October, 15 2007
JSW CAPEX in 2007-08 is INR 3,937
It is reported that JSW Steel, which has planned to invest more than INR 17,000 crore to increase production capacity to 10 million tons by 2010, would be investing INR 3,937 crore in 2007-08.
Mr Seshagiri Rao director finance of JSW Group said that "We will invest INR 17,718 crore to ramp up production capacity to 10 million tons from current 3.2 million tons. Of the which, we will invest INR 3,937 crore this fiscal."
Mr Rao added that it has already raised INR 2,000 crore till April 2007 and the remaining money would be raised through cash accruals.
It was recently reported that JSW is also considering a secondary listing on an overseas stock exchange either in Singapore, New York or London to fund its expansion plans.
Anti POSCO activists holding 11 workers in captivity
POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti has claimed that 11 persons, hired to construct a bridge in the proposed POSCO plant site in Orissa, were being held captive for past 5 days.
Mr Abhaya Sahu president of POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti said that "We have held ten workers and a driver, who were engaged by the rural development department for building a wooden bridge near the site for POSCO's proposed steel plant, as captive."
Mr Sahu said that the 11 persons, who belong to Salepur area in Cuttack district of Orissa, had no links with POSCO and were engaged by the rural development department to build the bridge, aimed at providing easy access to officials of the steel giant to the proposed plant site.
Though the police had no idea about the exact number of people detained by the activists, officials said negotiations were on with the captors to get them released. Mr YK Jethwa superintendent of police of Jagatsinghpur said that "Efforts are on to ensure safe release of those held by POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti activists. Talks are on. Though nobody approached us, we came to know of the detention of some people from certain sources. We hope they will be freed soon."
It is noted that 4 senior officials of POSCO, including 3 South Koreans, were released on Saturday following assurance by authorities not to allow POSCO officials to enter the area.
Punj Lloyd bags INR 389 crore pipeline contract in Qatar
BS reported that Punj Lloyd has secured a contract worth INR 389 crore from Qatar Petroleum to construct a multi product pipeline on an engineering, procurement and construction basis. The project is likely to be completed in 17 months.
Punj Lloyd’s scope of work involves engineering, procurement & construction on lump sum turn key basis of 46 kilometer of 18 inches multi product pipeline from Messaieed refinery to Doha Depot for Qatar Petroleum. The contract also involves the station work at Messaieed refinery and Doha depot including demolition.
1000 MW captive and merchant power plants may get mega status
It is reported that fiscal sops and tax incentives may no longer be confined to standalone power projects as the policy on mega power plants may be modified to make even captive and merchant plants eligible for mega power plant status. The policy shift has been proposed by the power ministry in a cabinet note and captive and merchant power plants with a capacity of 1,000 MW and more may also get to enjoy these concessions.
The mega power policy offers incentives such as complete waiver from customs duty on equipment imports and a 10 year tax holiday to thermal power projects with a minimum capacity of 1,000 MW and hydel projects of 500 MW capacity.
As per the cabinet note, the growth of open access system would enhance the role of both captive and merchant power plants to evacuate power to the grid. Captive and merchant power plants would be given mega status only if they meet the basic eligibility criterion in terms of size.
Under the modified mega power policy, incentives are proposed to be given only if developers of a power project captive, merchant or others undertake either tariff-based competitive bidding for the entire power to be produced or go in for international competitive bidding for procuring equipment.
As per report, the new policy proposes to abolish the condition of mandatory inter state sale of power to avail of tax incentives and has also sought to do away with the provision that requires power purchasing states to agree in principle to privatize distribution in all cities with a population of more than one million. Moreover, the rule of 15% price preference for domestic bidders, especially PSUs, would also be scrapped.
The move could benefit a host of companies in the cement, steel and other industries that have set up large captive plants. Captive and merchant power plants are expected to play an important role in boosting India’s power generation capacity and captive power plants are likely to contribute about 15,000 MW.
