SAIL BSL coke battery No 5 starts after rebuild

Mr Ram Vilas Paswan union minister for steel, chemicals & fertilizers, dedicated to the nation the coke oven battery at Steel Authority of India Limited’s Bokaro Steel Plant.

The five meter tall Battery no 5 has been successfully rebuilt by MECON Limited on EPC basis with all pollution control facilities to meet stringent emission norms as stipulated by Indian ministry of environment and forests.

The scope of work included design, engineering, manufacture, inspection, supply, erection, testing at site, trial runs, heating up and commissioning. To meet the pollution norms stipulated by Government of India and to maintain healthy operational practice, several unique features like Air Cooled diaphragm type doors with spring loaded latches, water sealed ascension pipe lids, computerized combustion control system and process automation etc have been implemented in the battery. To improve the life and performance of the battery, MECON has innovated in house designs in certain systems.

PEB makers plan to form an association

It is reported that India's Pre Engineered Buildings manufacturers are planning to form an association which would make efforts to promote the merits and usage of PEBs in the country.

Mr Chetan Toila CEO of TATA Bluescope JV said that the association is likely to be modeled after the Institute for Steel Development and Growth, which strives to expand the use of steel in the domestic construction industry.

He said that "Earlier most PEB manufacturers used to campaign the causes of better value by using PEB techniques. Over the past few months, individual efforts have been put together to form an association to promote the industry with concerted efforts."

Pre Engineered Buildings has started in 1999-2000 with a meagre volume of less than 10,000 tonnes per annum, PEB construction is catching up fast and about three lakh tons of material was produced in the last fiscal. There are only a few players engaged in PEB buildings manufacturing in India.

Ramsarup expect Durgapur project to start soon

It is reported that Kolkata based Ramsarup Industries is set to commission its special grades wires facility in Durgapur soon.

The new unit, Ramsarup Nirmaan Wires, will be producing low relaxation pre stressed concrete wires with an installed capacity of 36,000 tonne a year. These specialized wires are treated though a thermo mechanical process that controls relaxation leading to reduction in both steel requirement as well as concrete usage.

Mr Ashish Jhunjhunwala CMD of Ramsarup Industries said that "The unit will produce high carbon and special grades of wires to meet the needs of the infrastructure sector. During the first phase, around 55,000 tpa of wires would be produced, for which the entire set up has been imported from Italy. The company is targeting to produce 0.6 million tonne a year."

India to import record Nickel this year

It is reported that increasing consumption of stainless steel in the wake of India’s construction and economic boom may force the country to import more nickel this year.

The Indian Stainless Steel Development Association expects a rise of 10% to 15% in nickel imports. Mr NC Mathur president of the Association said India will buy nearly 50,000 tonnes of the metal this year. He said India’s construction boom is driving the nickel import output. India had imported 40,000 tonnes of nickel last year.

Mr Mathur said that the annual stainless steel consumption in India is expected to expand by about 12% in 2008 from about two million tonnes now.

Indian industry uses two thirds of nickel to make stainless steel and the country does not produce the metal. Majority of India's consumption is of low nickel content stainless steel which use 1% to 4% of the base metal.

Global consumption of nickel is expected to rise 7% to 1.34 million tonne in 2006. This may further go up to 1.38 million in 2007. Global production is estimated to be 1.32 million tonnes in 2006 and is likely to reach 1.37 million in 2007.

Sukinda chromite mines in Orissa leading to poisoning

SNS reported that Sukinda chromites mine in Orissa is becoming main threat to the lives of local people as over 0.275 million people in the are have suffering from some form of chromium poisoning because of the untreated water discharged by the mines into the Damasala river. Sukinda contains one of the largest open cast chromite mines in the world.

The report cited a local miner as saying that “Drinking water is a major problem for us. The water here is contaminated and we are all contracting diseases by consuming it. Untreated water is discharged by the mines into the Damasala river the only source of water we consume daily. If we tell our boss he will suspend us from our job.”

Mr Bidyadhar Mohanty a social activist said that “Twelve mines continue to operate without any environmental management plans in the Sukinda Valley. Over 30 million tons of waste rock is spread over the surrounding areas and the Damasala and the Brahmani riverbanks. Untreated water is discharged by the mines into the rivers and over 3 lakh people are suffering due to water contamination.”

