. A total of 143 blocks had been identified for this purpose. Of these blocks, 86 have so far been allotted. The government will provide a comprehensive geological database on prospecting to bidders without showing any bias to Coal India Ltd.
At the last energy coordination meeting, it was decided to adopt a liberal approach to allowing foreign direct investment in captive mining and doing away with the 74 per cent ceiling for iron and steel, and cement manufacturers. This ceiling does not exist for the power sector, which is the third industry allowed captive mining of coal. The coal ministry was also asked to look into the changes in the law required for letting captive mine operators sell excess production to any other eligible user.
At present, captive mines are allowed to sell coal produced during the development phase to a Coal India Ltd subsidiary at a transfer price determined by a committee. A change in this may require amendments to the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act since free sale of coal can be considered a violation of the legislation.
The committee has also decided that any increase in coal prices due to the adoption of a bidding process for allocation of mines can be a pass-through in the case of power since regulators permit this.
DVC to sign deal with Tata Power
State run Damodar Valley Corporation DVC will sign a shareholders agreement with Tata Power Company to form a joint venture for executing a 1,000 MW thermal power project in Jharkhand.
The JV Company Maithon Power Ltd will implement the 1,000 MW Maithon Right Bank project. Tata Power would hold 74 per cent equity, while DVC would take the remaining 26 per cent in Maithon Power Ltd. The estimated cost of the project would be about Rs 4,000 crore, he said, adding the project would be implemented in a debt-equity ratio of 70:30.
Besides, Maithon Right Bank project, MPL is also likely to execute the 2,000 MW Maithon Left Bank project. DVC has also formed a 50:50 JV with Steel Authority of India Ltd for a 1,000 MW project at Bokaro.
Brazil's CVRD sees no end to commodities boom
The world's largest iron ore producer Companhia Vale do Rio Doce CVRD sees no end to the commodities boom as it rolls out a global expansion plan focused on the demand centers of Asia. CVRD, BHP and Rio dominate the global iron ore market, which is enjoying record prices and profits on surging China led demand.
But as some forecasters and competitors see commodity prices at the start of an inevitable cyclical downtrend, CVRD Chief Financial Officer Fabio Barbosa says the good times can keep rolling on. "We believe this is a long wave," Barbosa told in an interview. His outlook is based on expectations China, as the driving force of global demand, has the macroeconomic framework, political will and social need to sustain current high rates of growth for decades rather than years.
Like other stronger-for-longer proponents, Barbosa compares the current cycle with the prolonged high prices spurred by U.S. and Western European industrialization early last century and the post-World War II reconstruction.
Chinese growth spanning decades rather than years would also be in line with the experience of South Korea, Taiwan and even Japan, he said.
"You may have hiccups here and there but the long-term trend is a growth one."
Declining to comment on CVRD's chances of securing higher prices in the next round of iron ore contract negotiations, Barbosa said the steel industry's prospects are bright based on above trend global growth. He described recent cutbacks among some steel producers as appropriate short-term adjustments to temporary stock increases, which will ensure prices stay well above historical levels. "Overall, it does not change our view about the market's strength. There may be some regional alignments, but on a global basis it is going to continue to show very high growth rates," Barbosa said.
Four applicants claim to Kryvorizhstal
Ukraines State Property Fund concluded agreements on confidentiality of the given information about Kryvorizhstal with four potential buyers and gave them out packages with documents concerning tender and permissions to visit Kryvorizhstal in connection with the tender for sale of 93,02% shares of mining and metallurgical industrial complex Kryvorizhstal, situated in Dnepropetrovsk region
The steel world leaders Arcelor and Mittal Steel, as well as Privat Group, German RSJ Erste have already confirmed their intention to take part in the repeated tender on sale of 93,02% shares of Kryvorizhstal and signed the Confidentiality Agreement. Besides Russian companies such as Severstal and Evrazholding are also thinking over the possibilities to take part in the tender too.
Sicartsa workers vote to keep striking
Workers at the Sicartsa steel plant in southern Mexico rejected Thursday a company proposal aimed at ending a month-old strike, the national mining and metal workers union said.