While agreeing to a new set of proposals, the power ministry has rejected a suggestion to reduce the eligibility criterion for projects to a mere 25 MW from 1,000 MW now. It is felt the size of a project is important to attain economies of scale and thereby provide cheap power to consumers.
8 hydel power projects in HP to get World Bank aid
It is reported that World Bank has agreed in principle to fund INR 7,000 crore to build 8 proposed hydel power projects in Himachal Pradesh.
The hydel power projects are
1) Khaab project - 636 MW
2) Sawra Kudu project - 111 MW
3) Dhamwari Sunda project - 70 MW
4) Harsar project - 60 MW
5) Renuka project - 40 MW
6) Chirgaon Manjgaon project - 46 MW
7) Bharmaur project - 45 MW
8) Dhaula Sidh project - 40 MW
Some of these projects will be built by Himachal Power Corporation and others jointly with the help of the private sector.
BALCO to achieved financial closure for Korba power project soon
It is reported that Vedanta Resources Plc’s subsidiary BALCO Limited is expecting to achieve financial closure for its upcoming 1,200 MW coal based power project in Korba in Chhattisgarh by March 2008.
The project recently received environment clearance from the ministry of environment and forests. BALCO is currently in the process of signing the power purchase agreement, following which the financial closure is expected to be achieved expeditiously.
The project is being implemented at a total estimated cost of INR 4,810 crore at a debt equity ratio of 70:30. The land requirement for the project is estimated at 355 acres and the coal requirement for the plant is estimated at 19,600 tonnes per day, which is slated to be sourced from South Eastern Coalfields Ltd through MGR route.
Bharti Shipyard to build 4 tugs cum supply vessel for SCI
Bharati Shipyard Limited announced that the Shipping Corporation of India Limited board has accorded approval for acquisition of 4 anchor handling tugs cum supply vessels from Bharati Shipyard Limited. The contract signing ceremony will be held on October 15th 2007.
The total price of each vessel is USD 22.32 million totaling to USD 89.28 million.
These vessels are the first of its kind being built for Shipping Corporation of India Limited in India using such advance design. These vessels will be constructed by using havyard design which will be used for the first time for such vessels built in India. The design allows for achieving high bollard pull and fuel efficiency as against equivalent designs. Further, the design allows higher DWT and higher cargo carrying capacity compared to other 80 tons AHTSVs with similar dimensions.
TN keen to develop Colachel as an international port
Mr Vellakoil Saminathan state minister for highways and ports of Tamil Nadu, while addressing at a delegation in New South Wales in Australia, said that the state is keen to develop Colachel as an international transhipment port. He also discussed about developing minor ports in the state and scope for private investments in ports.
Mr Joe Tripodi minister for small business, regulatory reform, ports and waterways of New South Wales government expressed interest in bringing investment for port development in Tamil Nadu.
Colachel is close to the international shipping route. Steamers of around 15,000 tonnes can anchor at the port, which is now managed by the Tamil Nadu Maritime Board.
ONGC Mittal Energy Services JV draws curtain
It is reported that ONGC Mittal Energy Services Limited, the JV set up by ONGC and Mr LN Mittal for oil and gas trading has almost ended as the remaining 2 employees, including Mr SK Sharma CEO of ONGC Mittal Service Limited have join Mr Mittal’s Mittal Investment Sarl.
As per reports, ONGC Mittal Energy Services Limited, one of the 2 JVs Mr Mittal had formed with ONGC in July 2005, is also shutting its Delhi office.
As per report, Mr Mittal has never been happy with the progress of the JV due to several reasons including.
1. ONGC was not keen on trading and shipping of oil and gas including LNG and
2. ONGC had not even contributed its share of capital and the company has been surviving on Mr Mittal's contribution.
3. A government director on the board of ONGC had also blocked its equity participation in ONGC Mittal Energy Services Limited, as the petroleum ministry did not want the state run firm to make huge financial outlays for non core trading business.
KEC International equity shareholders to approve scheme of arrangement
KEC International Ltd has informed BSE that pursuant to the order made by the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, a meeting of equity shareholders of the company will be held on November 2nd 2007, for the purpose of considering and if thought fit, to approve, with or without modification, the arrangement embodied in the scheme of arrangement between national information technologies ltd, RPG Transmission Ltd, MP Power Line Ltd and KEC International Ltd & the company & their respective shareholders.
