SAIL inks MoU with IL&FS for SPV for Salem SEZ

Steel Authority of India Limited has signed a MoU with IL&FS’s Infrastructure Development Corporation for formation of a special purpose vehicle to develop, operate and maintain a steel sector Special Economic Zone at Salem in Tamil Nadu. The MoU proposes that while SAIL will provide land, IIDC will provide advisory and other related services for the SEZ. Mr AK Jain ED corporate planning of SAIL and Mr DK Mittal CMD IIDC signed the MoU.

SAIL and IIDC will hold equity shares in equal proportion in the proposed SPV, which will be formed within one month to initiate the process of development of the SEZ. The application for approval of the SEZ shall be submitted shortly to the government of India. It is likely to be considered by the Board of Approvals of the Ministry of Commerce in the month of October 2007.

The SEZ is to be developed in an area adjacent to SAIL's Salem Steel Plant. SAIL will play the role of lead anchor by providing customized steel products to prospective units in the SEZ which could be set up to manufacture architectural facades, railway applications, dairy plants, chemical & pharmaceutical plants, machines for the food processing industry, tubes and pipes, auto component and panels for lifts etc.

SAIL would gain from the proposed venture in the form of likelihood of assured demand for a part of SSP's stainless steel production, which is going to increase significantly after commissioning of planned facilities under SAIL's growth plan. In addition, SAIL would receive the benefits allowed to an SEZ developer in the form of land lease rentals, tax concessions and earnings from provision of services to the SEZ.

IIDC is a wholly owned subsidiary company of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited, an investment banking institution, and is engaged in advisory and project development activities across diverse sectors. It specializes in providing integrated and comprehensive professional services towards development of infrastructure projects, from conceptualization to implementation.

TATA Steel aims to become benchmark in safety standards

It is reported that TATA Steel is aiming to catch up with the industry benchmark safety standard of a loss time injury frequency rate of 0.4 set by its Australian partner BlueScope Steel.

TATA Steel, which entered into a MoU with DuPont Safety Resources in October 2004 for implementing world class safety practices at its steel plants and mines, was able to bring down its loss time injury frequency rate from 2.54 in 2004 to 1.01 in 2006 and at present it is less than 1.

Mr HM Nerurkar COO steel of TATA Steel said that it is still not satisfied with its safety achievements and would like to improve upon its records at the earliest. Mr Nerurkar said that "Safety and more importantly, our attitude towards it, is what the challenge is for the next century and we cannot really wait for the next 99 years." He added that TATA Steel has already started its journey with DuPont and it didn't have much time, as it needed to become a benchmark organization in safety very quickly.

As per report, recently acquired Corus also follows BlueScope's benchmark loss time injury frequency rate of 0.4 and appointed DuPont Safety Resources as a consultant in the field of safety in 2001. It is reported to be doing a better job on the safety front. The report cited Mr Stan Booth chief of safety of Corus as saying that “Corus has so far only one fatal accident in 2007 with loss time injuries being between 16 to 20 each month. It is a tremendous improvement in the company's performance over the 7 year period.”

Transporters call for lifting ban on iron ore movement in Bellary

It is reported that Uttara Kannada district Lorry Owner's Association has appealed to Mr Munish Mudgil deputy commissioner to lift the ban on the transportation of iron ore to Karwar and Belekeri ports from Bellary Hospet area of Karnataka and a decision is likely in the coming week.

A delegation of lorry owner told Mr Mudgil that the ban was imposed by the district administration till September 10th 2007. Mr Madhav Naik, who led the delegation, said that many lorries owners had raised loans from financial institutions to purchase lorries. He said that in view of this, district administration should lift the ban and open National Highway 63 for lorries for transportation of iron ore.

In the view of ban the association had reached an agreement with Konkan Railway Corporation to carry iron ore laden lorries in goods trains to Mangalore port from Ankola railway station under roll in and roll out system. But this arrangement had proved to be inadequate since the trains could carry only 120 lorries a day where as over 3000 lorries had been operating everyday to transport the iron ore.

