September, 30 2005
Essar to invest $1.2 b in Trinidad plant
Essar Global, the overseas investment arm of the Essar group, is considering a phased investment of $1.2bn in Trinidad and Tobago to set up an integrated steel plant. The initial investment is estimated to be around $450m for a pellet plant and a hot briquetted iron HBI facility.
An Essar spokesperson said Essar Global is constantly in the process of exploring growth opportunities in India and abroad and that the Trinidad project is one among the options being considered. Industry sources said that the company will initially start with the pellet and HBI plants and would further move on to manufacturing slabs and hot-rolled coils.
Posco examining high alumina iron ore processing technology
TATA Steel announcement to invest in a steel plant without any iron ore export condition was followed by Mittal Steel, which withdrew this condition from the proposed MOU with Jharkhand government and now POSCO, which has been facing opposition due to this clause in MoU, is said to be examining the idea of iron ore swapping condition in the final agreement
It is reported that POSCO is exploring the possibility of producing steel with the high alumina iron ore available in India and a team of POSCO engineers has recently visited the TATA Steel Jamshedpur to know the technology of using high alumina iron ore.
A POSCO spokesperson is reported to have said that they want to avoid swap idea as it would increase the cost of raw material
Indian pipe maker Man Industries planning a pipe unit in UAE
India's leading manufacturer of steel line pipes, Man Industries, plans to set up a pipe making unit in the UAE, and is also toying with the idea of promoting an aluminium smelting plant in one of the emirates.
Mr Ramesh Mansukhani, group chairman, Man Industries, has told press that talks are at an advanced stage for putting up the Dh175 million pipe making unit with a capacity to produce 1,000km pipes annually
He added that "It would cater to the regional market in the Middle East."
Essar to install INI steel plants next year
Essar Steel plans to start setting up the 4 million tonne per annum steel units, it purchased earlier this month for about Rs 437 crore from South Koreas INI Steel, by early next year in either Hazira or Paradeep to be functional by the start of 2008. Total cost of the project is about Rs 5,000 crore
INI Steel had acquired the steel units last year when they bought Hanbo steel. The two units are now being dismantled for shipment to India. The steel units use the corex technology an alternative to the conventional blast furnace route for producing hot metal
Steel has signed MoUs with both the state governments and is yet to take final call on location of this project
Withdrawal of Kudremukh rehabilitation package demanded
The Kudremukha Rashtriya Udyana Virodhi Okkoota, which had strongly opposed the rehabilitation package announced by the Karnataka Government to 201 families residing outside the notified area of Kudremukh national park, today demanded the immediate withdrawal of the package and proposed that the fund could be spent for the development of the tribal residing there.
Addressing a press conference here, its President Mr Kalkuli Vittal Hegde alleged that the Government, which was reiterating that it would not evict the tribal residing in the park, was now taking covert steps to evict the 201 families residing in the non-notified area of the park through the Forest department.
He demanded that mining of iron ore at Kudremukh by the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited should be totally stopped by December 30.
Maharashtra Seamless inks a 50:50 JV with Hydril
Maharashtra Seamless Ltd MSL, one of the leading manufacturers of seamless pipes with capacity of 225,000TPA and electric resistance welded ERW pipes with capacity of 200,000MT has entered into a 50:50 JV through Hydril Jindal International Pvt Ltd with the US-based Hydril LP to manufacture premium connections and precise joints used in deep sea drilling.
In the partnership, Hydril will provide technical expertise and enhance global presence for MSL. The JV will boost its presence in Middle East, Caspian countries, Egypt, West Africa and South East Asia.
MSL commands almost 37% of domestic market share of seamless pipe and has clients like ONGC, Gail, HPCL, BPCL, ABB, BHEL, Hindalco and Sail in its order book. The company also generates almost 20% of the revenue from exports
Hydril is globally engaged in engineering, manufacturing and marketing premium connections and pressure control products, used for oil and gas drilling and production.