Chinese SS growth revised down to 9.24% YoY for 2007
Interfax citing a senior industrial official at the China Stainless Steel Application Development Forum 2007 held in Taiyuan on October 10th 2007 reported that that China is set to consume up to 6.5 million tonnes of stainless steel this year up 9.24% from last year's 5.95 million tonnes.
Mr Li Cheng chairman of the China Special Steel Enterprise Association's stainless steel branch said "China has been the largest stainless steel consumer in the world for five consecutive years since 2002. In 2006, China's per capita stainless steel consumption hit 4.6 kilograms, rising above the world average of 4.3 kilograms."
Mr Li also revised a previous prediction for China's stainless steel production this year down to 6.5 million tonnes from 7 million tonnes, taking into account slashed production from domestic steel mills on the back of high nickel prices. He added that "Next year's stainless steel production in China will not grow more than 10% from this year.
Mr Li claimed that the majority of domestic stainless steel mills are still running on reduced capacity in an attempt to support stainless steel prices. He said that "Each company has adjusted its own production schedule according to its monthly sales performance. However, there is a consensus among domestic steel mills that reducing capacity is an effective way to maintain profitability in a market where nickel prices are experiencing high level fluctuations."
Mr Li commented that TISCO's final production figure is likely to be between 2 million and 2.1 million tonnes for this year, on the basis of current production cuts.
Mr Li further commented that although more than 70% of China's stainless steel demand can be met by domestic production, the country is still relatively weak at high end stainless steel production. But major domestic stainless steel mills are now expediting the development of new products in order to meet the emerging needs of the market.
A combination of high nickel prices and overcapacity of low level stainless steel products in the domestic market has pulled down the growth of China's stainless steel consumption to 10% for the first half of 2007.
(Sourced from Mysteel.net)
CVRD to invest USD 3.618 billion in non ferrous in 2008
Companhia Vale do Rio Doce recently announced that its board of directors has approved an investment budget of USD 11 billion for 2008, out of which 32.9% or USD 3.618 billion is for non ferrous materials.
CVRD said that it has huge growth potential because of the size and quality of its proven and probable reserves and that they will have four of these projects under way Goro, Onça Puma, to come on line in 2008, and Vermelho and Totten.
The details of various projects in this area is as under
Goro
2008 – USD 723 million
Total – USD 3.212 million
This project is in New Caledonia, Oceania, and has a nominal capacity of 60,000 tons per year of refined nickel and 4,600 tons of cobalt. Scheduled for completion at end of 2008.
Onça Puma
2008 – USD 581 million
Total – USD 1.395 million
In the state of Pará, this mine will have a nominal capacity of 58,000 tons per year of nickel content in ferronickel, its final product. Completion scheduled for end 2008 and start-up of production for January 2009.
Salobo
2008 – USD 387 million
Total – USD 897 million
The project will have a production capacity of 100,000 tons of copper concentrate. Scheduled for completion in 2Q10. Voisey’s Bay 110 2.177 The construction of a refinery in Voisey’s Bay, in Labrador and Newfoundland, in Canada, to produce 50,000 tons per year of refined nickel. Start-up of operations is scheduled for the end of 2011. Subject to approval by the Board of Directors.
Vermelho
2008 – USD 91 million
Total – USD 1.908 million
Production capacity is expected to be 46,000 tons of metallic nickel and 2,800 tons per year of cobalt. Completion programmed for the first quarter of 2012.
Totten
2008 – USD 66 million
Total – USD 362 million
This is a new nickel mine in Sudbury, Canada, projected to produce 11,200 tons of copper, 8,200 of nickel and 82,000 oz of precious metals. Scheduled for completion in 2Q11.
Bayovar
2008 – USD 48 million
Total – USD 512 million
An open pit mine in Peru with nominal production capacity of 3.9 million tons per year of phosphate. Completion expected in 2010. Subject to approval by the Board of Directors.