Jharkhand to amend mineral rules to curb illegal mining

IANS reported that Jharkhand government is in the process of finalizing a law to curb illegal mining in the state and hopes that the new rules will not only prevent illegal mining and smuggling but also help in generating resources.

Jharkhand government had last month cleared the Jharkhand Minerals Dealers Rules 2007, which make it mandatory for mineral companies to be registered with the state mineral department and hopes to generate around INR 2 billion a year in taxes and royalty from registered dealers. The rules will be sent to the assembly for approval.

Mr Jai Shankar Tewary secretary of mines & mineral department, government of Jharkhand said that "The new rules will put the brakes on illegal marketing and smuggling from the state. At present, the mineral department does not have any idea about the stock of minerals with dealers."

Mr Tewary said that state government looses revenue as coal, bauxite, iron ore and other minerals are smuggled outside the state. He said that “The new rules will empower government officials to inspect and verify stocks and minerals purchased by dealers. Dealers can be fined and punished if found violating rules.”

Finance minister calls for adopting PPP route for infrastructure projects

Mr P Chidambaram union finance minister has called for increased investment in infrastructure, raising it to 8% of the GDP from 4.6% now, to sustain a growth rate of 9% during the 11th Plan.

Mr Chidambaram, while addressing the Parliamentary Consultative Committee, said that “This could be achieved if states vigorously pursued projects under the public private partnership model. Since the investment requirements are enormous and can not be met by the public sector alone, it is imperative to explore avenues for increasing investment in infrastructure through a combination of public investment, public private partnership and occasionally, through exclusive private investments wherever feasible.”

He called the state governments to adopt the public private partnership model for infrastructure development by taking advantage of the various schemes and initiatives offered by the finance ministry.

Mr Chidambaram said that "Our infrastructure deficiencies have become more visible because of high growth. The most visible indicators of overstretched infrastructure are India’s congested highways, airports and ports." He added that besides, the appraisal mechanism for public private partnership projects had been streamlined to eliminate delays, adopt international best practices and have uniformity in appraisal mechanism and guidelines.

The Planning Commission had estimated that infrastructure development would need an investment of about INR 14,50,000 crore during the 11th Plan. To meet the 11th Plan growth targets, India would need to develop 40,000 kilometer of highways by 2012, increase cargo handling capacity at ports from 737 million tonnes to 1,500 million tonnes, maintain the momentum of growth in freight traffic and passenger traffic at 8% to 9% annually and enhance power generation capacity by 60,000 MW.

Update on modernization of coalmining operations in India

Dr Dasari Narayana Rao union minister of state for coal recently informed the lower house of Indian Parliament that modernization of coal mines in India is a continuous process and Coal India Limited has been taking initiatives in modernizing their mines.

Dr Rao informed that there are 468 mines in CIL of which 283 are underground mines, 149 are opencast mines and 36 are mixed mines having both underground and opencast operations. He said that all 149 opencast mines are mechanized and out of 283 underground mines 197 are mechanized and of the remaining 86 underground mines, 66 mines have been identified for mechanization in next 5 years.

Dr Rao informed that all the opencast mines are being planned with mechanized operations and wherever it is feasible the workings of underground mines are being mechanized replacing manual loading operations. He said that mass production technologies like deployment of continuous miners and power supported longwall operations are also being adopted for improving production, productivity and safety of underground workings. Dr Rao informed the details of modernization or mechanization planned for next 5 years as under

* These mines are already mechanized and further mechanization is planned

Goa barge owners aim to transport 44 million tonnes of iron ore

NT News Service reported that Goa barge owners have set a target to transport 44 million tonnes of iron ore in the current year through inland waterways as against 40.4 million tonne in 2006. The report cited Mr Atul Jadhav president of Goa Barge Owners’ Association as saying that that there are 250 barges operating in Goa with the floating tunnel capacity of 0.375 million tonnes.

