January, 13 2006
Indian galvanizers announce price increase
JSW Steel Ltd is reported to have announced price increase of galvanized steel by nearly 3% with immediate effect due to higher input costs. Company's Director Finance Mr Seshagiri Rao is reported to have said that the hike in price is due to further increase in the input cost, primarily of zinc, in the international market and also because of the buoyant demand of galvanized products, according to a release issued here.
Uttam Galva is also reported to have announced price increase of its galvanized products by up to Rs 1,600 a tonne. Mr Ankit Miglani, director, Uttam Galva also said that fuel prices have gone up by about 25% and logistics costs by about 30%. This has changed loading rules. Therefore, the hike doesnt mean an improvement in our margins, he said.
A spokesperson of another manufacturer, Ispat, said the company has also decided to hike prices for the Maharashtra market by about Rs 1,000 a tonne.
Tribal withdraw Rourkela blockade
The blockade launched by tribal since Tuesday, was called off on Thursday after a marathon seven-hour discussion among the tribal leaders, senior government officials and the Rourkela Steel Plant after a written assurance given by the administration
The tribal agitating under the banner of the Rourkela Local Displaced Association and Anchalik Surakhya Committee, had put forth a five-point charter of demands including restoration of the surplus land acquired for RSP in 1954 which had not been utilized and employment for land oustees.
The sources said that the government had given a written assurance to the agitators, which stated that a notification would be issued inviting genuine oustees, who had not been provided with jobs in the RSP, to apply.
CIL may slow down production due to stock buildup
Coal India Ltd is likely to slow down production over the next few weeks. The two subsidiaries that are likely to be affected most are Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd MCL and South Eastern Coalfields Ltd SECL. This is because a number of thermal power plants are unable to lift the amount of coal dedicated to them through the existing linkage system.
The sudden slackness in demand from thermal power plants is because power generated by the hydel power plants has gone up following heavy rains that have increased the speed of water flow in several rivers resulting in higher generation of electricity.
According to CIL sources, the current stock at pitheads is at a record high of 19.2 million tonnes. Normally, CIL has a pithead stock of around 12 million tonnes.
Orissa government to announce new rehabilitation policy
The Orissa government will formulate a comprehensive resettlement and rehabilitation policy in three months. The announcement came after the first meeting of a ministerial committee set up following the January 2 Kalinga Nagar firing in which 12 tribal were killed.
State Industry Minister Mr Biswabhusan Harichandan said the committee would study all the previous resettlement and rehabilitation policies of the state government and also those in force in other states before formulating a new policy. It would also include views of tribal leaders and social activists, he added.
VISA Steel to import coal from Australia
VISA Steel Ltd. is reported to have decided up import of 0.5 million tonne of coal from its recently acquired coal mine in Australia to enable the company to make stainless steel at the lowest cost in the country. Chairman of VISA Steel Ltd Mr Vishambar Saran told "Under the long-term tie up for captive raw material from coal mines of Australia, we will acquire our raw materials at a low cost. The modular format of our 0.5 MTPA integrated steel plant in Orissa will enable it to produce steel at a cost lower than any other producer in the country."
He said a long term agreement with the Australian coal mine would enable company to control the feedstock prices to a certain extent. The domestic market for coal often experiences wild fluctuations owing to unforeseen circumstances. The company planned to get coal from its Australian mine by March this year. Explaining the advantages of the modular format he said that unlike normal manufacturing plants, all the individual plants in the 0.5 MTPA integrated unit of the company in Kalinganagar Industrial Project are independent and profit making plants.
Government approves expansion of ECLs Rajmahal opencast coal project
Indian government approved the expansion of Rajmahal opencast project of Eastern Coalfields ECL from 10.5 million tonnes per annum to 17 million tonnes per annum. This will entail a cost of Rs 699.63 crore with departmental option at an additional initial capital investment of Rs 650.06 crore up to the year of achieving target for 2008-09.