A recent study conducted by the US based Blacksmith Institute has pointed out in its report that chromite mine workers residing in the Sukinda valley are constantly exposed to contaminated water and other forms of pollution. The study highlights the fact that despite technological advances, mining and unregulated industrial production continues to be key pollution agents as far as Sukinda chromite zone is concerned. The report also says that the area is also flood prone, resulting in further contamination of the water.

Meanwhile, Mr LN Patanaik chairman of state pollution control board said that “The report by the US based Institute does not hold much water. There is no doubt about the fact that the Sukinda chromite valley is obviously a polluted site. But the valley is not ranked among the four top polluted areas in the world, as reported in the study report by the Blacksmith.”

Record unloading of HR steel coils at Kandla Port

Exim News Service reported that a record 30,863.42 tonnes of hot rolled steel coils were discharged in less than 24 hours from the vessel mv Great Summit at Kandla Port.

Of the total, about 4,000 tonnes were discharged by the shore crane belonging to AV Joshi, with the balance unloaded by the 4 vessel cranes. The importers of the cargo, which was loaded from Shanghai port in China, were PSL Ltd with 14,132 tonnes and Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohern Limited with 16,730 tonnes.

Facilitating this achievement as vessel agent was Parekh Marine Agencies Private Limited. While the stevedoring was handled by Chotalal Premji Stevedores Private Limited, the charterer was Korea’s Samsun Logix Corporation.

According to a Parekh Marine release, this achievement was possible due to the coordinated efforts of the Kandla Port authorities, port labor, importers and transporters.

CIL subsidiaries suffer production loss

Coal India Limited has reported a production loss of 12.32 million tonnes between April 1st 2007 and September 18th 2007 with 6 of its 8 subsidiaries suffering major losses during this period. Among the subsidiaries, Mahanadi Coalfields Limited and Eastern Coalfields Limited have suffered the most with a shortfall standing at over 67% of the total loss at 8.33 million tonnes.

The CIL subsidiaries, which suffered production loss, are

Volumes in million tonnes

The only 2 subsidiaries who maintained production were Northern Coalfields Limited, achieving 24.32 million tonnes as against target of 23.99 million tonnes and South Eastern Coalfields Limited, achieving a figure more than the target of 38.88 million tonnes by 0.28 million tonnes.

Meanwhile, ministry of coal had convened an urgent meeting on how to tackle the problem. Coal pithead stocks were currently in the region of 25 million tonnes. Coal India could fail to meet demand this year if the trend persisted. Ministry of coal and CIL officials were caught off guard by the decline in production.

CIL set a target of 385 million of production in 2007-08 as against a country wide demand of 474 million tonnes. CIL last year produced 363 million tonnes of coal as against a target of 425 million. The deficit was met by imports and other coal producing units like Singareni and captive mining.

Fastener units call for mechanism to check steel prices

It is reported that Chandigarh Industrial Fasteners’ Association has appealed to Mr Ram Vilas Paswan union minister for steel to set up a price regulatory mechanism for iron and steel products. CIFA felt that a price regulatory mechanism would ensure that the main producers maintain status quo in prices for at least 6 months so as to help the SSIs from collapsing.

Mr AL Aggarwal president and Mr Pradeep Aggarwal secretary of Chandigarh Industrial Fasteners’ Association after a visit to Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and holding talks with the management on regular supply of MS wire rods and rounds to industrial fasteners based in Chandigarh said that they were very much impressed with the facilities at VSP. However they said that they were hit hard due to regular increase in the prices of iron and steel products and felt that the industry would benefit a lot if some mechanism were evolved to fix the prices.

They said the prices were being revised upward every month resulting in greater instability in the market and the small scale units in particular find it very hard to cope with the variation of prices regularly since they were having orders for fixed period of six months to one year.

As per report, Chandigarh has 350 to 400 fastener units consuming 8,000 to 10,000 tonnes wire rod and 4,500 to 6,000 tonnes MS rounds per quarter.

SCI floats 4 JVs for shipbuilding, dredging and offshore services

It is reported that Shipping Corporation of India has floated 4 JV companies for its proposed foray into shipbuilding, container terminal operation, dredging and offshore services and is in final talks with South Korean Hyundai Heavy Industries for its shipbuilding JV.

It has signed up with Mediterranean Shipping Company, along with 2 other public sector majors namely Container Corporation of India and Central Warehousing Corporation, for setting up container terminals. Though the consortium is yet to be formed, the three PSUs will jointly hold 50% stake, while the remaining will be held by Mediterranean Shipping Company and group companies.