The 1,520 striking workers in Lazaro Cardenas, in southern Michoacan state, rejected the agreement reached Wednesday during negotiations in Mexico City between union officials and representatives of Monterrey-based Grupo Villacero, which owns Sicartsa.
The union said in a news release that there were 731 votes in favor of ending the strike, 781 votes in favor of continuing it, and eight void votes. The union said its executive committee respected the vote, and would resume negotiations with the company in Mexico City
The strike has so far has cost the company more than US$87mn in lost production
Ukraine's PM defends takeover of Nikopol Ferro Plant
Ukraine's PM Ms Yulia Tymoshenko on Friday defended the state's takeover of a key steel factory and accused the former owner of organizing a show rally to hold onto property he stole from the state when his father in law, Mr Leonid Kuchma, was president.
Ukraine's High Economic Court upheld a ruling that the privatization of Nikopol a major producer of ferroalloys that serves at least 15 of the world's largest steel producers was illegal and it must be returned to the state. Mr Victor Pinchuk has appealed that decision and is pinning his hopes on the Supreme Court, which he called on to take a fair decision.
Mr Viktor Pinchuk rallied hundreds of supporters at the plant on Thursday and said he will not hand it over unless the High Court rules that its 2003 privatization was illegal. The standoff, which pitted Pinchuk and hundreds of supporters against riot police, followed a shareholders meeting Tuesday in which new management was named.
Some of the newly elected managers are linked to Privat Bank, a minority shareholder in the factory that reportedly has the backing of Tymoshenko. The new shareholder meeting, however, was heavily criticized as illegal, including by the head of Ukraine's State Property Fund. Ms Tymoshenko denied Friday that she was involved in any maneuvering to seize the factory from Pinchuk and give it to Privat Bank.
President Mr Viktor Yushchenko has pledged to review the cases of dozens of enterprises suspected of being privatized under shady circumstances during Kuchma's 10 year tenure and ordered the Prosecutor General's office and Justice Ministry to ensure that the legal handover of the factory's shares to the State Property Fund is carried out
The State Property Fund said on Friday evening that after receiving the shares, it would hold an open competition to find new managers for Nikopol.
Pinchuk's Interpipe Corp. bought its initial 25 percent stake in the Nikopol factory in 2003 and won the right of first offer to buy another 25 percent plus one share stake in a later auction that no other bidders were allowed to participate in. Both stakes were sold for a total of US$81 million
Mittal Steel hopes to reverse Czech steel sale
Mittal Steel still hopes to reverse the $300 million privatization sale of Czech steelmaker Vitkovice Steel to Russia's Evraz. The Czechs preferred Evraz's highest offer of 7.05 billion crowns ($302.2 million) in a tender earlier this year, to a 9 billion-crown bid made by Mittal Steel after the tender, from which it had been excluded due to legal disputes with the state and Vitkovice
Steel over pig iron prices
Netherlands based Mittal Steel, disqualified from the Vitkovice Steel privatization, says that in late September it will launch international arbitration against the Czech state. Mr Ondra Otradovec, Mittal Steels director of mergers and acquisitions, says the international arbitration is based on the Czech governments infringement upon a bilateral investment treaty between the Netherlands and the Czech Republic stipulating that fair and equitable treatment be given to all investors.
The arbitration is ill advised, according to Mr Karel Muzik#345;, the man who led the governments legal team on the Vkovice privatization. In my legal understanding of the situation, there is no basis for that kind of arbitration, he said.
Eva Kijonkov spokeswoman for Osinek, the state-owned company which still owns Vkovice, said that from the beginning the privatization process adhered to European law and fulfilled all government criteria.
The arbitration could jeopardize the Czech Republics chances of hosting Mittal Steels proposed factory to produce cold rolled steel sheets for the automotive industry with and investment valued of almost $500 million, which Mittal Steel the No 1 producer of steel sheets for the auto industry in North America, has planned as so far it has no significant facilities tailored for sheet production in Europe.