Tata Steel to set up 2.4 million ton steel plant in Bangladesh by 2006
Tata Steel, countrys largest private sector integrated steel maker, will start work on one of its largest overseas investment project for setting up a greenfield steel plant in Bangladesh by the end of 2006.
It is reported in media that Mr Indronil Sengupta, chief of Bangladesh project of Tata Steel has said that negotiations with government of Bangladesh were in final stages and the company expected to sign final agreement for the deal early next year and begin work later in the year.
The company has proposed to set up a 2.4 MT steel project in Bangladesh with an investment of about $1.3 billion. It will now also make an additional investment of $0.5 billion to develop a 6 MT coal mine.
While Tata Steel is currently looking at going solo on its steel venture in Bangladesh, sources said that government of Bangladesh may ask the Indian company to join hand with a local partner as joint venture partner. Mr Sengupta, however, said that these were matters that would be discussed at a later stage. TATA is likely to have final round of discussions in the first week of October
Three killedtrying to steal coal from a mine in Jharkhand
At least three women were killed when a large chunk of over hanging coal fell on them during illegal mining at an abandoned coalmine of the CCL at Rajrappa about 80 kilometers from state capital Ranchi on Thursday morning.
Many others are feared to have been trapped under the debris. Although the tragedy took place around 7.30 am, rescue operations by CCL authorities began only around 4 pm
88.72 million tons coal linkages for power sector approved
Coal linkages of 88.72 million tonnes were approved for the power sector for the third quarter of the fiscal. This inludes 80.32 mt to power utilities and 8.04 mt for captive power plants
The cement sector has been given a quarterly linkage of 3.48 mt from Coal India Ltd and Singareni Collieries Ltd
Arcelors UGINE & ALZ Carinox Steel plant produces first heat
The new steel plant built on the site of UGINE & ALZ Carinox has produced its first heat. This new facility, with a yearly production capacity of 1 million tonnes of stainless steel, provides UGINE & ALZ with an integrated steel plant, which will form, with the Genk steel plant, the company's upstream production complex.
The new steel plant, built in 26 months, was commissioned one month ahead of the date initially foreseen. Carinox represents an investment of 241 million euros, and will replace two smaller, non integrated steel plants. Commissioning will be followed by a run up curve, with the progressive increase in the facility's production.
UGINE & ALZ is the European subsidiary of Arcelor's Stainless Steel Sector specialized in flat stainless steel products with a turnover of 2.74 billion euros in 2004, a production volume of 1.35 million tonnes. U&A operates 4 production sites in Europe at Isbergues & Gueugnon in France) and Genk & Carinox in Belgium. Its main markets are the automotive, household appliances, industry and construction sectors.
New Ukrainian PM rules out re-privatization
The Ukrainian government does not plan any further re-privatization, the prime minister said Thursday. "Re-privatization is over," Mr Yuriy Yekhanurov said in Dnepropetrovsk
The new PM said that he planned to restore trust between authorities and business in the first month of his office. "The authorities should make the first steps toward business, moving on from tough control to support," Mr Yekhanurov said.
The respect for private property rights was highly important. "The property that had to be re-nationalized has been de-privatized. All the current disputable issues will only be resolved through negotiations and agreements," Mr Yekhanurov said, adding the authorities would not get involved in corporate conflicts or comment on them.
The previous cabinet headed by Ms Yuliya Tymoshenko launched a campaign to re privatize some of the assets belonging to businessmen seen as close to former President Mr Leonid Kuchma. In particular, these assets included Ukraine's largest steel mill, Krivorozhstal, holding 20% of the market share and the Nikopol ferroalloy plant.
In view of this statement the fate of re privatization of Krivorog in October is not clear
BHP Mitsubishi alliance to expand Goonyella coal mine in Australia
BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance BMA plans to increase annual production at its Goonyella Riverside coking coal mine in the Australian state of Queensland by 50 pct to as much as 24 million tons to make it the largest coal mine in the southern hemisphere. The expansion is part of the plan BHP Billiton announced a year ago to almost double its global coking coal output to 100 mln tons by 2010.