Adani Power awards Mundra Power plant contract to Shandong Power

It is reported that Adani Enterprises Limited’s subsidiary Adani Power Limited has awarded a turnkey contract for setting up the second phase of the proposed 2,640 MW coal based power plant at Mundra to Shandong Electric Power Corporation of China.

Adani Power Limited is now implementing phase I of the project involving setting up of 1,320 MW coal based units. The project is implemented on a non turnkey basis and is slated to be commissioned in a phased manner beginning 2008.

In the second phase, Adani Power Limited proposed to set up 2 X 660 MW generation capacity plants, which is expected to be implemented in 2011. It has entered into an engineering procurement and construction contract with Shandong Electric Power Corporation in early September 2007.

Adani Power Limited has already secured open cast coal mining right in a block in Indonesia. The mining activity will be synchronized with the commissioning of the phase-I of the power project. Adanis are one of the largest third party importers of coal in India.

893 small hydro power projects completed in JK

Mr Vilas Muttemwar union minister of state for non conventional energy sources informed the lower house of Indian Parliament that Jammu and Kashmir will have 1000 Micro Hydro Projects for increased electricity access. 967 Projects have been completed so far, of which 893 have been handed over to the village community or State administration.

The implementation of this project started in 2005-06 under the reconstruction plan for Jammu and Kashmir. The implementation of this project is being done through the Army.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy supports the deployment of small hydro projects upto 25 MW station capacity for which it provides central finance assistance.

CIL MCL to focus on social development in Orissa

It is reported that Coal Indian Limited’s Mahanadi Coalfields Limited wants to give the organization a new shape both in business and social sector.

Mr Ramji Upadhyay new CMD of MCL said “Profit and a stable business is the prime aim of any Public Sector Unit. But MCL has also got the alacrity for socio economic development of the people of Orissa and areas adjoining the mines.”

Mr Upadhyay said within a fortnight of joining MCL, he has prioritized three points privilege, safety, production and productivity, dispatch and profitability with a view to compete the current competitive world market. These are necessary because we want to see MCL as the flag bearer in the entire Coal India Ltd. Gradewise MCL is not at par with the other subsidiaries of CIL, still it is the largest profit maker of CIL.”

Mr Upadhyay said “Orissa possesses one fourth of the total coal deposits of the country. Hence, an effort can be made take by both MCL and the state as whole a whole to a new height.”

Klöckner & Co expands in the US by acquiring ScanSteel

Klöckner & Co AG’s US subsidiary Namasco Corporation announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire the steel distribution business of ScanSteel Service Center Inc of Jeffersonville at Indiana in USA. Namasco Corporation said that ScanSteel presents an ideal enhancement to the distributor Action Steel, also from Indiana and acquired last year, strengthening the competitive position of Namacso in the Midwest of the US.

With 17 employees, ScanSteel specializes in the distribution and prefabrication of pipes, flat steel and construction steel. In 2006, it generated approx EUR 7 million in sales. The full product range supplier delivers to a broad range of customers of the construction, plant and machinery manufacturing as well as agricultural sectors.

Dr Thomas Ludwig chairman of the board of management of Klöckner & Co AG said that “The acquisition of ScanSteel makes it clear that we are driving the regional consolidation. Having expanded our distribution network to Indiana through the acquisition of Action Steel, the targeted expansion of our regional presence is achieved by this acquisition of ScanSteel. Altogether, we now have 30 warehouses available in North America.”

Klöckner & Co is the largest independent producer and distributor of steel and metal products in the European and North American markets combined. The core business of the Klöckner & Co Group is the storage and distribution of steel and non ferrous metals.

CISA sees down turn in iron ore price in 2008 due to weak demand

China Iron & Steel Association official gave a projection, in a recent steelmaking raw materials conference held in Yinchuan, that global iron ore supply and demand looks set to move towards better equilibrium next year and prices would therefore fall back.

Mr Luo Bingshen deputy director of CISA predicted that global iron ore supply would reach 1.972 billion tonnes in 2008 while the iron ore demand is estimated at 1.958 billion tonnes. He said that “This would lead to an excessive supply of some 14 million tonnes Meanwhile, steep iron ore price has fuelled up furious investment across the world. It is expected that global seabrone ore trade would add 80 million tonnes this year as iron ore export is to rise 35 million tonnes from Australia and 30 million tonnes from Brazil. And a host of new mines are expected to come on stream in next couple of years.”