The CCEA also approved outsourcing Over Burden removal and coal extraction option for existing 10.5 million tonnes per annum as well as 6.5 million tonnes per annum incremental capacity totaling 17 million tonnes per annum for Rajmahal expansion opencast project with an investment of Rs 50.08 crore.
SAIL executives to go on mass casual leave for annual increment
It is reported in a daily that the Steel Executives' Federation of India SEFI has decided that its 20,000 members across the country would go on a mass casual leave on February 7 to demand revision of the principles of 4% annual increment of the basic pay. SEFI council members would also launch an indefinite hunger strike from February 7 in New Delhi in protest against the apathetic attitude of the authorities towards the officers of all affiliated units of SEFI.
SEFI Chairman Mr Brahma Mishra said that SEFI strongly felt that though its members were exposed to fierce competition, they were not getting commensurate pay benefit and the adoption of 4% of Basic Pay as the principle for Annual Increment would go a long way in taking care of this situation.
Mr Mishra claimed that the benefit of increment was already available to the employees of NTPC, ONGC and even other public sector undertakings. But in case of SAIL, the management had taken a plea poor financial performance as great hindrance for revision of the increment.
POSCOs net profit down by 68% for Q4, up for 2006
POSCO announced that its fourth quarter profit plunged 68% to 382 billion won ($393 million) in the three months through December on lower steel prices dragged down by Chinese overproduction. Sales during the quarter fell 7.3% to 5.2 trillion won ($5.3 billion) from a year earlier.
POSCO said that its net profit improved to 4.0 trillion won in 2005 from 3.8 trillion won a year ago, boosted by an industry boom seen in the first half of last year. Sales increased 9.6% YOY to 21.7 trillion won in 2005 as the proportion of upscale and strategic steel production rose to 48.4% from 40.6% of overall sales volume. Its 2005 annual production volume saw little change with 30.5 million tons while its sales volume slightly declined to 28.7 million tons from 29.2 million tons.
We achieved a solid result last year, with the steel market enjoying a boom in the first half and suffering a downturn in the second half, POSCO's chairman Mr Lee Ku-Taek said.
Early coal price deals cast shadow on hard coking coal Citigroup
Early price settlements for some classes of coal between Asian steel makers and small producers for the fiscal year starting April 1 have cast a slight shadow over the outcome for hard coking coal prices, Citigroup said in a note to clients. 'The early price settlements represent slightly larger falls than we expected,' Citigroup said in a note to clients. While the group is forecasting a flat outcome for the premium product used in steel making, it said it is possible a $5 to $10 a ton decline from $125 will be agreed on. But, it said, hard coking coal price settlements are not expected for some weeks and much will depend on the strategy of the world's key supplier for this type of coal.
The group said the early coal price settlements were below expectations. While they are a guide, it said, they were with small producers and can not be described as benchmark prices. Citigroup noted the settlements include agreements for low volatile PCI between Japanese steel mills and some Russian producers and Australia's Wesfarmers Ltd. It said both the Russian producers and Wesfarmers are new suppliers to Japan with prices for PCI product set at $60 to $65 FOB.
As well, semi-soft coking coal prices have been agreed between minor producers and Japanese steel mills as well as South Korea's Posco. Citigroup said agreed prices for this product are $50 to $55 a ton, representing a $25 a ton fall from 2005-06 level of around $78 a ton.
It said thermal coal contract prices have been agreed by the Japanese utility Kensai at $41 a ton down by $13 a ton.
Financier Ross sees bad patch for auto parts
Mr Wilbur Ross on Wednesday forecast a bleak 2006 for the US auto parts sector, saying the year could be a ''perfect storm'' for companies racked by bankruptcies in 2005 and facing possible declines in overall auto sales this year. ''I think this could very well be a worse shakeout year for auto suppliers than we had even last year,'' Mr Ross said in an interview. The need for consolidation in the sector is ''even more imperative'' with the possibility of two more rough years in the U.S. automotive industry, said Mr Ross.