Papomono
2008 – USD 48 million
Total – USD 90 million
In the Coquimboregion in Chile, production capacity is 18,000 tons of cathode copper and set for completion in July 2009. Subject to the approval of the Board of Directors.
Mr Surma wins top technology award
It is reported that Mr John P Surma CEO of US Steel was named the Pittsburgh Technology Council's 2007 CEO of the Year.
Mr Kevin Lane spokesman of Pittsburgh Technology Council said that "We take a very broad view of technology and Surma since he's been CEO has been instrumental in infusing cutting edge technology throughout the company. US Steel is technology intensive."
The Tech 50 awards honor companies the council deems the leading technology oriented companies in the 13 county Pittsburgh area, based on innovation, growth, corporate citizenship and other factors. The council is the country's largest technology trade association, with about 1,400 member companies.
Evraz wants merged coal units to focus on Russian demand
It is reported that Evraz Group SA wants the two coking coal units it is merging to focus on the growing market in the former Soviet Union. Evraz’s merged coal unit will be the world’s third largest producer of coking coal, used by steelmakers and controls 30% of Russian sales.
Mr Pavel Tatyanin CFO of Evraz said that Evraz wants OAO Raspadskaya and OAO Yuzhkuzbassugol to benefit from demand in Russia and Ukraine. He added that “We would like to be the dominant player in the region. The markets in China, Japan and South Korea are less promising.”
Mr Tatyanin said Evraz decided to merge two units after two fatal explosions at mines managed by Yuzhkuzbassugol this year claimed more than 100 lives and unlikely to complete the merger this year.
Mr Alexander Frolov Evraz CEO said in a conference call last week that Yuzhkuzbassugol resumed operations at the Ulyanovsk mine near the Kemerovo region’s town of Novokuznetsk several days ago while Yubileinaya mine will restart by the end of October 2007.
Coal prices have risen to a record in the past month after China became a net importer earlier this year coupled with insufficient port capacity in Australia cut exports.
Murchison to play big role in consolidation of iron ore industry
It is reported that Miner Murchison Metals Ltd AUD 1 billion planned takeover of rival Midwest Corp Limited is its first step in a broader consolidation plan of the iron ore industry.
Mr Trevor Matthews MD of Murchison managing said there would be further consolidation within the iron ore industry and his company is likely to play a major part. He said "I think that this is a first step in a process of consolidation and our plans in the future would be to look at what other opportunities there are in the iron ore industry to further expand our production."
Mr Matthews denied the AUD 1 billion scrip bid for Midwest was spurned by the infrastructure issues facing miners in the Midwest region of WA. Mr Matthews said "The port infrastructure projects are really an ancillary issue in this bid process. The main reason for the bid is basically the consolidation benefits we see from merging Midwest and Murchison at the iron ore project level."
Mr Matthews was confident that Sinosteel did not have any pre emptive rights He said "There's been no disclosure of pre emptive rights. So we are assuming that those do not exist under the agreement. If they do that there are pre emptive rights in there, it would trigger some sort of value assessment and a payment in any event from the other party in acquiring those assets."
Murchison operates the Jack Hills iron ore project 380 kilometer north east of Geraldton in Western Australia and is backed by Japanese giant Mitsubishi Corp.
Tiantie commissions 3.8 million tonnes HSM project
It is reported that Tianjin Tiantie Metallurgical Group has finished the hot rolling steel project and officially put it into operation. With a set of facilities imported from the world's top suppliers and first rate technology, the project realized zero emission of residue, dust, gas or wastewater.
At cost of CNY 4.8 billion, the HRC project consists of construction of new converter, LF refiner, RH refiner, two strand continuous slab caster etc, with annual output and sales revenue designed at 3.8mln and CNY 11.8 billion respectively.
Up to date, Tiantie's new project has produced HR sheet, plate and coil of nine categories of over 70 specifications, with thickness in the range of 2mm to 12mm and width in the range of 1100mm to 1500mm, all of which are well received on the market.