Mr Zou added that “By contrary, global iron ore demand is weakening as a result of slowdown in worldwide steel output and demand growth. Global pig iron output growth rate is expected to slip 2% this year, which would result in slower iron ore consumption growth. He added that China's steel industry growth has been mainly driven by external demand instead of internal demand and hectic export growth would be temporary. Therefore, China's iron ore demand would take a nosedive once its steel export growth retreats.”

(Sourced from MySteel.net)

EU issues preliminary ruling against Chinese coke import

It is reported that the European Union issued a preliminary ruling on September 19th 2007 determining to exercise minimum price measure on import of China origin coke pieces with size larger than 80mm. Customs code of concerned material is 27040019 and the duration will last for six months as of September 19th 2007.

All Chinese materials with net landed price lower than EUR 227 per tonne should pay temporary duty equivalent to the disparity with the minimum price, while those with net landed price equal to or higher than EUR 227 per tonnes will not be charged.

European Union chose US as a substitute nation for determining the reasonable price of coke in the preliminary ruling process. And only one Chinese enterprise answered the questionnaire issued by the European Commission, no one filed for market economy status.

(Sourced from MySteel.net)

Pallinghurst demands break up fee from ConsMin

Australia Consolidated Minerals Ltd said the Pallinghurst consortium has demanded that it pays a breakup fee of AUD 10.8 million. The demand comes after the manganese miner's board on September 13th 2007 withdrew its recommendation of the Pallinghurst bid in favor of a sweetened AUD 1.03 billion takeover offer from Palmary Enterprises Ltd.

A person close to the consortium said that but the break fee demand does not indicate that Pallinghurst has withdrawn from the takeover battle. He said that "The Pallinghurst offer is still open and capable of acceptance; it still stands. The break fee is payable on a change of recommendation, so it is good practice to get money when it is due."

Earlier Palmary has offered AUD 4.50 a share, beating its previous bid of AUD 3.95 and topping Pallinghurst's offer of AUD 4.1. its proposal contains an unusual top up mechanism, which will see investors who have accepted its offer receive extra payments to match higher rival bids. The consortium, which has a 6.2% stake in Consolidated Minerals Ltd has extended its offer to September 22nd 2007.

Ferrexpo looking for partners for Ukraine iron ore mines

It is reported that Ferrexpo has started looking for a partner to help it build new iron ore mines in Ukraine as part of its aim to more than double its current production.

Mr Mike Oppenheimer CEO of the mining group said it had already planned to double its output of iron ore and iron ore pellets by 2014, but now we are looking at opportunities to be more aggressive.

Mr Oppenheimer said only a small portion of the Poltava ore body had so far been exploited. We are not limited by resources we are sitting on iron ore it's a question of how quickly we can get new projects up and running. Ferrexpo could fund some of the expansion itself, but if we want to push this forward aggressively we need assistance, financially and operationally.”

Mr Oppenheimer said the group is in the very early stages of contact with a variety of different parties that could invest in the Poltava expansion projects and was especially interested in partnerships with companies that can plan and execute big capital projects.

Ferrexpo produced 14.4 million tonnes of iron ore in the first half of the year, which it turned into 4.7 million tonnes of iron ore pellets which are used in steelmaking. Revenues rose 39% to USD 328 million, while pre-tax profits increased threefold to USD 54.5 million thanks to a production increase and higher prices.

China shuts down 18.4 million tonne capacity in H1

China's National Development and Reform Commission announced that the China shut down 18.4 million tonnes of iron and steel production capacity in the H1 of 2007 to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua in April 2007, the China's 10 major steel manufacturing regions originally pledged that by this year end, 22.6 million tonnes of iron production capacity and 8.7 million tonnes of steel capacity would be closed in Beijing and nine provinces including Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Liaoning.

China hopes to phase out 100 million tonnes of antiquated iron capacity and 55 million tonnes of steel making capacity by 2010 in order to save 50 million tonnes of coal equivalent and 100 million of water and reduce 400,000 tonnes of sulfur dioxide emissions yearly.

Global scrap trade in 2006 and H1 of 2007

UK based Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau reported that International trade of ferrous scrap, which fell by 4% YoY in 2005 to 90 million tonnes, saw steady trade in 2006 and estimated only a very small fall of around 1% for 2006 in full.