Government officials have repeatedly rejected Mittal Steel's demands to be included in the sale process. The Czechs and Evraz have already signed the sale contract, but the deal still has to be cleared by the EU antitrust office.
Vitkovice Steel produced 870,000 tonnes of steel products in 2004.
Katrina causes river traffic delays for steel mills in Pittsburgh
Barge deliveries could be delayed for weeks to some of the steel mills in the Pittsburgh area due to Hurricane Katrina, and Philadelphia's port could see an increase in shipments diverted from storm damaged New Orleans.
The US Coast Guard has ordered the Mississippi river's closure between Natchez, Mississippi, and the sea to anything but rescue vessels and tugs and barges of very shallow draft. The decision is thought to have caused heavy disruption to shipping, and 86 vessels are waiting either to berth at New Orleans or to pass the flooded city.
Four US ports at New Orleans, Gulfport, Pascagoula and Panama City are closed. Ports in the area handle significant quantities of bulk products and imports such as fruit.
Metals exchanges want buyers to use futures to hedge steel
Since steel is sold directly by the mills to large customers or through such middlemen as metal service centers, steel buyers have few mechanisms to manage risk during periods of price volatility. The price of hot rolled coil, the most common steel product, rose by 116% and then fell by 47% in the past 20 months.
Futures contracts have been used in the nonferrous and precious metals markets for more than a century. Because these futures are traded on exchanges that are anonymous public auctions with prices on public display, the markets perform the important function of price discovery. There is no such exchange based pricing transparency for steel. The purpose of a hedge is to avoid the risk of potentially volatile prices. A hedge allows participants in nonferrous and precious metals market to lock-in prices and margins in advance of purchase and, thus, reduce the potential for unanticipated losses.
So, the London Metals Exchange LME and the New York Mercantile Exchange NYMEX are revisiting the possibility of global trading in steel futures. The LME is the world's premier nonferrous metals market. Last year, it traded 72 million total lots with a value in excess of $3 trillion. Meanwhile, the nonferrous and precious metals trading on the Commodity Exchange Division of NYMEX reached a record 29 million contracts in 2004. "The steel industry has been in need of reliable risk-management tools for a number of years now," says Simon Heale, LME chief executive. However, dates haven't been determined when steel futures trading might be launched.
Most metals buyers at metalworking firms manage risk the old-fashioned way: They cross their fingers and hope for the best; that is, that their suppliers have sufficient quantities available at prices lower than when they last booked orders. Most steel buyers still think spot contracts
POSCO grabs $3m Murchison stake
Murchison Metals has given Fortescue Metals a run for its money in the race to become the "third force in iron ore" after POSCO took up a strategic equity stake in the emerging miner. Subject to shareholder approval, Posco will have a 5.5 per cent stake in Murchison, with an option to increase it to 19.9 per cent and to name a company director.
The $3 million deal on will fast track Murchison's $1 billion-plus stage 2 Jack Hills and Weld Range project in Western Australia's Midwest region. The company aims to have 1 billion tonnes of high-grade resources firmed up in 2008 and to export at least 25 million tonnes a year starting in 2009 in a project about half the size of Andrew Forrest's $2.3 billion Pilbara play through Fortescue.
Fortescue expects to ship iron ore by the end of 2007 but has not found an infrastructure development partner despite months of discussions. It is also involved in a legal dispute with an indigenous group over a Native Title agreement.
The deal highlights the growing focus on the Midwest region of Western Australia, near the port of Geraldton, where companies such as Murchison, Gindalbie Metals, Midwest and Mt Gibson Iron are developing and operating projects. This represents a regional shift in the iron ore industry, which long centered on BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto further north in the Pilbara.
'Hatchet buried' in SA coal mining industry
Coal mining industry workers and the Chamber of Mines have signed an agreement to suspend strikes for two years, the union Solidarity said on Friday. "The hatchet has been buried for the next two years with the signing of a new wage agreement," Mr Reint Dykema said in a statement.