Mr Jadhav said that the export of iron ore in Goa was affected due to the damage to the ship loader at berth number 9 of Mormugao Port Trust and requested the state government to open the marine industrial estate and also to come up with more marine regional plans which would help in developing marine employment in Goa. He also said that the state of Goa could be a global hub for constructing ships. He also stressed the need to develop the roads and railways, which according to him would increase the transportation of iron ore from the state.

Mr Jadhav informed that the Goa government had earned revenue of INR 20 crore during 2006 from the export of iron ore in form of duty on iron ore besides port dues including license and survey fees.

Captain Braganza informed that during last year, the GBOA exported around 11 million tonnes iron ore from Panaji port. He stated that the construction of jetty at Britona and the work of extension of jetty at Captain of Ports would be taken up soon. However, he said that the Old Goa jetty would be constructed by Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation. He further informed that the process of providing bunker facility for the barges was on. In North Goa, the bunkers would be installed near River Navigation Department, Betim, while in South Goa, the bunkers would be provided near Borim Bridge in River Zuari.

Tamil Nadu approves 4 merchant power plants

It is reported that Tamil Nadu government has approved the setting up of 4 merchant power plants along the coastline with a total generating capacity of 6,000 MW.

The projects that have been approved are
1) UDI Infrastructure - 2,000 MW at Cuddalore
2) Tridem -2,000 MW at Nagapattinam
3) Coastal Gen -1,000 MW at Tuticorin
4) Free City -1,000 MW at Manappadu near Tuticorin

The four projects have to go in for competitive bidding for the equipment and fuel supply and their tariffs have to be approved by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission if they sell power to the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board.

Merchant power plants, unlike other power plants that sign power purchase agreements with utilities, compete for customers and absorb the full market risk. It caters to different uses in the market. They do not have long term power purchase agreements with a single buyer. Instead, they can commit a certain percentage of their capacity to such agreements and sell the balance generation in the open market to whoever needs the power at that particular time. With open access of the transmission lines now available and power trading possible, the merchant power plants can sell electricity to registered power traders, who will in turn identify buyers for the power.

Union power ministry has been trying to encourage merchant power plants across the country as a means to create additional generating capacity. Merchant power plants up to a capacity of 1,000 MW will be provided coal linkage and captive coal blocks may also be provided to such plants with capacities ranging from 500 MW to 1,000 MW.

Petronet may set up 1500 MW gas based power plant at Dahej

BL recently reported that Petronet LNG Limited may seek board approval for setting up a 1500 MW gas based power plant at Dahej in Gujarat at an investment of approximately INR 6,000 crore. The proposed power plant would use approximately 1.5 million tonne of LNG as feedstock.

The report cited Mr P Dasgupta MD & CEO of Petronet as saying that “We have already appointed an international consultant to conduct a pre feasibility study on the synergic diversification to power generation. The report will be available in September 2007. We are planning to approach the board for its initial approval in October 2007.”

He added that the project would be taken up on Petronet’s balance sheet as a captive power plant. This would enable the company to avail itself of the fiscal concessions. Setting up the backyard is also necessary for optimal usage of available resources.

Petronet has set 2008 deadline for doubling the capacity of Dahej terminal to 12.5 million tonne out of which it has already secured supplies of approximately 9 million tonne including the 1.5 million tonne supply made to Ratnagiri power. As per report, Petronet has sets a target of June 2008 for firming up long term LNG supply deal with a strategic partner, which may be offered 10% stake through USD 100 million zero coupon foreign currency convertible bonds.

Petronet is now holding negotiations with consortia creating approximately 150 million tonne liquefaction capacities in Australia, Algeria and Nigeria. Mr Dasgupta said that “It is imperative that we have to look forward to the countries where fresh capacities are coming up in the foreseeable future. We are not looking forward to picking up stake in any liquefaction facility.”

