June, 24 2006
TATA Steels smelter in Richard Bay gets environmental approval
TATA Steel has been given environmental clearance by KwaZulu Natal's provincial government to build a ferrochrome smelter in Richards Bay Town of South Africa after a provincial government concluded that its construction would not cause any environmental damage.
Mr Gabriel Ndabandaba minister of agriculture and environment affairs of KwaZulu Natal said that their department had studied all the objections in detail and found that the environment would not be affected in any way. He said that After giving careful consideration to the objections, I have reached the conclusion that if anything, sulphur dioxide and particulate emission exceedences are progressively reducing from the period 2004 to date. I am satisfied that the proposed Tata Steel project will not have an adverse impact on the health of the Richards bay community."
Three organizations Richards Bay Clean Air Association, Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa and Groundwork were opposed to the proposed construction on Alton North in Richards Bay saying that it would aggravate the pollution in the town.
POSCO admits that they came to India only for iron ore
POSCO India has clearly threatened Orissa government that it may pull out of its proposed $12 billion investment plans for setting up a 10 million tonne plant in India unless it is granted exclusive access to iron ore mines. Mr Jeong Tae Hyun deputy MD of POSCO India said "We came to India for the iron ore and will go forward with the plan only if we are given a captive mine. That was our main condition and continues to remain so.
Overenthusiastic Orissa state government had agreed to lease to 600 million tons of iron ore mines to POSCO but central government has not cleared the proposal. It is reviewing the country's mining laws to take a broader view and is reported to be considering granting preference to mining companies rather than steel mills, which are in the race for grabbing iron ore mines just by announcing massive investment plans.
Mittal Steel Jharkhand demands iron ore guarantee to start work
Mittal Steel Jharkhand has asked for a letter of comfort from Jharkhand government with assurance of supply of requisite iron ore for its proposed 12 million tonnes steel plant in the state.
Mr Sanak Mishra CEO of Mittal Steel Jharkhand said "We have asked the Jharkhand government to provide us with the Letter of Comfort assuring us of providing iron ore required for our Greenfield project in the State within two months, from the Chiria mines after sorting out nitty gritties with the Centre."
Mr Sanak Mishra made it clear that they were unable to commence its work for the steel plant unless the state government extended the said assurance. He said "Any delay in providing the Letter of Comfort only adds to further delay in commencing work for the said plant entailing time delays coupled with cost overruns."
Orissa government allots land to POSCO India
Amid threats from POSCO India and controversies from various quarters, Orissa government has allotted about 1,135 acres of litigation free government land in Paradeep to POSCO India.
It is reported that the Jagatsinghpur District Magistrate sanctioned 1,135 acres of government land to the state owned Infrastructure Development Corporation of Orissa Ltd, which in turn issued a demand notice towards payment of the cost of the land to POSC India. On receipt of payment from POSCO India a lease agreement would be signed within 10 days.
This land allocation covers only part requirement of POSCO India and some of the balance land requirement is under dispute as villagers do not want t give up their land.
Bronx to supply 2 CR finishing lines to JSW Steel
Bronx India has announced that JSW Steels Limited has placed order for supply of 2 high end CR finishing lines for their Vijayanagar facility in Toranagallu. Project will be completed within 12 months.
The lines will have a production capacity of 350,000 tonnes per year, depending on the product mix and will have a maximum speed of 300 meters per minute.
These lines will undertake de coiling, tension leveling, electrostatic oiling and re coiling of the coils with latest inspection facilities to improve quality of CR coils to meet quality requirements for premium segments including auto and white goods.
Coal ministry refutes coal shortage blame for power shortfall
Union coal ministry has refuted power ministry's claim that the dismal performance of a 25.6 billion unit power shortfall was due to short supplies of thermal coal from CIL. Coal secretary Mr HC Gupta has sent a letter to power secretary Mr RV Shahi and others refuting their claim.
Mr Gupta stated that power utilities like PSEB, TNEB, Panipat Thermal Power Station and NTPC's Badarpur unit have been asking for reduction of coal supplies due to build up of coal stocks in their plants and that coal stocks at power stations are up from 10 million tonnes on April 1 2005 to 17 million tonnes on April 1 2006. The pithead stocks at the collieries are also at their highest levels up from 21 million tonnes on April 1 2005 to over 32 million tonnes on April 1 2006.
Mr Gupta said that some of the dedicated coal mines linked to power stations are facing a danger of pithead stocks catching fire due to the failure of power stations to lift committed quantities. He stated that "Power stations should be advised not to deliberately opt for self regulation of their inventories... so that at no cost, generation is adversely affected."