The major exporters with their 2006 totals and year on year changes were

In million tonnes

The major importers with their 2006 totals and year on year changes were

(In million tonnes)

The report further added that Russian fall in 2006 was partially due to a harsher than normal winter but is also due to increasing domestic production by both BOF & EAF routes as reflected in Severstal's recent acquisition of 1.1 million tonnes per year scrap merchant Vtorchermet. Russian EAF production increased by 1.5 million tonnes in 2006. Its Demand from increasing EAF capacity is likely to place a strain on world scrap supplies until emerging economies begin to generate significant scrap of their own.

Available figures for 2007 show increases in exports from USA up by 44% YoY, Russia up by 18% YoY, Germany up by 25% YoY and France up by 9% YoY, Japan down by 6% YoY and the UK down by 19% YoY recorded falling exports.

Available figures for 2007 show increases in imports by Italy up by 6%YoY, South Korea up by 17% YoY and Germany up by 27% YoY. Falling imports are shown by Turkey down by 3% YoY, Spain down by 24% YoY and China down by 57% YoY.

SDI decides to move ahead on Mesabi nugget plant

Steel Dynamics Inc announced that it is moving forward with the Mesabi Nugget iron making project at Hoyt Lakes in Minnesota and that the State of Minnesota is participating in the project’s financing.

This plant will be the world’s first commercial iron making facility to use the ITmk3® process, an iron nugget production technology pioneered by Kobe Steel Ltd, which Kobe Steel is licensing to the venture. The project will involve the construction of a USD 235 million iron nugget manufacturing facility utilizing iron ore concentrate, coal and natural gas. Annual iron nugget production capacity is expected to be 500,000 tons. Although preliminary construction activity has begun at the Hoyt Lakes site, full construction of the iron making operation is not expected to commence until later this year, following the completion of financing and satisfactory resolution of permitting issues.

Subject to completion of final project financing arrangements, Steel Dynamics intends to invest USD 85 million in equity in the venture and to hold an 81% equity interest, while Kobe Steel plans to invest USD 20 million in equity for a minority equity stake of 19%.

Mr Tim Pawlenty governor of Minnesota announced that the state has approved USD 26.5 million in non recourse financing for the project. Earlier, Iron Range Resources and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development had announced their support for the project.

Steel Dynamics anticipates that substantially all of the iron output from the planned nugget plant will be consumed in SDI’s mini mills. The company believes that this new business will be capable, at a favorable cost, of providing to its steel mills a domestic source of iron units that are of equal or higher quality than purchased pig iron. In time, additional nugget production facilities could be constructed at the site.

Steel Dynamics also announced that its board of directors has approved an additional initiative related to the Mesabi Nugget facility which is currently in the planning phase. The company plans to develop an existing iron mine on the Mesabi Iron Range and to construct a facility for concentrating iron ore. The company intends to purchase or lease land on the Mesabi Iron Range in Minnesota that is expected to provide a long term supply of iron ore. In the future, the company plans to process the iron ore and use it as raw material feedstock for the nugget plant. In total, the cost of this venture is estimated to be USD 165 million. Operations could begin in late 2009 or early 2010, assuming the timely issuance of permits. The company expects to fund approximately USD 65 million in equity related to this project and will be the sole owner.

ArcelorMittal urges postponement of iron ore deal

Ukrainian journal reported that ArcelorMittal has urged Ukraine to postpone selection of an investor for the development of a major iron ore deposit until after the September 30th 2007 election.

In making the request, Arcelor Mittal is apparently trying to prevent the signing of an agreement between the Ukrainian State Property Fund, the country’s privatization agency and a Russian Ukrainian mining consortium that had been previously named the investor.

Billet prices in Persian Gulf to increase

YIEH reported that billet price is expected to raise in Persian Gulf in the next few weeks. The main reason of that is tight supply on deformed bar this made raw material prices to increase. Until now, the import price of billet in Persian Gulf is between USD 570 to USD 580 per tonnes.
China’s billet import has reduced since the Persian government increased the export tax; therefore more and more imports were come from CIS and America. On the other hand, suppliers are under pressure from higher freight.