New loco units in Bihar to start production in 2 years

Mr VN Mathur member traffic of Railway Board while, while outlining the details of the 11th Plan which projects requirement of 1,800 electric locos, said that work on the proposed new production unit for electric locos at Madhepura and wheel set factory at Mehrora in Chapra of Bihar would be taken up soon.

Mr Mathur informed that short listing of companies is being done by the Railway Board and that both Madhepura and Mehrora projects are expected to be completed within two years.

Mr Mathur, while speaking to newspersons after flagging of 5 Chittaranjan Locomotive Works developed locos WAG 7 5000 hp versions for both freight and passenger traffic fitted with ergonomically designed driver friendly cabs, said that even as steps are being taken to augment the current electric loco production capacity of Chittaranjan Locomotive Works from 200 to 250 by 2009-10.

He said that there is a need for an additional plan for electric locos, having fully absorbed the modern three phase electric locomotive technology into the system.

China plans less changes in export taxes to stabilize markets

Shanghai Securities News reported that China’s ministry of finance would reduce the frequency with which it releases new policies to further adjust export tax rebate, in an effort to maintain a stable policy framework on foreign trade.

It added that since the beginning of 2007, a slew of policies, such as the integration of income tax rates for domestic and foreign funded enterprises, strengthening macro management of the realty market, and new policies on tariff rebate and processing trade have been launched to encourage Chinese enterprises to improve competitiveness, upgrade export structure, and curb the trade surplus. In particular, tax rebates for more than 2,800 export items were either eliminated or reduced on July 1st 2007 impacting a lot of export oriented processing enterprises in economic development zones.

The sources said that the frequent export tax rebate adjustment went against a stable policy framework. As a consequence, there will be only a few minor modifications to national policies in future.

Russian coal exporters buying own rail wagons

Reuters reported that Russian coal exporters are scrambling to buy thousands of rail wagons because a chronic shortage of those provided by state rail monopoly RZhD has disrupted their exports.

The report cited an official of major exporter KRUTrade on the sidelines of a McCloskey coal conference in New Delhi as saying that "The rail wagon shortage is the biggest problem facing Russian coal exporters, aside from port capacity restrictions.”

He added that "The industry needs about 22,000 wagons to flow smoothly but there are probably only about 17,000 in use. Many of RZhD's wagons are decades old and in such poor condition that they are shaken apart, shedding chunks of metal into their coal cargoes the source of contamination found in un cleaned Russian coal. Wagons are not being replaced as fast as RZhD scraps them.”

In addition, wagons sent into Ukraine to deliver Russian coal to ports such as Yuhzny are being retained by the Ukrainians. There are too few wagons of the right size and track gauge in Ukraine and it is easier to pay a fine to RZhD for prolonged use than to buy them.

Chengde aims to become the global leader in vanadium

It is reported that Chinese Chengde Vanadium & Titanium Chengde aims to achieve integrated utilization of vanadium and titanium resources to become a global market leader in Vanadium. It also set up a vanadium trading company at Beijing in June 2007 with Pangang Steel & Vanadium.

Chairman of Chengde Vanadium and Titanium said the global vanadium output is around 100,000 tonnes and Chenggang accounts for 16,000 tonnes. In the future, its output will account for over 50% of the totals in the country and some 20% of the totals around the world.

Chengde has high Fe contented vanadium and titanium reserve of 220 million tonnes and it discovered low Fe contented vanadium and titanium magnetite reserve of 8 billion tonnes in recent years. At present, Chengde area produces ore powder of 27 million tonnes per year and consumes about 5 million tonnes in the region with remaining for selling outside.

At present, Chengde Vanadium and Titanium has formed capacity to produce vanadium pentoxide, vanadium trioxide, 50 ferrovanadium, 80 ferrovanadium and vanadium oxide. During the H1 of 2007, it produced vanadium slag of 55,200 tonnes, merchant vanadium pentaoxide of 684 tonnes, 50 vanadium titanium of 2,660 tonnes and sold to over 20 countries and regions including the USA and Europe, accounting for about 80% of market share in the world and 35% in China. It achieved sales revenue of CNY 6.422 billion having increased by 48% YoY, gross profit of CNY 302 million up by 13% YoY and net profit of CNY 190 million up by 26% YoY.