Mr Ross told that he is reviewing the assets of all distressed US auto parts companies. However, he is not sure about the potential for acquisitions in 2006, in part, because the companies may be ''much more optimistic'' about the industry's prospects this year than he is. ''You could have the equivalent of the perfect storm for the automotive industry this year and next year because their markets are very slim ... about half of the major supply companies in the US lost money last year and very few earned more than 5 per cent on revenues,'' he said.
CISA and 16 Steelmakers meet for iron ore talks
The China Iron and Steel Association and 16 of the nation's steelmakers met to discuss the strategies for their negotiations with iron ore suppliers BHPB, CRD and Rio Tinto in Shanghai for 2006 contract iron ore prices.
The steelmakers met in China's northern city of Handan today with those negotiations at a critical stage, the China Metallurgical Information Center, a government research agency, said on its Web site, without giving further details.
Baosteel is making little progress in the negotiations because steelmakers and suppliers hold different views on the outlook for demand and supply, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Thermal coal deals heat up in China
China's power generators, after 10 days of arduous negotiations, have finally agreed to contract thermal coal deals involving a total volume of 812 million tons this year. But disagreements still exist between the two sides, coal suppliers and power companies, on the range of coal price hike, after the government announced to suspend control over the prices of coal for power generation.
Sources from the China Coal Transport and Distribution Association disclosed the information yesterday, but said buyers and sellers have not reached a consensus on the coal prices to be delivered this year. They only secured the volume in order to get sufficient transport facilities from the government to move the coal from the inland production sites to power plants condensed along the eastern coast, they said.
Of the total volume of thermal coal secured for this year, 563 million tons are allocated to key contracts, to which the government has promised priority in transportation, and the remaining 249 million tons will be secondary, said Mr Fang Xiu'an, a manager for international co-operation with the coal transport distribution association.
POSCO lowers targets for 2006 due to downturn
POSCO said that it has set its annual sales target at 19-20 trillion won this year, lower than the 21.7 trillion won made in 2005, reflecting a downturn in the industry cycle and massive inflows of cheap imports from China.
Despite a moderated sales target, the nation's steel maker plans to increase its capital expenditure by 5.4% YOY to 3.9 trillion won this year, to spend a total of 11.7 trillion won over the three years until the end of 2008, mostly focusing on increasing production capacity and upgrading products.
Seven Ukrainian coal miners rescued after slide
Emergency workers on Thursday rescued seven miners who were trapped by a rockslide in a coal mine in eastern Ukraine, officials said. All the men were unhurt.
The miners were lifted to the ground after spending eight hours at a depth of 1,600 feet in the Voskresenskaya mining in the town of Snezhnoye, about 370 miles southeast of the capital, Kiev, said Mr Mykola Ranga, spokesman for the Emergency Situations Ministry's regional branch.
US & Australia pledge $128 million for AP6
US and Australia pledged $128 million of funding for a six-member Asia -Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, known as AP6, that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by developing and sharing new technologies. Australia will put A$100 million ($76 million) into the fund over five years The US intends to put $52 million into the fund in the first year.
US and Australia favor the AP6 alliance over the Kyoto Protocol because the alliance seeks to reduce pollution without harming economic growth. The Kyoto treaty, which came into force last year and includes mandatory emissions cuts, has been weakened by the failure to get the two countries to sign up. Japan, China, South Korea and India are the other AP6 members.
The six AP6 member countries also set up eight public- private sector task forces that will devise programs to develop technologies and co-operate on ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, blamed for global warming. The groups cover the power generation, steel, aluminum, cement, coal mining and other industries, the nations said in a joint communiqu
Environmental groups criticized the initiatives as inadequate. Few million dollars on the table are paltry - nowhere near enough to develop new technologies, and certainly not enough to get them into widespread use,'' Mr Philip Clapp, president of the Washington-based National Environmental Trust, said. By contrast, after being in effect for less than a year, the Kyoto Protocol is already generating billions of dollars of investment in deploying clean technologies in developing countries.''