Aramco to build 585 kilometer long gas pipeline in Saudi Arabia

It is reported that Saudi Aramco has signed a contract with Suedrohrbau Saudi Arabia Ltd for the installation of 585 kilometer of 30 inch natural gas liquids pipeline as part of Saudi Aramco’s project to expand the capacity of its Shedgum Yanbu NGL pipeline.

This contract is the final major contract relating to the Khurais field development a 1.2 million bpd crude oil increment that is part of Saudi Aramco’s program to increase its maximum sustainable crude oil production capacity to 12 million barrels per day by year end 2009.

Mr Al Juwair said that "In addition to providing critical additional expansion to the Shedgum Yanbu pipeline, this project also will inject over USD 500 million into the Saudi economy directly as 70% of the material will be provided by in Kingdom vendors."

The Shedgum-Yanbu Pipeline Expansion Project is part of Saudi Aramco’s ongoing capital investment program that will increase the company’s ability to provide gas as fuel and feedstock to customers throughout the Kingdom. This is particularly critical as the demand for ethane and NGL in Saudi Arabia’s western region increases.

Clough secures coalmining contract in Orissa

It is reported that Clough has secures USD 48 million Indonesia coal contract through its Indonesian subsidiary PT Petrosea Tbk. Petrosea will work with client PT Ilthabi Bara Utama to perform works for the Pakar Coal Development Project an open cut coal line in central East Kalimantan.

The project team will be responsible for the design, procurement and construction of the mine infrastructure facilities including haul road, stockpiles and materials handling facilities at both the mine and river port locations. Clough in a statement said it expects work on the project to be completed by June 2008.

Mr John Smith CEO of Clough said this latest contract award demonstrates the continued success of the company in relationship contracting. He said “Across the Clough group, the majority of our work is won or extended on the basis of good relationships with clients, and in this case it’s pleasing to see Petrosea develop an alliance with a new client, which we believe bodes very well for this project and future operations.”

The Pakar Coal Development has a proven and probable coal reserve of 274 million tonnes and overall coal resources are approximately 3.3 billion tonnes.

NASA invents liquid coating to reduce corrosion of rebars

Inorganic coating materials are being developed to slow or stop corrosion of reinforcing steel members inside concrete structures. It is much simpler and easier to use these coating materials than it is to use conventional corrosion inhibiting systems based on impressed electric currents. Unlike impressed electrical corrosion inhibiting systems, these coatings do not require continuous consumption of electrical power and maintenance of power supply equipment. Whereas some conventional systems involve the use of expensive arc-spray equipment to apply the metallic zinc used as the sacrificial anode material, the developmental coatings can be applied by use of ordinary paint sprayers.

A coating material of the type under development is formulated as a liquid containing blended metallic particles and or moisture attracting compounds. The liquid mixture is sprayed onto a concrete structure. Experiments have shown that even though such a coat resides on the exterior surface, it generates a protective galvanic current that flows to the interior reinforcing steel members. By effectively transferring the corrosion process from the steel reinforcement to the exterior coating, the protective current slows or stops corrosion of the embedded steel. Specific formulations have been found to meet depolarization criteria of the National Association of Corrosion Engineers for complete protection of steel reinforcing bars embedded in concrete.

This work was done by Louis G. MacDowell of Kennedy Space Center and Joseph Curran of Dynacs Inc. This invention is owned by NASA, and a patent application has been filed. Inquiries concerning nonexclusive or exclusive license for its commercial development should be addressed to the Technology Programs and Commercialization Office Kennedy Space Center.

A coating of this type can be applied thick enough to afford protection for ten years or longer. The coating can easily be maintained or replaced to ensure continued protection of the reinforcing steel for an indefinite time.

The costs of protecting structures by use of these coating materials are expected to be less than the costs of protection by most conventional methods. Typical costs of installing impressed electric current systems range from USD 10 to USD 30 per square foot as per prices as of year 2000. After installation, these systems incur additional costs of electrical power, inspection, and maintenance. The costs of installing sacrificial systems based on thermally sprayed zinc typically range between USD 10 to USD 20 per square foot. Like the present developmental systems, sacrificial zinc systems require very little maintenance once they are installed.

Another type of sacrificial system involves the use of zinc sheet and electrically conductive glue. The costs of installing these systems typically range from USD 8 to USD 18 per square foot. These systems also require very little maintenance after installation. Both this and the preceding sacrificial zinc system have been said to offer 10 year life expectancy. However, according to NACE, pure zinc coats on concrete structures provide only partial protection because of their low driving voltages. Upon exposure, the zinc can become passivated, such that during dry weather, it does not supply protective current to steel rebar.