DGCX outlines that steel futures would benefit industry

It is reported that Dubai Multi Commodities Centre sees that its launch of steel rebar futures contract will bring diverse benefits to steel producers, contractors, traders and investors considering the enormous price fluctuations in steel products and the absence of a mechanism for hedging and arbitrage in the region for steel.

Mr John Short executive director of Steel and Base Metals at the Dubai Multi Commodities Center while addressing a recent conference in Dubai said that steel is not a traditional commodity but a series of products with regional markets, many of which do, in fact, exhibit commodity market behavior. Mr Short said that in East Africa, Red Sea and Arabian Gulf, the rebar market is well correlated to the Dubai rebar price and that additional products such as rod, merchant bar and billet are also well correlated with physical market value of all these steel products being USD 15 billion. He said that price volatility is in the range of 15% to 20%.

Mr Short said that “In view of these facts, the steel contract to be launched assumes special significance. Dubai rebar price is a highly significant one in trade flows from the Black Sea across Asia to China and down to the Mediterranean, Dubai is the point where these two trade flows converge.”

Mr Bin Sulayem executive chairman of DMCC and Director of its joint venture initiative, the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange said that "Dubai is the single largest rebar import market and the GCC is becoming the largest billet import market. In this context, DGCX Rebar Futures are applicable not just to Dubai rebar, but to trade and industry hedgers of any price correlated steels along these trade flows. It is perfectly legal to use the insider knowledge of those involved in the steel supply chain for investing purposes. Unlike the region's equity markets, you can go long as well as short on the futures contracts, meaning that you can buy now and sell later or sell now to buy back later, depending on your view on future price situations.”

Chinese province wise finished steel production in 8 months

Chinese finished steel production during August 2007 is reported to be 48.273 million tonnes up by 23.7% YoY and 366.971 million tonnes during January to August 2007 up by 24.1% YoY.

Hebei province of China, with 9.314 million tonnes of crude steel production in August 2007 and 70.206 million tonnes in January to August 2007 remained the leader, accounting for 19% of China’s total finished steel production.

Another highlight is that 4 provinces including Hebei, Jiangsu, Shangdong and Liaoning accounted for more than 48.7% of China’s total production.

The production figures of finished steel for various provinces is as under

(In million tonnes)

(Sourced from MySteel.net)

Interpipe to expand seamless capacity by 43% by 2011

Interfax reported Ukrainian pipe and wheels company, Interpipe plans to expand capacity for production of seamless pipes by 23% to 1.4 million tonnes by 2009 and by another 20% to 1.675 million tonnes by 2011.

The report further added that Interpipe also plans to expand capacity for production of welded pipes by 15% to 550,000 tonnes in 2009 and by another 23.6% to 680,000 tonnes in 2011.

Journal Staff reported that Interpipe plans to invest about USD 760 million to update its plants in 2007 - 2009, up by 5.5% from USD 720 million planned earlier.

Taigang phases out 480,000 tonnes of BF capacity

It is reported that global SS leader Taiyuan Iron & Steel Group Co lately dismantled two 330 cubic meter blast furnaces, which had been in service for 67 and 20 years respectively. The removed furnaces with a designed production capacity of 480,000 tonnes per year had made a cumulative iron output of 15 million tonnes. This follows elimination of the six 20 tonnes electric furnaces in August 2007.

A spokesman of Taigang said the two furnaces made great contribution to the group's development, but they are no longer suitable for further evolution. In steady, removing the two can reduce 4.5% energy consumption in iron making process and emit 139 tonnes less smoke & dust and 17.4 tonnes less sulfur dioxide per year.