Tiantie is reported to be aiming at developing high tech and high value added products such as high end pipeline steel, shipbuilding steel plate and container plate, is still forging ahead for higher benefits.
(Sourced from MySteel.net)
ArcelorMittal's offer for Acindar very low- Analyst
BNamericas reported that the offer that as per some analysts, ArcelorMittal’s intended offer for a 34.7% stake in Argentine steelmaker Acindar of some ARP 5.75 per share (USD 1.83) is very low.
The report cited Mr Cristian Reos an analyst at brokerage Allaria Ledesma as saying that the price is too low considering the average prices paid recently for other acquisitions in America and the rest of the world and the average share price of Brazilian companies and ArcelorMittal itself.
Mr Reos said his brokerage determined a target price for Acindar based on less stringent criteria than it would for steelmakers in Brazil and the rest of the world. He said "Because it's a company that trades on a smaller market, so we granted it more flexibility adding that in that context, we do not believe it's an attractive offer and it should not be accepted. Our target price for Acindar at year end is 6.20 pesos per share.”
"Mr Reos said key players in the sale are private pension funds that control over 15% of Acindar. In a way, they could determine the deal."
ArcelorMittal already controls 65.3% of the company through ArcelorMittal Belgo part of its Brazilian subsidiary ArcelorMittal Brazil. ArcelorMittal intends to launch the offer within four months but it must first receive authorization from Argentine securities regulators.
Midland to open 1000 outlets in Ukraine by 2012
Ukrainian Journal reported that Midland Group, a major operator in the international metals market, plans to open over a thousand outlets of its MD Stores retail chain in Ukraine by 2013.
Midland Group in a statement said that "MD Stores has an extremely aggressive development strategy, with 40 outlets slated to open in 2007 and more than 1,000 additional locations planned in various cities over the next five years."
Midland chain runs eight stores in the Donetsk region and five stores in the Kharkiv region.
Evraz embarks on big spending on Highveld
It is reported that Russian steel maker Evraz’s recent South African acquisition, Highveld Steel & Vanadium will gobble up a significant chunk of the group’s capital in future.
Announcing the group’s interim results Mr Alexander Frolov singled out maintenance at Highveld as one of the key beneficiaries of its revised 2007 CAPEX program of about USD 690 million.
Mr Pavel Tatyanin senior VP & CFO of Evraz in a stinging attack on Highveld’s prior management, earlier in 2007 said investments made in the past lacked the strategy and capital spending needed to be lifted significantly. He implied the Highveld assets had been poorly maintained.
It also emerged last week that operations at Highveld’s Vanchem mine were in serious breach of environmental laws, which would necessitate significant investment to bring the plant up to the required standards. Further inspections by the Green Scorpions at Highveld’s other operations will follow. Even so, Evraz evidently sees Highveld as a prize asset.
Evraz had earlier this year taken control of Highveld, the world’s largest vanadium producer, thus gaining access to a 35% share of the world’s vanadium market. Building on that, the company is now looking to create a vanadium unit that may be spun off.
Sahaviriya to commission new steel plant in 2009
Mr Win Viriyaprapaikit director of Sahaviriya Group Co said that it expects to start construction of its THB 500 billion smelting plant early next year and to start production by 2009.
The project has become the target of environmental activists, who want it scrapped as they fear serious environmental side effects in Bang Saphan district, Prachuap Khiri Khan, where the site is located.
However, Mr Win said that it is confident that the challenges could be overcome because the project had been downsized to avoid confrontation over disputed land. He said that the project had been transparent and had received a favorable response from the local community. He said the company had invested THB 90 billion in the first phase, with a capacity of 5 million tonnes a year. To ensure its success, the company would invest in two stages, with 2.5 million tonnes of production capacity for each in order to help it conclude project finance deals.
Mr Win noted that ''Even though the project will require significant capital, we would say we have the capability to act independently. Steel investment was an important area of the financial sector that generated a high return due to attractive world prices.