Consortium plans Botswana-Namibia coal rail link
A group of coal mining companies and Germany's Siemens plans to build a railway linking Botswana and Namibia at a cost of about $1 billion. The project, dubbed Electrified Trans-Kalahari Railway Line, will connect with the Botswana railway line at Morupule in north-east Botswana, a coal mining area, and end up at Shearwater Bay 30 kilometers south of Luderitz in Namibia. The railway line is expected to transport about 20 million tons of coal from the Botswana coal mines to Shearwater Bay, where a port is also to be constructed.
"Costs are estimated between US$840 million and US$1.33 billion," Mr Mihe Gaomab, chief executive officer of Falcon Resources Holdings, the Namibian company in the consortium, told press. He said the project was about to enter the feasibility study stage, with construction expected to start by the end of 2007. The money would be provided by companies in the consortium.
Some of the other partners are Siemens South Africa, which will provide the technology and rolling stock, and a Canadian listed company that Gaomab did not name. The money would be provided by companies in the consortium.
A spokesman at South African iron and coal producer Kumba Resources said the company would monitor progress of the project, but was not directly involved.
NDRC forecasts China's GDP to grow 8.5%- 9% in 2006
China's GDP will grow at an estimated rate of 8.5 to 9% in 2006, a study by the National Development and Reform Commission NDRC said Wednesday. China's consumption demand will witness approximate 12.5% growth in 2006 with the increasing income of citizens, the study published by the NDRC, the country's highest economic planning body, predicted.
Investment, exports, imports and industrial production will slow down by about 20%, 15%, 18% and 15.5%, respectively, the study concluded. It also found that China's consumer price index would fall to around 1% in 2006 as commodity price increases would slow down because of overcapacity, predicting the country would likely face slight deflation in the second half of 2006.
SMS commissions dedusting plant at Wuhan
SMS Demag AG, Germany, have successfully commissioned a dedusting plant for a 300-ton basic oxygen furnace at Wuhan Iron & Steel Corporation WISCO China. The gas recovery system generates substantial savings as the cleaned gas is used as fuel in the iron and steelmaking plant. WISCO have already granted their acceptance.
For gas cleaning and recovery SMS Demag have chosen the triedand- tested "Baumco CO System" which is in use in more than 200 installations all over the world. This system cleans primary gases in a two-stage high-capacity Venturi scrubber. The CO gases are obtained with suppressed combustion of the primary gases. Gas is recovered using a special type of gas change-over station arranged downstream the high-capacity scrubber. From this station the cleaned gas is routed into a gas holder during operations which are rich in energy.
SMS Demag AG forms part of the Metallurgical Plant and Rolling Mill Technology Business Area of the SMS group. SMS GmbH is the holding for a group of companies internationally active in plant construction and mechanical engineering relating to the processing of steel, non-ferrous metals and plastics. The group is divided into the Business Areas of Metallurgical Plant and Rolling Mill Technology, Tube, Long Product and Forging Technology and Plastics Technology.
Ternium Announces Board of Directors
Ternium SA announced that, as a result of the shareholders' meeting held today, its Board of Directors is now composed of Mr Ubaldo Jose Aguirre, Mr Roberto Bonatti, Mr Rinaldo Campos Soares, Mr Carlos Alberto Condorelli, Mr Adrian Lajous Vargas, Mr Bruno Marchettini, Mr Daniel A. Novegil, Ms Gianfelice Mario Rocca, Mr Paolo Rocca, Mr Gerardo R. Sepulveda, and Mr Bertoldo Machado Veiga.
Mr Paolo Rocca and Mr Rinaldo Campos Soares will continue to act as Chairman and Vice Chairman, respectively, of the Board or Directors. Mr. Daniel A. Novegil will continue to act as Chief Executive Officer of Ternium.
Ternium is one of the largest steel producers in the Latin Americas, offering a wide range of flat and long steel products. Ternium is domiciled in Luxembourg and its operating locations in Argentina (Siderar), Mexico (Hylsa) and Venezuela (Sidor) provide it with a strong position from which to serve its core markets. Ternium also reaches the international markets through its broad distribution network.