From the 10th five year period, Taigang has forced out backward steel making capacity of 800,000 tonnes and steel rolling capacity of 1 million tonnes. Since 2006, the company started eliminating 4.3 million coking ovens and 20 tonnes electric furnaces.

Taigang is the world's largest stainless producer, generating steel of 4.561 million tonnes and sales income of CNY 449 billion in H1 of 2007.

(Sourced from MySteel.net)

Jinling Mining to acquire Zhaokou iron ore mine

Shenzhen listed Shandong Jinling Mining Co Ltd announced that it is planning to issue up to 50 million new A shares in order to acquire the Zhaokou Iron Ore Mine from its parent company.

ArcelorMittal SA risks higher fine if it appeals - Report

South African media reported ArcelorMittal SA has been advised to reconsider its decision to appeal a record fine of nearly BRR 700 million (USD 95 million) imposed by the Competition Tribunal as a group of local steel users may institute a class action that could see damages of BRR 20 billion being claimed.

Ms Jean Maijer a lawyer for Harmony Gold told radio business program MoneyWeb Power Hour that she would not be surprised if a group of steel users did n0t get together and bring a class action against Mittal Steel SA. She submitted that the damages caused by Mittal Steel SA's pricing continue every year and they need to think very carefully about the possible damages claim that they could see in the long run.

ArcelorMittal in a statement said that "The company will consider the judgment with its advisers and assess its full impact. The initial finding of the Competition Tribunal on the merits of the matter is already subject to appeal to the Competition Appeal Court. It will evaluate whether we also wish to appeal against the present decision on the penalty and remedies. If we do so, the appeals will be consolidated."

Mr Rick Reato CEO of ArcelorMittal SA said that "We feel that the ruling is not appropriate for a number of reasons, not least that this was the first time in this country a ruling has been made on what constitutes excessive pricing. We are being judged against an entirely novel approach to that concept.”

He added that “In addition, in January 2006, we moved our pricing model away from Import Parity Pricing to a system based on a basket of domestic prices from a range of international markets, thereby benefiting our customers by in excess of BRR 500 million in 2006 alone."
SA Competition Tribunal recently imposed the fine of BRR 691.8 million as part of its remedial actions after it found in March 2007 that Mittal Steel SA was guilty of anti competitive practices.

SinoSteel may seek dual listing in 2008

Beijing Business Today recently reported that Chinese SinoSteel Corporation is preparing for a possible dual listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong next year to raise USD 1.5 billion. It added that the detailed listing plan is yet to be decided.

The newspaper citing a company source said that the proceeds from the initial public offering would be used to fund the company's resources exploitation.

As per report, Bank of China International Holdings Ltd, JP Morgan Chase Co and Swiss Bank Corporation will be the underwriters.

SinoSteel's businesses cover metallurgical mining resources exploitation and processing, metallurgical raw materials and products trade and logistics, as well as related technical support and equipment manufacturing. It is poised to rank among the Global 500 by 2010 as it boosts its presence in a number of exploring projects, plentiful investment funds are urgently needed.

SinoSteel also recently opened a representative office at Adelaide in Australia to develop a uranium mine named Crocker Well at Broker Hill in South Australia. The mine will have a production capacity of 6 million tonnes of uranium, which is expected to generate revenue of AUD 95 million annually.

Indonesia Power to reopen coal tender in October

The Jakarta Post reported that a subsidiary of Jakarata state owned electricity utility PLN, PT Indonesia Power plans to reopen the tender in October for the procurement of 2.5 million tonnes of coal to feed its 3,400 MW Suralaya power plant in West Java.

Mr Ahmad Sadikin director for production of Indonesia Power said that it was most likely that the price would exceed IDR 400,000 (USD 43.47) per tonnes following the sharp increase in coal prices on the global market.

As per report the previous tender in June 2007 failed as it proved impossible to reach a deal on pricing with the suppliers holding out for higher prices. Indonesia Power had set a price ceiling of IDR 350,000 per tonnes of coal.