Mr Gupta informed that coal supplies to power plants were 282.3 million tonne during 2005-06 as against 275 million tonne during 200-05. An also that power utilities also imported over 9 million tonne of thermal coal.
Jharkhand alleges partiality in coal blocks allocation
Jharkhand has blamed that the Union coal ministry is not giving Jharkhand its due share while allocating coal blocks and is favoring other states although Jharkhand requires bigger coal blocks due to proposed steel and power projects in the state.
Mr Madhu Koda Jharkhand mines and geology minister told FE that "Jharkhands own industry is on the verge of closure for want of coal. Coal blocks with Central Coalfields Ltd kept listed for captive use in the future are being allotted to other states."
Jharkhand CM Mr Arjun Munda is reported to have met coal ministry o to lodge his protest against what he called injustice being meted out to the state.
BHEL bags 2 contracts for hydel power plants from APGenco
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd has bagged two contracts worth about Rs 82 crore from the Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation. The contracts entail the supply and setting up of electromechanical equipment for two Hydro Electric Projects in Andhra Pradesh the 50 MW Greenfield Nagarjunasagar Tail Pond Dam and the 9MW Sriramsagar expansion project.
BHEL has been assigned the design, engineering, manufacture, supply, testing and supervision of the erection and commissioning of turbines, generators and other associated equipment. The turbines and generators will be manufactured at the company's Bhopal plant while its electronics division in Bangalore will supply the static excitation equipment.
PSMC privatization Supreme Court cancels deal
A 9 member bench of the Pakistans Supreme Court on Friday struck down the privatization deal of the Pakistan Steel Mills. The court in a unanimous verdict cancelled the governments Letter of Acceptance and Share Purchase Agreement with the successful bidders and referred the matter to the Council of Common Interests. It also directed the federal government to make the CII functional within six weeks to finalize policy issues.
The bench said in its ruling that the privatization process had been "vitiated by legal violations by state functionaries, including acts of omissions and commissions". It said that the government was giving "extra benefits to the successful bidders". It said that the transaction had caused the government a loss of Rs 18 billion. The government had also accepted an Rs 15 billion liability to pay workers under the Golden Handshake Scheme.
The verdict said "We hold that the establishment and working of the Council of Common Interest is a cornerstone of the federal structure for the protection of the rights of the federating units. This important institution is not functioning at present. We direct the federal government to do the needful expeditiously but not later than six weeks."
Mittal Steel says that agreement with Arcelor is close now
Mittal Steel said that it's close to buying Arcelor SA. Mr Sudhir Maheshwari of Mittal Steel said "Talks are ongoing and constructive and some parts of the offer in principle have been agreed.''
Mr Frederic Plisson a fund manager with Financiere de l'Echiquier in Paris, which oversees $1.9 billion in assets including Arcelor shares, said "Now it's just a question of a little bit more money.''
Mr Luc Scheer a spokesman for Arcelor in Luxembourg declined to comment.
Rio Tintos IOC Canada reaches price settlement with ThyssenKrupp
Rio Tinto PLC announced that The Iron Ore Company of Canada, in which it has a 58.7%, has reached agreement with ThyssenKrupp Steel AG on prices for Carol Lake iron ore pellets and concentrates for 2006.
The price of Carol Lake Acid Limestone iron ore pellets will decrease by 3.5% from 2005 levels to 115.86 cents per natural metric tonne unit. Pellet products account for about 80 pct of Iron Ore's production.
The price of Carol Lake iron ore concentrate will increase by 17.3% from 2005 levels to 78.25 cents per natural metric tonne unit.
Choo Bee sees higher demand for steel products
Malaysian Choo Bee Metal Industries Bhd expects a better performance in the steel industry next year which will result in a higher demand for its products. The forecast is based on the increase in steel prices globally.
Mr Simon Soon MD projects an increase in the demand for steel products arising from the double allocation of RM12.1 billion for the water sector under the Ninth Malaysia Plan. He said "This augurs well for Choo Bee; we expect to see an increase in demand for our products in all sectors."
He said "We see the demand for water pipes picking up towards the end of this year and an increase in demand for our structural hollow sections in the construction sector. And within two years we should be able to supply our products to the oil and gas sector."
Mr Soon also said that the group also expects its steel production capacity to increase from 60,000 tonnes to more than 80,000 tonnes annually with its new plant in full operation since December last year. The plant, located near the company's existing plant in Pengkalan, has a capacity to produce 160,000 tonnes of steel products annually. Choo Bee's two other factories are in Tasek and Menglembu.
Arcleor-Mitsubis South African service center JV gets EU approval
The European Commission has cleared a JV between Arcelor and the UK arm of Japanese trading company Mitsui & Co. The joint venture was cleared under the commission's simplified procedure. This clears deals automatically after one month if no third party complains.