The agreement outlines wage increases for Solidarity members in various categories. "All workers are to receive a 7% increase in the agreement's second year," Dykema said. However, Dykema warned, the union will not "abandon its campaign for better remuneration for artisans".
Mines involved in the agreement include Ingwe, Anglo Coal, Springlake Colliery, Delmas Coal, Eyesizwe, Kangra Coal and Xstrata.
Russia coal production up by 2.8% in 8 months
Russia has increased coal production by 2.8% YOY to 187.284 million tonnes in January-August, the Fuel and Energy Dispatch Center said.
The center said coal producers shipped 175.125 million tonnes of coal to consumers, 2.899 million tonnes more than a year previously whereas the export shipment declined by 399,500 MT to 50.603 million tonnes
Siberian Coal and Energy Company SUEK, Kuzbassrazrezugol and Yuzhkuzbassugol YUKU are Russia's biggest coal producers.
Russia produced just over 283 million tonnes of coal in 2004
Mittal Steel Romania employees protest
Around 50 members of the Unionist Federation Solidarity Virgil Sahleanu of the metallurgical workers from Romania organised a meeting of protest on Thursday in front of the government offices, against the policy waged by Mittal Steel managers, blaming the infringement of the investment obligations and the massive layoffs of the recent period.
The protest was attended by employees from Mittal Steel Galati (Sidex) , Mittal Steel Iasi (Tepro), Mittal Steel Roman (Petrotub) and Mittal Steel Hunedoara.
The purchaser has not performed the technological and environmental investments at the value stipulated for each investment year, declared Mr Gheorghe Tiber, leader of the unionists, adding that upon the integration of Romania with the European Union many of these entities could be closed down for failure to observe the European standards. Tiber voiced his hope that the Government will take the necessary measures for the improvement of the metallurgists situation, considering that their demands are specific.
He stressed that if administrative measures are not taken in the next two months, the union will organise a big meeting with the possible participation of 10,000 employees out of total 17,000 employees of Mittal Steel in Romania
In reply, the Authority for State Asset Resolution (AVAS) has released a communiquin which it stresses that Mittal Steel has fulfilled all the obligations assumed upon the takeover of Tepro Iasi, the social commitments included.
ADS Logistics provides EDI Solution tor Arcelor International US
ADS Logistics ADS, a national provider of integrated logistics services to the metals industry, announced today the successful implementation of its supply chain management system, LoMaS, as the engine for EDI connectivity for Arcelor International America. Arcelor International America sought an efficient, cost effective solution to connecting their transportation and processing service providers, many of whom do not have EDI capabilities, in order to collect real-time shipment information for their customers.
ADS' LoMaS provides a customized solution that captures shipment information utilizing a variety of data collection options including traditional EDI messaging, interactive Internet screens to capture data via uploaded spreadsheet files or direct data entry, facsimile transmissions and e-mail communications. Material position is continually updated and shipment information is made available to the end-user customer or any transportation service provider via formalized EDI messages, Excel spreadsheets, or simple email.
LoMaS is an application suite that pulls together the various components of supply chain information, creating a "glass -pipeline". Together with electronic data interchange links to customers, LoMaS offers customers a comprehensive approach to managing all aspects of their supply chain. LoMaS can be operated independent of, or intimately integrated with, a customer's existing technology platform, based on their preference, and can be customized to meet the customer's individual needs.
Stelco seeks to extend its court protection again until Sept. 23
Despite Stelco's repeated assertions that it would file a plan with the Ontario Superior Court by Sept. 9, the Hamilton-based company said Friday it will instead ask for a ninth extension of its bankruptcy protection, to Sept. 23.
Stelco Inc.'s lengthy bankruptcy protection is being stretched once again, as the steelmaker breaks its own deadline to deal with allegations from two directors who stomped off the board this week, after muscling their way onto it earlier this year. Mr Roland Keiper, President of Toronto based hedge fund Clearwater Capital Management Inc., and Mr Michael Woollcombe, an advisor, resigned from the board this week citing "a fundamental disagreement over decision-making processes followed by the board and a recent board decision. They represent a group of shareholders that owns 20 per cent of Stelco's stock.