The group will resubmit its investment privilege application to the Board of Investment soon as its previous promotion from mid-2005 expired early this year before the project started. The group also needs to resubmit its environmental impact assessment report for approval from the Office of the Natural Resources and Environment Policy and Planning.
Nisshin Steel to cut coated steel production
It is reported that the slow market development of Japanese construction sectors in the recent months has driven Nissin Steel to consider a production cut of coated steel sheets for the contracts in October to December 2007.
This decision is made in the attempt to balance supply and demand as the building market is weakening and the stocks remain high at this moment. The quiet construction market is affected by the standard changes of Japanese building law.
Norilsk Nickel shareholders vote to retain board
Norilsk Nickel announced that it held the Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders upon the request of a shareholder representing Onexim Group.
In accordance with preliminary results of voting, the shareholders voted against the early termination of the powers of the board of directors of Norilsk Nickel. And as a result following members are retained in Norilsk Nickel’s board of directors
1. Mr Andrei E Bougrov – MD & member of the board of Interros Holding Company.
2. Mr Vladimir I Dolgikh - chairman of the board of Krasnoyarsk
3. Mr Andrey A Klishas – GD & chairman of the board of Interros Holding Company
4. Mr Ralph T Morgan - deputy GD & member of the board of MMC Norilsk Nickel
5. Mr Denis S Morozov – GD & chairman of t Norilsk Nickel
6. Mr Ekaterina M Salnikova deputy director of the Finance department on corporate governance of Interros Holding Company
7. Mr Guy de Selliers - chairman of HB Advisors - Hatch Corporate Finance
8. Mr Kirill L Ugolnikov - director of Tax Department of CJSC Vneshjurkollegia
9. Mr Heinz S Shimmelbusch – ED, partner & Founder of Safeguard International Fund LP.
10. Mr Klishas A.A - Remains the Chairman of the Board of Directors.
In accordance with preliminary results and recommendations of the board of directors the shareholders also reelected members of the Revision Commission, approved the Regulations on the General shareholder’s Meeting of OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel and participation of MMC Norilsk Nickel in the non profit Russian Association of Employers National Alliance of Nickel and Precious Metals Producers.
Panzhihua Steel invests CNY 490 million in sponge titanium project
It is reported that Panzhihua Steel Group plans to invest CNY 490 million in sponge titanium project, which will be finished in 18 months.
The project, designed with annual capacity of 5000 tonnes, is expected to come on stream at the end of 2008.
Panzhihua would be able to realize annual sales revenue of about CNY 700 million when the project is finished.
Newcastle Coal group seeks AUD 1 billion financing for terminal
Bloomberg reported that the BHP Billiton led Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group is planning to build a third coal export terminal at Australia’s Newcastle port started seeking more than AUD 1 billion of financing to fund the project. Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group in mid 2005 won the tender to build a third terminal, beating a bid by Port Waratah Coal Services Ltd, owner of the existing two terminals.
Mr Tony Gilligan chairman of BHP Billiton said the Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group, which includes Centennial Coal Co and four other miners, expects loans to be in place by the end of the year, allowing construction contracts to be awarded. He said Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd is coordinating the financing.
Mr Gilligan said that “Last week we have gone out to the market to raise our financing. We hope to be in a position by the end of the year to accept the finance and begin design and construction. He said initial work on the project is already under way, with dredging to start in the next two weeks, funded by the group members.”
Mr Gilligan said “The group has held initial discussions with Port Waratah Coal Services about the potential for all three terminals to be jointly owned and operated by all the coal shippers using Newcastle. Newcastle Coal Infrastructure’s board hasn’t made a decision yet whether to pursue that option, which is supported by the New South Wales state government.” He said it just gives us another measure of flexibility to do that.
Mr Gilligan added that Newcastle Coal Infrastructure got development consent for the project, which will initially have capacity to export 30 million tonnes a year of coal, in April and deliveries will probably start in the first quarter of 2010. The development approval is for 66 million tonnes a year of export capacity and the group may start to study the feasibility of a second and third stage once the first stage starts up.
Bottlenecks and bad weather at Newcastle, the world’s biggest coal export harbor, had resulted in the number of ships waiting to load at the port to a record 79 in July 2007.