Ukraine's Ferrexpo appoints Mr MC Oppenheimer as CEO
Ukrainian iron ore producer Ferrexpo also known as Poltava GOK Corp has hired Mr Mike C Oppenheimer, former head of BHPs energy coal business, as its CEO. Ferrexpo is the biggest iron ore producer in Ukraine, producing some 8 million tons of iron ore pellets a year.
It's also working with bankers at JP Morgan to look at options for the business, which could include flotation. "That's one possibility," Mr Oppenheimer told media emphasizing that a float was just one of a number of potential options for the company. JP Morgan is "looking at a number of things for us," Mr Oppenheimer said.
Poltava GOK was founded in 1970 as a state owned company. In 1994, Poltava GOK was transformed into the open joint-stock company Poltava GOK, and was completely privatized during the period 1995-2001. Today it is the main Ukrainian exporter of iron ore pellets. More than 85 % of all products are exported to Austria, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia and Montenegro, Italy, and other countries.
The Company handles the complete production cycle from iron ore mining to iron ore pellet production. The raw material base of the Company includes the ore fields of the Kremenchug. The total reserves of deposits are 2.43 billion tones. Currently two deposits Gorishne Plavninsky and Lavrikovsky are being mined.
POSCO to invest in Ni mining JV in New Caledonia based SMPS
POSCO announced its plans to invest $352 million in nickel mine ventures jointly with New Caledonia's Societe Miniere du Sud Pacifique SA SMSP in a move to secure a stable source of the Nickel for the next 30 years.
Under the plan, the two sides have agreed that they will establish a nickel mine company in New Caledonia and a nickel refining company in South Korea. Posco will own a 49% stake in each of the joint ventures, with SMSP holding the remaining 51%. Posco, however, didn't provide a timeframe for the joint venture plan.
Once mass production begins, the mine is expected to produce 30,000 tons of nickel a year.
China government orders Hunan to close down unsafe coal mines
The State Administration of Coal Mine Safety Supervision urged the provincial government of Hunan, central China, to close down its 400 coal mines with hidden dangers. Mr Wang Shuhe, vice director of the administration, who led a monitoring team in Hunan, asked the provincial government to pay enough attention to the coal mines, which should had been closed down last year, and shut them as soon as possible. Mr Wang said related departments in Hunan should strictly carry out the safety production inspection in all its coal mines.
Mr Guo Kailang, governor assistant of Hunan, said the provincial government already shut down 135 coal mines before the arrival of the monitoring team and the 400 coal mines are planned to be closed down before February. Mr Guo said Hunan has seen a decline of coal mine accidents during the past few years. In 2005, coal mine accidents in Hunan dropped by 5% as against the previous year and the death toll also fell by 6.3%.
Metso to supply conveying systems to Dawson Mine in Australia
Metso Minerals will supply two cable belt conveying systems for coal transportation to the Dawson mine, Central Queensland, Australia. The value of the order is approximately Euro 22 million. The delivery will be completed by October 2006. The order was booked for the last quarter order backlog of 2005.
The delivery is a part of the mine expansion project and comprises of two cable belt conveyors of 10 kilometers and 16 kilometers length. The new conveying system will transport run of mine coal at a rate of 2,400 million tons per hour to a new coal handling preparation plant. The route flexibility of the cable belt conveyor will allow for an environmentally sound installation with the minimum of ground disturbance. The estimated start-up of the 10 kilometer system is in December 2006 and February 2007 for the 16 kilometer system.
Dawson mine is one of Australia's largest coal mines with an annual coal production of 12.7 million tons. It is a joint venture between Anglo Coal Australia and Mitsui Coal Holdings.