It needs 14 million tonnes of coal in 2008 of which 6 million tonnes will be supplied by PT Bukit Asam Batubara and 2.5 million tonnes by the winner of the tender, with the remainder to be secured on the open market. Indonesia Power also gets coal supplies from PT Kideco and Berau Coal JP.

Nucor lowers Q3 earning guidance due to soft market

Nucor Corporation recently announced that earnings for the July to September quarter are expected to be in the range of USD 1.10 to USD 1.15 per diluted share. By comparison, Nucor earned USD 1.14 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2007 and had record earnings of USD 1.70(1) per diluted share in the third quarter of 2006.

Nucor said that “Its third quarter earnings continue to be significantly impacted by numerous factors including continued softness in the sheet markets and the increasing costs of some raw materials. This softness continues as a result of demand softness in the automotive and residential construction markets, including appliances and HVAC. On the supply side, while the latest data suggests a strong slowing of imports in August, stubbornly high imports through the first seven months, particularly from China, continue to impact both pricing in the marketplace and customer inventories. While both imports and inventories are down significantly from their peaks, they did not fall far enough during the end of the second quarter and through the midpoint of the third quarter to support improving pricing opportunities during the third quarter.”

Nucor added that “On the positive side, we see price realizations improving during the fourth quarter on sheet and holding their own on most other mill products. The possible exception is bar products where we may see some compression of margins due to the uncertainty in the market regarding the future direction of the economy and increasing woes in the residential housing, automotive and financial markets. Nucor's earnings continued to benefit in the third quarter from our diversified product portfolio, with very strong contribution from our bar, beam and plate operations, as well as good performance from a number of our downstream businesses.”

Nucor had not previously issued numerical guidance for the third quarter but had given qualitative guidance in the second quarter earnings release and the quarterly conference call similar to that achieved in the first half of 2007.

MCC inks a deal with Taigang for supplying nickel pig iron

It is reported that the trading unit of China Metallurgical Group Corp has recently signed a long term contract with Taiyuan Iron & Steel to supply nickel pig iron from September 2007.

MCC has 800,000 tonnes per year nickel pig iron plant in Hubei province, producing nickel pig iron with metal content of 3% to 4% and imported over 100,000 tonnes of nickel ore in July 2007 alone.

Taiyuan's monthly nickel metal consumption already reaches 1500 tons at the moment. It also reportedly clinched a deal with MCC in developing mineral resources overseas, but the details are not available yet.

MCC has formed a joint venture in early August with three other Chinese companies to develop the Ramu nickel project in Papua New Guinea.

(Sourced from MySteel.net)

BMZ steel output up in January to August up by 4.4% YoY

It is reported that Byelorussian Steel Works has increased its production of steel during January to August 2007 by 4.4% YoY to a total of 1.54 million tonnes as compared to January to August 2006 period.

Byelorussian Steel during January to August 2007 produced 1.2 million tonnes of rolled products up by 5.3% YoY, 187,200 tonnes of hardware up by 16.9% YoY. The latter includes metal cord, bead wire, wire for high pressure hoses and other kinds of wires. During the period it also increased commodity output by 7.5% YoY as compared to same period of 2006, manufacturing BYR 1.9 trillion worth of merchandise, all in all. Byelorussian Steel increased export by 38.6% to a total of USD 873.7 million.

BMZ aims to increase its sales by 29.5% YoY in 2007 and its crude steel production is expected to rise by 6.3% YoY to 2.27 million tonnes.

Byelorussian Steel Works was founded in 1984. It is a major exporter shipping its make to over 50 countries across the globe. Merchandise export accounts for more than 85% of the company’s output. BMZ specializes in cast sections, rolled sections, profiled iron, reinforcing bars, metal.

Steel Industrial Company to setup service center in Tyumen

FIS reported that Russian CJSC Steel Industrial Company started the implementation of two major investment projects tentatively called construction of Tyumen's first service metal center and improvement of metal trade level in Russia’s Ural region.