Goonyella Riverside has a total resource of 1.4 billion tons, enough for it to operate for 50 years at the proposed expanded production rate. Goonyella Riverside and other nearby mines, mostly owned by BMA, produce some of the world's highest quality coking coal.
Commodity strategists say that iron ore prices to increase
Iron ore prices may average 18 percent higher from 2010 compared with the past two decades as demand rises and CVRD, BHP and other producers seek higher prices to underpin expansion, Merrill Lynch & Co. said.
Benchmark prices for the steelmaking ingredient may average $26 a metric ton a year, compared with prices of between $20 and $22 a ton between 1980 and 2004, Merrill analysts Ms Vicky Binns and Andrea Weinberg said in a Sept. 21 report.
CVRD, BHP and Rio Tinto Group are spending $8.9 billion raising output after Chinese steel production doubled in four years, increasing demand for ore. The three biggest producers, which account for 73 percent of seaborne supplies, may demand higher prices after soaring steel and labor costs swelled the cost of developing new projects. Without higher prices, projects would not go ahead, thereby resulting in less iron ore coming to the market and driving higher prices,'' Binns and Weinberg said.
Iron ore prices are set annually in individual negotiations between producers such as BHP, and steelmakers, including Nippon Steel Corp. Prices are set for the year beginning April 1.
BHP, Vale and Rio are adding capacity after prices jumped 71.5 percent to $40 a ton in the year ending March 31, almost double historical prices.
Iron ore prices may rise a further 10 percent in the year beginning April 1,
Merrill said, raising its prediction from a June estimate of a 5 percent gain. Since Merrill's June forecast, ABN Amro Holding NV and UBS AG have also estimated higher prices.
Prices would then decline from 2008 as new mines start up, Merrill said. Instead of falling to the average $20 to $22 a ton price of the last two decades, prices will stay at about $26, the brokerage said.
China's iron ore imports may rise 80 percent to 659 million tons in 2009, from 2004, Merrill said. Imports would meet 64 percent of iron ore demand in the world's largest steelmaking country by 2009, with China accounting for 42 percent of total global iron ore purchases, the brokerage said. Chinese steel producers are not only increasing their capacities but also replacing lower quality iron ore with higher quality imported ore in order to produce higher value added steel product,'' Merrill said.
Malaysian Ann Joo to take over associate Malayawata Steel
Malaysian steel maker and trader Ann Joo Resources Bhd has announced its plans to take over its 32.4% associate Malayawata Steel Bhd by acquiring the remaining shares in Malayawata.
"Ann Joo proposes to extend a conditional voluntary offer to acquire the remaining shares of Malayawata Steel Berhad not already owned by Ann Joo," the company said in a brief statement to the local stock exchange.
"Ann Joo is currently in the process of finalizing the terms of the proposed offer," Ann Joo added without elaborating.
Ukrainian ferro-alloy exports drop
Ferro-alloy exports from Ukraine were down last month in terms of value and volume, both sequentially and, most notably, year on year, the State Statistics Committee has confirmed.
During August Ukraine exported a total of 64,140 tons of ferro-alloys. This represents a decline of 41.3% from the same month last year, and is 6.4% below the preceding month. The value of the exports stood at US$38.88 million, 48.1% down from August 2004 and 18.6% less than July.
The most dramatic drop in exports on a year on year basis was with ferro-silicon, deliveries of 1,840 tons dwarfed by 11,060 tons in August last year, although this was 27.7% higher than the previous month. Turkey was the primary consumer.
Sequentially the most notable fall came in ferro-nickel exports, down by 62.9% to 1,870 tons, which was also 60.6% below the same month a year ago.
Ferro-silico-manganese exports of 44,770 tons were down by a quarter year on year and 2.7% month on month, with a surge in sales to Saudi Arabia being offset by declines elsewhere, such as Russia and Turkey.