"We need the time to clear up or deal with these issues that have been raised by Mr Keiper and Mr Woollcombe," CEO Mr Courtney Pratt said in an interview Friday. Stelco also needs time to finish discussions with its stakeholders about its plan, which will outline how much goes to each creditor group. The steel makers workers have been locked in an extended battle with its creditors over how much of the company's funds should go towards its $1.3-billion pension solvency deficit.
Ni price forecasts for 2007 are lower
Nickel prices are going to slide though 2007, suggest Jim Lennon at Macquarie Bank, Alan Heap at Citigroup and Fraser Phillips at RBC Capital Markets because of expanded supply ahead.
Nickel prices are projected to average $7/lb this year. Lennon sees tags sliding to $6.50/lb in 2006 and $5.75 in 2007. A more-bearish Heap sees nickel averaging $5 next year and $4 in 2007. While Phillips forecasts $7 in 2006, he sees $6 in 2007.
Nickel futures traded on the LME have risen by 60% over the past two years as output from mines has lagged world consumption driven by Chinese demand for stainless steel. Demand for nickel is expected to exceed supply by 16,000 metric tons, Standard Bank of London has calculated.
Inco has a major mine and smelter project already underway in Canada and is plotting another development project in New Caledonia and BHP is also planning a billion dollar project, in southwestern Australia.
Japan's July steel sales to China, Korea Drop
Japan's steel exports declined 16.4 percent in July from a year earlier led by a decline in sales to its two largest overseas markets, China and Korea.
Exports declined to 2.58 million tons in July from a year earlier, according to the Japan Iron & Steel Federation. Sales to China and Korea each dropped 24 percent to 457,000 tons and 615,000 tons.
Japan is the world's second-largest producer of the alloy used in buildings, ships and autos. Exports account for about a third of the nation's steel production.
Mvela Resources buys small miner for $4.7 mln
South African mining group Mvelaphanda Resources has announced signing of a MoU for buying privately held Burk Mining, a manganese and iron ore miner, for a minimum of 30 million rand. The minimum consideration of 30 million rand requires a confirmed 1 million tons manganese and 1 million tons iron ore resource. This figure will rise on a pro rata basis up to 50 million rand, on confirmation of a manganese resource of between 1 million tons and 3 million tons. The transaction is subject to certain conditions precedent, including confirmation of the manganese and iron ore resource and completion of a financial and legal due diligence. The formal sale agreement is expected to be concluded in October
The Burk Mine is a small manganese mine in the Northern Cape located in south of Kumba"s Sishen Mine and adjacent to Assmang"s King and Mokaning properties with current production is in the order of 6,300 tons of manganese ore a month from open cast sources, with a manganese content of 38%-40%.
In addition, fans of unconsolidated detrital iron ore are found on or near
surface on the western portion of the farm. The ore is Iron rich 64% to 66% with low Phosphorus content, ideal for blending purposes.
IPSCO donates $500,000 to Red Cross for Katrina Relief
IPSCO announced that it is donating $500,000 to the Alabama Gulf Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross to be used in Hurricane Katrina relief work. The aid will be focused on hard hit communities along Alabama's gulf coast including Mobile and Baldwin Counties where the Alabama Steelworks is located and most IPSCO employees live.
"Our thoughts are with our employees, their families and neighbors who are living through an overwhelming situation in the gulf coast," said David Sutherland, President and CEO of IPSCO. "We hope this donation in some small way can help in the recovery process."
In addition, the Company has announced a matching grant program to support and magnify the impact of employee donations in respect of Hurricane Katrina. IPSCO will match every dollar contributed by all its employees across the Corporation to registered charities of their choice established for Hurricane Katrina.
IPSCO operates steel mills at three locations and pipe mills at six locations in Canada and the United States. As a low cost North American steel producer, IPSCO has a combined annual steel making capacity of 3,500,000 tons. The Company's tubular facilities produce a wide range of tubular products including line pipe, oil and gas well casing and tubing, standard pipe and hollow structural, for a combined annual capacity of 1,775,000 tons. Steel can also be further processed at IPSCO's five temper leveling and coil processing facilities.