Steel Industrial Company said that the concept of the service metal center includes the arrangement of the production premises of the total area of over 9000 square meters and purchase of modern hi tech metal processing equipment.

Magang starts mining Luohe iron ore

China’s Anhui Daily reported that Luohe iron mine was officially put into operation to back up Magang's expansion by providing the ore material continuously. As a large scale underground ore deposit, Luohe mine contains proven reserves of 500 million tonnes grading 35.15% Fe on average.

In order to ease tight iron ore supply and raise self sufficiency, Magang signed an agreement with Lujiang Longqiao Mining Co etc to jointly develop Luohe mine. It held 55% shares in the JV.

According to the report, the project is to carry out in two phases, phase 1 is to explore 3 million tonnes with total investment estimated at CNY 1.56 billion, phase 2 to involve 6 million tonnes to 8 million tonnes.

Fuyun Jinshan commissions phase 1 of DRI plant

Xinjiang Daily reported that Chinese Xinjiang Fuyun Jinshan Mining & Metallurgy Co held a ceremony September 6th 2007 to celebrate operation of phase 1 of the 2 x 150,000 tonnes per year direct reduction iron making project as well as startup of constructing the second phase.

Fuyun Jinshan also invested CNY 150 million to start the second phase, which is designed to form 300,000 tonnes capacity next year. In 2009, it will further build a 300,000 tonnes per year such project and further prepare for a 500,000 tonnes per year special steel item then.

Fuyun Jinshan Mining & Metallurgy Co is one of the large size enterprises embarking on ore mining, dressing, smelting and power generation. Its direct reduction iron making project boasts largest scale and most advanced equipment of its kind in China.

(Sourced from MySteel.net)

NLMK bags Best HR Department prize in Russia

It is reported that Novolipetsk Steel has been awarded the prize for The Leading Socially Responsible Company at the annual All Russian competition The Best Human Resources Department in Russia, which brought together nearly 6000 companies and organizations. At the ceremony held in the House of Unions in Moscow the company received the award as The Leading Socially Responsible Company in Russia 2007.”

A panel of experts, represented by the Russian Council of Federation, the State Duma, governmental bodies, educational institutions, the Academy of Labor and Social Relations and the Pleakhanov Academy, evaluated the professionalism of human resources managers, the efficiency of the company’s human resources strategy and the development of educational and advanced training systems for employees.

This is the second year that NLMK has participated in this competition and once again the company’s implementation of its human resources policy has been recognized by highly respected experts.

AK Tube receives safety award

It is reported that AK Steel subsidiary AK Tube LLC has received the Safety Award of Merit from the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International of Rockford. The award recognizes companies that provide a safe work environment for employees.

According to data compiled by The American Iron and Steel Institute AK Tube's 2006 illness and injury incidence rate was 1.48 compared to the tube and pipe industry average of 8.3. Last year the plant was approved for participation as a star site in the Indiana Dept of Labor's Voluntary Protection Program, which indicates employee programs that exceed OSHA requirements. It added that the total injury rate for AK Steel was 10 times lower than the industry average.

In addition to Columbus, AK has a facility in Walbridge in Ohio. It manufactures electric resistance welded, carbon and stainless steel tubing for various applications including automotive and truck exhaust.

Thai Banpu may delay Indonesia unit IPO

Reuters reported that Banpu PCL might delay the initial public offering of its Indonesian unit to the first quarter of 2008 due to the global credit squeeze.

Mr Chanin Vongkusolkit CEO of Banpu PCL said that "It may be delayed slightly. The timing should be within the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of next year. The US subprime problem has had some impact." He added that Banpu, which had planned to raise up to USD 150 million from the PT Indo Tambangraya Megah IPO in the second half of this year, would decide the timing in the next month or two.

He also added that the planned IPO would reduce Banpu's 95% ownership of Indo Tambangraya Megah, which operates four coalmines in Indonesia and is exploring two more areas to 80%.