The costs of protecting structures by use of the developmental coating materials have been estimated to range from USD 5 to USD 9 per square foot.

Minmetals unit buys rights to SA chrome mine

Reuter reported that a unit of Chinese state owned trading firm Minmetals Group had won approval to buy exploration rights to a South African ferrochrome deposit for USD 6.5 million(ZAR 5.7 million).

Minmetals in a statement to the Shanghai stock exchange said that it would buy the rights deposit from Mission Point and Versatex.

Minmetals is gradually assuming the steel related assets of its parent, as part of a larger restructuring of the mining and metals trading firm. It earlier also bought its parent's stake in a medium steel plate maker in the northeast city of Yingkou in Liaoning Province.

Chinese firms are investing world wide to secure raw materials to feed an economy that has grown by over 10% in 2006. China imports over 90% of the ferro chrome consumed by its booming stainless steel industry.

OmniSource to upgrade Toledo steel scrap processing location

Platts reported that US based scrap processor OmniSource plans to invest approximately USD 9 million to replace the shredding operation at its Detroit Avenue location at Toledo in Ohio.

OmniSource announced that the revamped operation will ensure increased metals recovery and produce a high quality shredded steel product for regional steel mills.

OmniSource, founded in 1943 to supply scrap metal during World War II, has grown to be one of North America's largest scrap recycling firms. Headquartered in Fort Wayne, the company has 42 processing facilities and handles more than 6 million tons of ferrous scrap and 900 million short tons of nonferrous metals annually.

Chelyabinsk Group pipe sales up by 18% YoY in 8 months

Interfax reported that the ChTPZ Group boosted its pipe sales during January to August 2007 to 1.309 million tonnes up by 17.8% YoY. Chelyabinsk Pipe Rolling Plant increased sales by 17.3% YoY to 717,500 tonnes of pipes in the eight months, including 401,300 tonnes of large diameter pipes up by 26.5% YoY.

In August 2007, the Chelyabinsk plant reduced overall pipe sales 19.7%YoY to 85,500 tonnes. Large diameter pipe sales fell by 15.5%YoY to 45,300 tonnes in August 2007. The ChTPZ Group's Pervouralsk Novotrubny Pipe Works from the Sverdlovsk region raised pipe sales by 18.5%YoY in January to July 2007 period to 591,500 tonnes including 85,400 tonnes in August 2007 up by 8.4%YoY.

ChTPZ Group includes Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant, Chelyabinsk Zinc Plant, pipeline bend producer ZAO ChTPZ Integrated Pipe Systems, metal traders MeTriS and Tirus and scrap recycler ZAO ChTPZ Meta. The Luxembourg registered Arkley Capital manages the ChTPZ Group's assets.

Nikopol suspends shareholder meeting

Ukrainian Journal reported that Ukraine’s largest ferroalloy producer, Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant has suspended shareholder meeting amid disagreement between shareholders over the company’s management.

A source said that the meeting, which was supposed to approve a new share issue, distribution of 2006 profits and to reshuffle top management, was due. But it was suspended until October 12th 2007 due to the disagreement.

Ferrexpo Plc to buy 6 new excavators for USD 46 million

Ukrainian Journal reported that Ferrexpo Plc which owns the Poltava Mining Combine has signed a deal with ZAO Novokramatorsky Machine Building Plant to buy 6 new excavators for USD 46 million to build a mine at Yeristovske iron ore field.

The first shipments will begin in mid March 2008, enabling the company to begin overburden work by September of next year.

Baosteel has the first deal of special thread casing pipe

It is recently reported that Baosteel Trade Company signed a deal of 600 tonnes BG80 3Cr special thread casing pipes with a subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Company in Shenzhen which means the corrosion resistant special thread casing pipe enters offshore oil field market.

Baosteel began manufacturing high grade special thread casing pipe in early 2007, with offshore oil industry as one of the major target markets. The trade company began the sale as early in the begging of this year, with visiting CNOOC and its four subsidiaries to collect the information of users’ materials consuming and the requirements of the materials quality and performance, and by inviting users to Baosteel to show the products.