Cyprian Merobel increases its stake in NLMK
Cyprian Merobel Investments Limited increased its stake in JSC Novolipetsk Iron & Steel Works NLMK from 14.7 percent up to 18.7 percent.
The major shareholders of NLMK are the Cyprian offshore companies, belonging to Fletcher Industrial Equity Fund Ltd, Merobel (18.7%), Silener Management Ltd (18.98%), Castella Investments Ltd (15.94%), Ultimex Trading Ltd (18.15%), Veft Enterprises Ltd (16.31%) and Radley Enterprises Ltd (8.23%), as well as CJSC Invest (7.52%).
NLMK is the third largest steel company in Russia specialized in the production of sheet products of wide assortment.
Afghan Govt to invite bids for mines excavation
The Ministry of Mines and Industries announced leasing out two big mines of copper and iron through a bidding to be joined by private companies and contractors in the next two months.
The Ainak and Hajigak mines in Logar and Bamyan provinces are containing huge copper and iron reserves in the region. Uloomi said the Ainak mine, considered as one of the biggest in the South Asian region, had an estimated 10 million tons of copper reserves while the Hajigak, located some 45 kilometres southeast of Bamyan city, contained around 200 million tons of iron reserves.
Teck Cominco and striking union at smelter in Trail to restart talks
Teck Cominco Ltd. and the union representing striking workers at the company's smelter in Trail, B.C., are set to resume contract talks next week with the help of a mediator. The two sides are set to resume negotiations on Sept. 9 with the help of mediator Andrew Sims after talks broke off two weeks ago.
The key issues in the strike are wages and pensions for the 1,310 workers represented by the United Steelworkers of America who walked off the job on July 19 in their first strike since 1990.
The workers say they are looking for their share of the windfall that Teck has received from the extraordinarily strong metal and coal market in recent months that have driven the company's earnings. The union is seeking wage increases that are almost double what the company is offering, as well as improvements to pensions and earlier retirement with full benefits.
Chinese firms encouraged to invest in mining in Mongolia
An official with the Mongolian mining and oil bureau, said his country welcomes more Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in Mongolia's mining projects during China-Mongolia Friendship Province Commercial Day
The Mongolian government in recent years took effective measures to establish stable law systems in a bid to protect the interests and rights of overseas investors. It takes foreign investors only 10 and 20 working days to get licenses for exploration and mining in Mongolia, and foreign companies with investments over 20 million US dollars in Mongolia can sign agreements to stabilize their long-term cooperation, he said.
Mongolia has also reduced its tax rate to attract more foreign investment in mining, to attract Chinese investment in infrastructure construction
Mongolia boasts of abundant mining resources, including gold, silver, copper, iron and coal, he said.
SRL expects more coal from Indonesia
Diversified miner Straits Resources Ltd has bumped up the size of the resource at its coal mine at Sebuku in Indonesia and was now considering a higher production rate next year to 24.9 million tonnes of coal, up from 18 million tonnes at the end of last year.
Chief executive Milan Jerkovic said the resource upgrade extended the life of the mine by three years to between seven and eight years at current production levels."From a financial standpoint, the resource upgrade represents a substantial increase in life of mine cash flow units to Straits," he said. He said the resource upgrade had prompted a review of production rates and was now considering increasing output above the current three million tonnes a year in 2006.
Drilling is continuing at Sebuku and Mr Jerkovic said more upgrades were expected." However, it will be at least 12 to 18 months before the full drill out is completed and the total extend of further resource upgrades become apparent," he said.
IUD to invest in Hyatt International Kiev
The International Finance Corporation IFC will provide Sofia Kiev with a credit worth $29.5 million. IFC said that the credit assets, including a syndicated loan worth $13 million, are being allocated to complete the construction of a hotel in Kievs downtown.
According to the corporation, the Industrial Union of Donbass IUD, a major steel producer and trader, is an investor in the project. Hyatt International will run the hotel under the Hyatt Regency brand