Industrial Metallurgical to open new coalmine in Kemerov
Interfax reported that Industrial Metallurgical Holding plans to launch the Romanovskaya 1 deep coal mine in the Kemerovo region on October 16th 2007.
Mr Sergei Subbotin a spokesman for the group's said that the mine has 15 million tonnes of explored reserves of coking coal, including 12 million tonnes ready for removal and the mine is expected to achieve its design capacity of 900,000 tonnes per year in 2008.
Mr Subbotin said that “Romanovskaya-1's coal will be concentrated at Koks' Berezovskaya plant. The new mine will support the resource security of our coke production. With this aim, the management company has already opened the Koksovy property and Siberian Resources Vladimirovskaya mine.
Mr Subbotin added that “Now the technical documentation is being prepared and approvals are being obtained from all regulatory bodies for the construction of two new mines: Butovskaya in the Kemerovo district and SD Tikhov in the Leninsk Kuznetsky district."
The release added that the construction of the mine began in the fall of 2003 and cost RUB 2.5 billion. The mine is outfitted with the latest safety and gas monitoring systems and new mining equipment made by Yurmash and other engineering companies in the Kemerovo region under an agreement with the regional administration.
Industrial Metallurgical Holding also includes metals companies Tulachermet, Polema and Tulachermet-Vanadii in the Tula region, Rezhnikel in the Sverdlovsk region and Ufaleinikel in the Chelyabinsk region.
Sojitz to supply electrical equipments for Dongkuk new plate mill
Sojitz Corporation last month announced that it has received an order from South Korea’s Dongkuk Steel Mill Co Ltd for a plate mill facility to be used to produce high tension steel for use in shipbuilding.
The plate mill facility is scheduled to be delivered to an iron works in Dangjin, which iron works is planned to be constructed by Dongkuk Steel Mill. Operations will commence at the end of November 2009 and approximately 1.5 million tonnes of plate will be produced per year.
The part of the subject order consisting of machinery and equipment for a plate mill facility and an automation facility, has been jointly awarded to Siemens VAI Metals Technologies LTD and to Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd. Siemens VAI will take responsibility for the entire engineering part of the project and the delivery of the main facility. Hyundai Heavy Industries will handle the deliveries of machinery that will be procured in South Korea.
The part of the order covering electrical equipment and motors to drive machinery has been jointly awarded to Sojitz and Toshiba Mitsubishi Electric Industrial Systems Corporation.
High tension steel, with superior weld ability and high strength, is a high value added steel plate used in shipbuilding, where it enables the manufacture of lightweight ships. In the shipbuilding industry, there is an increasing movement to use high tension steel plate for ship bottoms, due to various regulations such as those related to environmental issues.
Dongkuk Steel Mill, which has iron works in Pohang, Incheon and Pusan, produces mainly building materials and steel plate for general shipbuilding. The company currently produces about 2.47 million tons of plate, 1.16 million tons of section steel and 1.68 million tons of steel bars per year. Dongkuk Steel Mill plans to address not only the brisk domestic demand for steel plates but also the demand from neighboring countries such as China.
Karce inks major coalmine deal in Mongolia
Reuters reported that Karce International Holdings Co Ltd would buy mining and exploration rights for coal mines in Mongolia for HKD 1.4 billion (USD 179 million) in new shares, promissory notes, convertible bonds and cash.
The deal is to be settled through the issuance of HKD 69.86 million worth of new shares, HKD 150 million in cash, HKD 200 million in notes and HKD 980.14 million in bonds. Karce will also place 455 million new shares at HKD 0.33 a share to fund its cash payment portion.
Karce International in a statement said that it would buy from a third party the entire Silverway Pacific Ltd, which indirectly holds a mining license and an exploration license for the Khuldiin South Coal Mine and exploration license for Khuldiin North Coal Mine and TN Coal Mine.
Khuldiin South Coal Mine and Khuldiin North Coal Mine are located in Aimag province of Selenge, about 150 kilometers north of Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar, while TN Coal Mine is 156 kilometers south of the capital city.