Mr Farsangi appointed COO at CVRD Inco

It is reported that CVRD Inco has appointed Mr Parviz Farsangi as the company’s new COO. Mr Farsangi will replace Mr Mark Cutifani who has taken the CEO position with AngloGold Ashanti in South Africa.

Mr Farsangi in his new role will be leading the operations of CVRD Inco’s wholly owned subsidiaries. He will be reported by Mr Fred Stanford president of Ontario division, Mr Mike Sylvestre president of Manitoba division, Mr Bob Cooper president of Voisey’s Bay Nickel Company Ltd, Mr Dale Krueger production director of Inco Europe Ltd and Mr Tyler Mitchelson VP of business planning.

Chinese Anhui plan bonds sale

Shanghai listed Anhui Hengyuan Coal Industry & Electricity Power Co announced that it would issue five year convertible bonds worth CNY 400 million (USD 53.21 million) in total next week.

According to the announcement, Anhui will issue the bonds on September 24th 2007 and bond owners will be able to convert their bonds into shares between March 24th 2008 and September 24th 2012, at an initial price of CNY 50.88 (USD 6.77) per share. It added that once the issuance is complete, Hengyuan plans to use the money gained to purchase both Anhui Wolonghu Coal Mining Co Ltd and Anhui Wugou Coal Mining Co in their entirety.

Anhui said that through the two purchases, it will increase its coal reserves by 10.2 million tonnes to reach 88.87 million tonnes and its annual production capacity could be boosted from 1.4 million tonnes of coal to 1.5 million tonnes.

Mr Zhang Yanbin an analyst with Zheshang Securities said that "On the whole, the profit and development of coal companies is closely related to the rise and fall of steel and oil prices. At the same time though, the increasing number of coal companies listing publicly can help to boost the scale and profit of companies industry wide."

New nickel deposit discovered in Siberia

FIS reported that a complex ore deposit of nickel, copper and platinum was discovered at the Irkutsk region in Russia. The report added that interest to the study and development of the new deposit in the Irkutsk region was expressed by the largest nickel and platinum producer Norilsk Nickel.

Campbell Brothers buy ACIRL Pty Ltd

It is reported that diversified industrial company Campbell Brothers Ltd has snapped up Australian coal services company ACIRL Pty Ltd for AUD 76.8 million. The acquisition was made by Campbell Brothers Ltd's laboratory services division ALS Laboratory Group.

Campbell Brothers said that it has eight major laboratories and five onsite laboratories operating in NSW and Queensland, all located within close proximity to Australia’s major coal basins and export ports.

Mr Greg Kilmister MD of Campbell Brothers Ltd said that the acquisition would help Campbell Brothers grow its presence in the coal testing and superintending market in both Australia and overseas. He said that “The ACIRL acquisition complements our existing start-up coal testing operations in Australia, giving us immediate market share and brings forward our plans for further laboratories.”

He added that “The acquisition of ACIRL provides another significant step in the company’s strategy of further diversifying its analytical services business.”

Terramin starts work on Angas zinc mine

Adelaide based Terramin Australia has announced that work had started on the underground development of its wholly owned Angas mining operation. The mine is the closest base metals mining operation to an Australian capital city just 60 kilometers from Adelaide. Construction of the Angas Mine’s processing plant is on schedule for completion by May 2008 leading into several weeks of dry and wet commissioning ahead of full production start up mid year.

Highlights of the developments program includes
1. AUD 500 million in revenue over seven years.
2. 400,000 tonnes of ore produced each year.
3. AUD 30 million a year value to the regional economy.
4. 100 permanent jobs created in the region once the mine is operational, including 63 at the mine site.
5. A tunnel to access the zinc deposit has already been excavated 50 meters with work continuing to the stage where driving of the first network of mine development tunnels can begin from the main decline.

Mr Kevin Moriarty executive chairman of Terramin’s said that “Today we are marking another milestone in the growth of Terramin Australia, and another for South Australian mining history, because this tunnel before us is the entry to the first significant zinc mine in this State. Although this Kanmantoo region is the first metal mining belt in Australia, no zinc has ever been mined here, and there has been only small scale mining or quarrying for zinc elsewhere in South Australia.”

Mr Moriarty said that at current prices, the mine would produce revenues of over AUD 500 million over seven years and be worth some AUD 30 million each year to the regional economy. He said development ore would begin being stockpiled from January next year, with first ore from the underground stops scheduled for mining by June 2008 and about 54,000 tonnes available for first processing.