Four miners remain trapped in coal mine flooding in Hunan China
Four miners remain trapped underground in a coal mine flooding accident in central-south China's Hunan Province, local police said on Thursday. The accident occurred at around 3PM on Wednesday when 33 miners were working at the Tangshi colliery in Zhuzhou County. Twenty-nine of them managed to escape while four others got trapped.
Rescue work is in progress and the cause of the flooding is being investigated.
Tangshi Colliery is a joint-stock company converted from a state-owned one with an annual production capacity of about 30,000 tons.
Nucor cited for air violations at Indiana Mill
Nucor Corp has been cited for alleged clean air violations at its steel minimill in Crawfordsville Indiana. The US Environmental Agency alleges that the company violated federal hydrochloric acid emission requirements.
The steel mill uses hydro choleric acid to clean the steel on one of its pickling lines.
The agency discovered the alleged violations during September 8 tests done by a company contractor. The EPA may issue a compliance order, fine the company or file a federal lawsuit to resolve the issue.
QGX extends metallurgical grade seams in Mongolia
QGX Ltd announced that the 2005 drilling program at Baruun Naran has significantly expanded the lengths of Seams "H" and "T", the two principal metallurgical-grade coal seams at Baruun Naran in southern Mongolia.
Mr David Anderson CEO of QGX commented "The 2005 drilling program at Baruun Naran was an unqualified success. We extended our two principal metallurgical-grade coal seams for significant distances along strike where they remain open to the west. Some of the seams are approaching 3 km in strike length-all are near-surface and amenable to open-pit mining methods. We are particularly pleased at how continuous the coal seams are. This bodes well for a mining operation and we are eager to begin the mining engineering and economic studies this quarter."
QGX is a Canadian-based company that has been exploring for mineral deposits in Mongolia since 1994. QGX holds a large area of exploration licenses throughout Mongolia. QGX's most advanced property is the Golden Hills prospect in western Mongolia.
Coal mining in Czech Republic stagnates at 61 million tonnes
Coal mining in the Czech Republic stagnated at 61 million tonnes last year, black coal mining fell by 0.1 million tonnes, while brown coal mining rose by the same amount to 48.2 million tonnes, according to data CTK got from the mining companies.
Severoceske doly, the biggest brown-coal producer, mined nearly 21.8 million tonnes of coal last year, roughly the same amount as in 2004. "In 2006, we do not expect any significant changes on the brown coal market compared with 2005. We expect mining for sale approximately on the same level," SD sales director Mr Jan Demjanovic said. Mostecka uhelna spolecnost, number two on the brown coal market, saw mining slightly down by 0.1 million to 16.1 million tonnes. The company still holds roughly a third of the market. Sokolovska uhelna, the third brown-coal miner, saw mining grow by 0.2 million to 10.3 million tonnes last year, according to preliminary data. Brown-coal mining company OKD, which comprises the amount of coal mined by the CSM mine, mined 12.8 million tonnes of coal last year, roughly 0.1 million tonnes less than in 2004.
Czech coal industry underwent ownership changes last year. First, Severoceska uhelna bought Mostecka uhelna from the Appian fund at the beginning of the year. In the autumn, the state sold its majority stake in Severoceske doly to state owned power company CEZ for CZK 9 billion. OKD saw a merger with the companies CMD, KOP and OKD, Podnikatelska last year.
China to balance coal supply, demand
China is expected to have balanced coal supply and demand in 2006, with the total demand for coal predicted to reach 2.25 billion tons and a production capacity of over 2.26 billion tons, according to official forecast. Of the total, there will be 2.17 billion tons for the domestic market and 80 million tons for export.
"The coal supply and demand would be basically level in 2006, and the transportation bottleneck would be eased," said Mr Ou Xinqian, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission at a recent national meeting on coal production and transportation held here.
Statistics of the commission show that the country's total coal output increased by 8% YOY in 2005. China's coal production capacity reached 2.26 billion tons by last April, and has been increasing. The production capacity expanded by at least 60 million tons in 2005, said Mr Ou.