The new company, called AMSA Steel Service Centre Pty Ltd, will be a steel processing and service company in Durban, South Africa. The new company, AMSA, will begin operations in 2007, and is projected to process 120,000 tons of steel per year.
Arcelor will own 65% of the venture and Mitsui will own 35%. The raw materials for the processing plant will be shipped from Europe and Brazil.
Siemens bags SS line equipment order from Thainox
The Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services (I&S) Group has received an order from Thainox Stainless of Thailand to supply the automation and drive systems for a new stainless steel cold rolling mill. The project encompasses the basic automation as well as all the main and auxiliary drives. The new cold rolling mill is scheduled to start production at the end of 2007.
Siemens is supplying the power distribution equipment, the main and auxiliary drives as well as the flatness measurement and control system. The plant will be equipped on the basis of the Siroll SCM automation solution for reversing rolling mills. The main drives of the roll stand and the two reversing coilers will be controlled with the help of DC link converters of the type Sinamics SM150. Flatness will be measured by the contact less Siflat system: the entry and the exit sides will each be fitted with a measuring system with integrated strip-edge detection. The associated flatness control system is also part of the scope of supply.
With an annual production of 200,000 metric tons and a market share of over 60 per cent, the Thainox Group is the leading manufacturer of cold rolled stainless steel in Thailand. Thainox is expanding its factory in Rayong by adding a Sendzimir reversing cluster mill. The new cold rolling mill will be erected by an international consortium headed by the French company DMS, Seclin.
Mycron to raise CR output by 20% 2006 end
Malaysian Melewar Industrial Group Bhd expects the RM120 million expansion of its Mycron Steel Bhd's plant in Shah Alam to increase its output of cold rolled coil by 20% to 145,000 tonnes by the end of this year from 120,000 in 2005. On completion of expansion in December next year it would achieve capacity of 260,000 tonnes of CRC.
Mr Tunku Ya'acob Tunku Abdullah MD said that Mycron, together with other CRC manufacturers in the country, would need to step up production as 60% of the local CRC demand was still being met via imports. He also said the closure of many inefficient Chinese mills meant that companies needed to keep sufficient inventory to cater to demand.
Mittal Steel gets 0.2% of Arcelor's shares tender so far
Mittal Steel said that shares representing 0.2% of Arcelor were tendered to its takeover bid as of June 22. The offer closes July 5.
Mittal Steel in a statement to the Spanish regulator said 1.25 million shares and no convertible bonds of Arcelor were tendered at the close of European stock markets.
The offer opened on and closes on July 5th
Vietnam to import of 1.5 million tonne of steel scraps
Vietnam Steel Association said that Vietnam needs to import 1.4 million to 1.5 million tons of steel scraps annually in the coming years, as some new steel makers in the country are coming on stream. Most of local steel producers use steel scraps for production. The domestic demand for steel scraps is estimated at 2.2 million to 2.3 million tons per annum with local supplies amounting to 800,000 tons.
Vietnam imported nearly 2.1 million tons of steel billets and finished steel products in the first five months of 2006, posting respective YOY decreases of 6.4 percent and 17.8 percent.
PSMC Privatization Opposition demands resignation of government
Welcoming the Supreme Courts decision to cancel the Pakistan Steel Mills privatizations on Friday, opposition leaders said that the court has exposed the true picture of the privatization process to the nation.
Mr Raja Zafrul Haq chairman of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Mr Raja Pervez Ashraf secretary general of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and Mr Liaquat Baloch deputy parliamentary leader of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal said that the president, the prime minister and all other responsible for the deal should resign immediately. They demanded accountability of all those involved in the scam.
PSMC Privatization Sale likely through public offering
The government has decided to facilitate the privatization of the Pakistan Steel Mills by public offering through the stock market, following the suspension of an earlier deal for the company by the Supreme Court on Friday.
A source in the Privatization Commission said "PSM shares will now be offered to the public through the market. The major concern for the government is the transparency of the entire process to regain public confidence."
However, the source said that the process was in its planning stage and would be implemented only after approval from the ministries of finance and industries and production.
Russian minister expresses concern over Russian phobia
Mr Viktor Khristenko Russian industry and energy minister expressed concern that the situation surrounding the merger of Arcelor and Severstal is getting complicated.
He told journalists in Minsk "I really hope that this major deal will take place in the end. What I would like to see least of all in this situation is signs of Russo phobia in relation to a maturing Russian economy, which is starting to enter the markets of other countries."
He said that "There have been some developments suggesting that Russian companies are being barred from entering global markets. Russian companies entering global market is exactly what Russia has been seeking and what other countries have sought."