Ukraine exported 13,590 tons of ferro-manganese last month, 47.2% below August 2004 but up marginally on July. The months major consumers Russia and Romania increased their purchases both sequentially and year on year.
Ferro-titanium and ferro-titanium silicon exports of 160 tons were slightly above the previous month, but just half of the total for August last year, with the entire amount delivered to the Netherlands.
Year to date ferro-alloy exports of 749,100 tons are 15.2% below January-August 2004.
Japanese steel production to fall 3.8% to 25.5 million tons
Production for Japanese steel products may fall 3.8 percent in the three months beginning Oct. 1, led by a decline in orders from overseas, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said. Overall production for Japanese steel will fall to 25.5 million tons in the three months ending Dec. 31, even as domestic demand remains strong, the ministry said today in a statement. Output is also expected to fall by 3.3 percent to 27.8 million tons in the quarter to December.
Overseas demand is down and Japanese steelmakers are prioritizing prices over volume,'' Mr Hisayoshi Ando, a director at the ministry's steel unit, told reporters today.
The nation's largest steelmaker Nippon Steel Corp. has cut output by 500,000 tons in the three months ending Sept. 30 and is planning to trim production by another 500,000 tons in the six months through March 31, 2006. Rival JFE Holdings Inc. is also trimming output.
However, Japan's domestic demand for steel is expected to climb 2.1 percent to 19.94 million tons in the quarter, on strong sales to automakers and shipbuilders, the ministry said.
CVRD to expand Bahia manganese plant
CVRD intends to expand project at its Rio Doce Manganes subsidiary in the country's northeast state of Bahia, the company said in a statement. CRD will invest 140 million reals through 2008 on the project, which will include a new manganese sinter plant. Since 2001, the company has invested BRL357 million to expand and improve manganese production at its Simoes Filho complex.
The sinter plant, which is expected to be operational in August 2006, will cost CVRD BRL45 million to build and it will produce 165,000 metric tons of sintered manganese per year.
The company mines manganese ore from its Mina do Azul in Carajas, near the site of the company's massive Carajas iron ore mine in Brazil's northern Para state.
Because freshly mined manganese is a fine powder easily suspended in air, it is combined with coke and charcoal in the sinter process for efficient use in steel making to make high strength quality steel products
US cuts down on steel imports
Steel imports dropped12.4 percent in August compared with July, the American Iron and Steel Institute has reported
August imports totaled2.2 million net tons, including 1.8 million net tons of finished steel. That compares with2.5 million net tons in July. In August 2004, 3.6 million net tons of finished and semi finished steel entered the United States.
On a year-to-date basis, total steel imports declined 3.1 percent compared with 2004.
Lone Star Technologies resumes operations at Texas
Lone Star Technologies Inc announced that it has resumed normal operations at its largest manufacturing facility, Lone Star Steel Company in Lone Star, Texas and its Bellville Tube Company plant in Bellville, Texas on Monday, September 26, 2005 following a two-day shutdown related to Hurricane Rita.
Operations at its Star Energy Group's OCTG finishing facility in Houston, Texas, which were suspended on Thursday, September 22, 2005 in anticipation of the hurricane remain curtailed due to power supply interruptions and limited staff.
Lone Star Technologies Inc's principal operating subsidiaries manufacture, market and provide custom services related to oilfield casing, tubing, couplings, and line pipe, specialty tubing products used in a variety of applications, and flat rolled steel and other tubular products.
Echelon Resources plan for iron ore exploration
Echelon Resources Limited has revealed to stock exchange agreements to acquire 39 iron ore tenements over an area of 4100 square kilometers. Echelon describes the Northam prospect as "conceptual" and "grass roots", meaning any prospect of mining is a considerable way off.
The Northam project consists of three exploration licenses and it extends roughly from the Grass valley area to Quellington. The exploration focus is on the mapped Archaean banded iron formation BIF, ore in layers, horizons within the Western Gneiss Terrane that may have been upgraded to resource grade material.