"An all-round analysis suggests that coal supply and demand would stay in balance. No general supply shortage nor oversupply is expected in near future," said the official. However, he said, "We can not rule out the possibility that certain regions at certain time may experience short supply or overstock of coal."
Gerdau confirms interest in Asian steel markets
Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau is studying plans to enter Eastern European and Asian markets and is focusing particular attention on the specialty steel segment. Gerdau executive VP Mr Claudio Gerdau Johannpeter told "Regarding China, studies are in an early stage and there is no deadline to establish an operation in that country".
Gerdau has already finalized the acquisition of Spanish steel group Sidenor in a move that will give it partial control of Brazilian specialty steelmaker As Villares and a foothold in the European market.
Gerdau is the largest producer of long steel in the Americas with operations in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay and the US.
UK's largest operating windfarm officially opens
The largest operating windfarm in the UK has been officially opened today in Lanarkshire. The Black Law windfarm has 42 turbines Scottish Power made an application in May 2002 for Scottish Ministers consent to construct and operate a windfarm at Black Law near Forth in Lanarkshire. The proposal was approved in February 2004. It has been operational since July 2005 and there are plans to add a further 12 turbines to the site.
Enterprise Minister Mr Nicol Stephen said: "This remarkable project has helped regenerate this landscape, transforming an old open-cast coal-mine into a development providing clean, renewable energy. It symbolises our determination to turn Scotland into a powerhouse of renewable energy. We have set the target that, by the end of this decade, 18% of electricity generated in Scotland should be from renewable sources, rising to 40% by 2020.
Kazakh steel production down 17% in 2005
Kazakhstan produced 4.452 million tonnes of steel in 2005 down by 17.1% from 2004, a source in the Kazakh State Statistics Agency told.
According to the statistics, last year production of flat roll amounted to 3.195 million tonnes down by 20.9%, including 221,655 tonnes of tin mill products which were down by 24.2% and 605,941 tonnes of galvanized steel down by 20.4%.
Production of ferroalloys in 2005 increased 5.7% to 1.53 million tonnes.
Indonesia expects companies to raise output for coal
Indonesia expects local mining companies to mostly raise output for metals and coal this year, as prices will likely remain firm, an official from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said. The government also expects investment in the mining sector in 2006 to rise to $931 million from $880 million last year, said Mr Mahyudin Lubis, director of mining and coal enterprises. "Most of investments will be used in the construction of new mines and to increase production capacity," Mr Lubis added. "There will be five new companies that will start production this year and some existing companies have completed their expansion capacity," Mr Lubis said.
Data from the ministry show the government expects Indonesia's nickel output this year to rise 6.5% on year to 83,600 metric tons from an estimated 78,490 tons. Tin output is expected to rise to 66,000 tons, from a projected 65,300 tons in 2005. Gold production is expected to rise 9% to 142.20 tons from an estimated 130.62 tons in 2005. Copper output, however, is expected to remain almost unchanged at 1 million tons, from an estimated 1.041 million tons last year. Coal production is expected to increase 11.8% to 159.74 million tons, from an estimated 142.92 million tons due to an expansion in capacity.
Inco announces extension of its offer for Falconbridge
Inco Limited announced that it intends to extend the date that its offer to acquire all of the common shares of Falconbridge Limited will remain open for acceptance to February 28, 2006. Inco intends to issue a formal notice of extension to Falconbridge common shareholders by the end of next week. The offer was previously extended in December 2005 so that it was to have been open for acceptance until January 27, 2006.
This latest extension is intended to provide additional time to obtain the required regulatory clearances for this transaction from the US Department of Justice and the competition authorities in Europe and Canada.
These clearances are needed to complete one of the remaining conditions of Inco's offer and enable Inco to be in a position to take up and pay for Falconbridge common shares tendered to the offer.
Schnitzer Steel appoints new CFO
Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc has appointed Mr Gregory J Witherspoon as Chief Financial Officer of the Company effective January 9, 2006. Mr. Witherspoon had served as Interim Chief Financial Officer of the Company since August 23, 2005.
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