Russia increases coal production by 6.7% during January to May
Russia increased coal production 6.7% YOY during January-May 2006 and 8.3% YOY to 24.36 million tonnes in May. The Industry and Energy Ministry said that 69% of the coal was mined in the Kuznetsk and Kansk-Achinsk coal basins.
Russian coal exports grew 16.3% YOY in the five months to 36.13 million tonnes. Domestic market sales grew by 4.6% to 84.9 million tonnes, including growth of 6.2% to 41.3 million tonnes to power stations but a drop of 4.7% to 16.4 million tonnes to steel mills. Sales to households, utility providers and farms fell by 5.6% to 10.9 million tonnes.
ThyssenKrupp Service Acier starts new slitting line for auto segment
ThyssenKrupp Service Acier, a French subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Stahl Service Center GmbH, has begun operation of a new slitting line at its Fosses plant in France t process high strength steel
The line can process steels with strengths of up to 1,400 mega Pascals and was installed in response to increasing demand from automotive customers for high strength steels. These materials can be used to build lighter cars with lower fuel consumption. More than 65% of ThyssenKrupp Service Acier's production is supplied to automotive OEMs and suppliers in France.
Dr Jost A Massenberg member of the ThyssenKrupps board said "The French market is of strategic importance for ThyssenKrupp Steel. We are underlining this by our investments in the processing and distribution of our steels by ThyssenKrupp Service Acier."
ThyssenKrupp Service Acier was founded by the merger of the two steel service centers Coste SA and Laminoirs et Ateliers de Jeumont SAS. In Fosses ThyssenKrupp Service Acier operates two wide slitters and a slitting line for narrow strip. In addition to the site at Fosses, it has a second plant in Jeumont on the border with Belgium. The Jeumont plant has two wide slitters, two narrow strip slitters, a cut to length line and an edging machine for processing slit strip edges.
The ThyssenKrupp steel service center group has six processing operations and two associate companies in Germany plus facilities in the UK, France and Spain. There are plans to establish further sites in Eastern Europe.
Strike ends at Drummond's La Loma coal mine in Colombia
US coal miner Drummond and Colombia's national mining and energy union Sintramienergica have reached an agreement to end the 32 day strike at the company's La Loma mine with mediation by the social protection ministry.
The deal will last for two years and includes an 8% pay raise in the first year and an additional 1.5% on top of the consumer price index in the second year. The agreement also includes social loans and other financial benefits.
The strike has affected operations at the company since May 22, when talks collapsed. As a result of the strike, coal exports were down by approximately 75,000 tonne per day over the 32 days of the stoppage. The company's figures also indicate that the stoppage generated daily losses of $2.4 million for the country, 5.4 billion pesos for contractors and distribution companies, 900 million pesos in royalties and 731millio pesos in salaries and provisions.
Singapore Tin Industry starts production
Singapore Tin Industries Ltd, a JV between the worlds largest tin refiner Yunnan Tin Co and Singapores KJP International was commissioned yesterday. STI is expected to produce around 20,000 tonnes in its first year and ramp up production to 36,000 tonnes during the next year.
Mr Petrus Tjandra director f STI said "Next June, we expect to produce 36,000 tonnes per year. Maybe we are in the top five in the world."
STI is also planning to build a smelting plant in Bangka with PT Bangka Global. Mr Tjandra said "Its a local company which has a mining license in Bangka. They contribute the mining license and we contribute the technology and financing."
Severstal may revise Arcelor bid again analysts
Analysts said that Mr Alexei Mordashov, keen to expand his steel empire beyond Russia, may consider making another revised bid for a share in Arcelor should his latest offer be rejected. Mr Mordashov was not immediately available to comment and Severstal spokeswoman Ms Olga Antonova declined to comment.
Mr Kirill Chuiko UralSib Bank analyst said "If Mittal Steel's bid tips the scales in his favor, the only thing Mr Mordashov can do is put more cash on the scales. At this stage it is just a matter of bargaining and of Mr Mordashov's personal aspirations."
Mr Vadim Makhov Severstal Group's deputy general director on Russian television said "Mittal Steel has launched an aggressive PR campaign. They have been working on this deal for four months, while we have worked for only one. Our main problem is a lack of time."
Mr Vladimir Zhukov senior metals and mining analyst at Alfa Bank said "He is changing from a big fish in a small pond to a small fish in a big pond. He's willing to accept a passive role, which means that what he's driven by is not a consolidation motive but long term security. In the back of all Russian oligarchs' minds is the risk of their assets being taken from them. It's not that this risk is high it's probably marginal but it's a thought that everybody has."