Natural Resource closes three acquisitions
Natural Resource Partners LP has announced that it has closed three separate transactions in the last week for an aggregate purchase price of $19.5 million. NRP funded the acquisitions with $13.5 million in cash on hand, and borrowed the remaining $6 million under its revolving credit facility
On September 22, 2005, NRP acquired a coal preparation plant and a rail load out facility in Greenbrier County, West Virginia for $6 million. The facilities will primarily process coal produced from NRP's Plum Creek properties, which it acquired in February.
In two separate transactions on September 26, 2005, NRP acquired approximately 25 million tons of owned coal reserves and an overriding royalty on 14 million tons of leased coal reserves in Randolph, Upshur and Barbour Counties in north central West Virginia for $13.5 million.
Natural Resource Partners LP is headquartered in Houston with its operations headquarters in Huntington. NRP is a master limited partnership that is principally engaged in the business of owning and managing coal properties in the three major coal producing regions of the United States: Appalachia, the Illinois Basin and the Powder River Basin.
Kazchrome to launch new plant
The latest step in the expansion programme for Kazakhstans sole chrome producer will take effect early next month, when its new pellet producing factory is launched.
Kazchrome has invested approximately KZT6.5 billion (US$49 million) of its own funds in the factory, which will have an annual capacity of 700,000 tonnes. The move was taken in response to growing international demand for its ferro-chrome products.
Output was up across the board for Kazchrome, who also produces ferro-manganese, ferro-silicon, manganese and silico-manganese, in the first half of this year
Czech govt to sell its 55.4% stake in coal mine to CEZ
The Czech government has decided to sell its 55.4% stake in the brown coal mine Severoceske Doly to state-owned power company CEZ for 306.2 mln eur, trade minister Mr Milan Urban has announced. CEZ, which already owns a 37.2% stake in the country's largest brown coal mines had submitted its bid a month later.
In March last year, the government cancelled the privatisation of Severoceske Doly, because no one offered a price for the government's pct stake that matched the market value.
Norilsk Nickel to hit production target in 2005
Norilsk Nickel, the world's biggest producer of palladium and nickel, plans to hit its 2005 production target, the company's deputy GD Mr Tav Morgan has announced
Mr Morgan also said the company, which is the seventh largest in Russia accounting for 1.9% of GDP and 2.8% of the industrial output, would publish data on palladium, platinum, nickel and copper output quarterly and would publish information on platinum-metal reserves by the end of 2005.
Rautaruukki Oyj acquires PPTH
Rautaruukki Corporation has signed an agreement to purchase the 80 % holding in PPTH Steel management Oy previously held by funds managed by private equity investor CapMan and the company's management. With this transaction Rautaruukki's holding in the company rises from 20 per cent to 100 per cent. Completion of the acquisition still requires approval from competition authorities. The transaction is expected to be finalized in November 2005.
PPTH is the leading Nordic constructor with steel, having net sales in 2004 of Euro 101 million with seven production units in Finland that manufacture frame and facade structures and mechanical engineering products.
The acquisition of PPTH will boost the implementation of Ruukki's strategy to be the leading suppliers of metal-based construction solutions in the Nordic countries and Central Eastern Europe.
Ruukki supplies metal-based components, systems and turnkey deliveries to the construction and mechanical engineering industries. The company has a wide selection of metal products and services. Ruukki has operations in 21 countries
Transneft to attract $6.6 bln for East Siberian pipeline
Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft intends to attract $6.6 billion in 2006-2008 for construction of the first segment of an East Siberia - Pacific Ocean pipeline. "The length of the pipeline will be 4,188 kilometers and the total cost of the overall project is $11.5 billion. The first segment of the pipeline will be ready by 2008 and will have an output capacity of 30 million metric tons of oil per year." as per VP Mr Yevgeny Shkolov
The second stage of construction may require project financing. Shkolov said the targeted annual output capacity of the pipeline was 80 million metric tons.
Transneft owns 48,708 km of oil pipeline and transports 93% of the oil produced in Russia.
Mechel appoints Mr Alex Polevoy as new CFO
Mechel OAO has announced the appointment of Mr Alex Polevoy as its Chief Financial Officer. Mr Alex Polevoy will start his new position on October 1, 2005. As CFO, Mr Alex Polevoy will be responsible for the development strategy of Mechel's financial department, financial planning, US GAAP reporting, implementation of internal controls, integration and unification of Mechel's subsidiaries operations, and operational management of the financial division.
Mr Alex has held various positions in Canada, US and Russia for ZCL Composites, Yukos EP and his present assignment is with TNK BP as Director, Corporate Audit & Head of Monitoring and Control
Mechel is one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies and produces coal, iron ore, nickel, steel, rolled products, and hardware.
Ex Western Australian Premier joins Iron Ore Holdings
Former Western Australian Premier Richard Court has been recruited by explorer Iron Ore Holdings Ltd to help bring its tenements into production.
The Perth-based company has appointed Mr Court as a senior adviser to its board and says his prime focus is to assist with the commercialization of its iron ore projects in the remote Pilbara region in WA's north west.
Mr Court said he had known Iron Ore chairman Mr Mal Randall for many years and hoped he could use his experience in the industry to help him get the iron ore junior off the ground. Mr Court said the company was already working towards proving up commercial reserves and the key challenge for them was to gain access to infrastructure in the Pilbara.
BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto currently dominate iron ore production in the region and other players seeking to get in on the action have complained the mining giants have a stranglehold on infrastructure. In July, mining heiress Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting entered into an agreement with Rio Tinto that will allow the company to develop its Pilbara iron ore reserves.
Armtec supplies steel pipe for Alberta wind project
Armtec Infrastructure Income Fund announced that it has supplied large diameter corrugated steel pipe (CSP) to build 47 wind towers near Fort McLeod in southern Alberta. Armtec manufactured the pipe at the site using a mobile mill, eliminating the high freight costs associated with shipping large diameter pipe.
Armtec manufactured 94 pieces of nine metre long CSP. The pipe is being installed vertically in the ground and the void between each section is being filled with reinforced concrete to form a stable foundation for the turbine.
The mobile mill was contracted from Contech Construction Products Inc.
Armtec is a leading manufacturer and marketer of drainage products and engineered solutions for infrastructure applications in a diverse cross- section of industries, including the public infrastructure market and private sector markets such as natural resources, residential drainage and agricultural drainage in Canada.
National Coal Corp appoints Mr Hodak as COO
National Coal Corp an Appalachian Region coal producer has announced appointment of Mr Kenneth Hodak to the position of Chief Operating Officer, effective Oct. 1, 2005. Hodak is the first to serve as Chief Operating Officer at National Coal. He will be responsible for managing strategies to acquire and develop new reserves throughout the region while maximizing the value of the Company's existing production sites in Tennessee and Kentucky.
A coal industry veteran, Mr Hodak comes to National Coal from Arch Coal, Inc. where he was Senior Vice President of Sales.
Headquartered in Knoxville National Coal Corp, through its wholly owned subsidiary, National Coal Corporation, is engaged in coal mining in Eastern Tennessee and Southeastern Kentucky
Philippine steel firms mudslinging
Steel Corporation of the Philippines has slammed Sonic Steel Industries Inc, for resorting to "squid tactics in a desperate bid to draw the heat away from itself after government agents found it in possession of unfairly competing products and stolen proprietary documents."
Steelcorp lawyers charged that Sonic "appears to have run out of arguments on how it came to possess engineering blueprints of a state of the art production facility bearing the Steelcorp logo."
It is understood that Sonic has alleged in a press ad that Steelcorp is trying to monopolize the market for aluminum zinc coated metal sheets