Japan scrap export hits 4.551 million tonnes in 8 months
According to related statistics, the total scrap export from Japan reached 4.551 million tons during January to August 2007, showing a decrease of 14.1% YoY. It is estimated that the total export will be 6.82 million tons.
South Korea ranked the first biggest import country from Japan with 2.418 million tons, accounting for 53.1% of the total volume. China ranked the second with 1.502 million tons. Taiwan ranked the third with 0.47 million tons.
Baosteel Huangshi signed contract for 200,000 tons cold rolling machine
It is reported that CCTEC has signed a construction contract of 200,000 tons single stand six roller reversing cold rolling mill with Huangshi Coating and Plating Company Ltd of Baosteel in Aug 2007.
As per report this project will help Baosteel Huangshi construct a 400,000 tonnes per year cold rolled sheet plant, basing on
the existing galvanizing and color coating units. The project is scheduled to launch operation in the beginning of 2009.
One dead and 18 trapped in coalmine blast in China
Xinhua reported that 1 person has been killed and 18 others trapped after a coal mine explosion in China. The blast in the Jianxin Coal mine in China's north happened shortly before midnight on Saturday while 283 miners were working in the pit.
A local coal mining official said recently 262 miners had escaped unhurt, while 1 miner was confirmed killed, 2 injured and 18 others trapped.
China's coal mines were among the most dangerous in the world and many of the accidents occur in small, unlicensed mines where safety regulations were ignored. According to official figures only 4700 coal miners died in China in 2006 but independent labor groups put the real toll at closer to 20,000 annually.
Mongolian Ulanhot Steel invites sale out offers
Interfax China reported that Ulanhot Iron and Steel Co Ltd, a wholly state owned steel mill based in northern China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region is looking to either sell its total share capital or attract strategic investors through the Inner Mongolia Assets and Equity Exchange Center in order to raise funds for future expansion projects.
ChTPZ Group and Ural Steel to continue strategic partnership
FIS reported that the fourth coordinating council was recently held in Novotroitsk between ChTPZ Group CJSC and Ural Steel OJSC.
The report added that during the event representatives of the companies reviewed the results of work for eight months of 2007, discussed the results of joint actions approved at the previous council meeting. Considering the positive results of joint works, the parties agreed to continue development of strip, pipe blanks and floating long arbor production etc.
ATI anticipates lower earnings in H2 of 2007
Allegheny Technologies Incorporated has announced that it expects full year 2007 earnings per share to be in the range of USD 7 to USD 7.25 per diluted share, a 25% to 29% growth in earnings per share compared to 2006. This outlook could be changed if the current costs of raw materials change significantly.
However, his outlook anticipates lower second half 2007 earnings than previously expected as the softness in demand for standard stainless sheet is continuing because of higher inventories at certain mills and depots and volatile raw material costs. In addition, a significant reduction in raw material surcharges and indexes is expected from the rapid decline in the cost of nickel, nickel bearing scrap and titanium scrap. Allegheny’s LIFO inventory accounting method mitigates some, but not all, of the impact of rapidly falling raw material costs.
Allegheny Technologies Incorporated expects third quarter 2007 earnings to be in the range of USD 1.85 to USD 1.88 per diluted share. Compared to the third quarter, the Company expects the fourth quarter to be further impacted by continuing low operating volumes in its Flat Rolled Products segment and lower LIFO inventory reserve reversals.
Mr L Patrick Hassey chairman, president & CEO of Allegheny Technologies Incorporated said that “ATI expects 2007 to be a record year for sales, earnings, and cash flow from operating activities. Our long term profitable growth outlook remains intact. We believe ATI remains very well positioned to achieve strong earnings growth in 2008 and beyond from the global markets that have been driving our profitable growth over the last several years.”
He said “The softness in demand for standard stainless sheet appears to be bottoming out and inventory levels at distributors are low by historic measures. Demand for these products should begin to improve in early 2008 once the high inventories at stainless mills and depots are reduced.”
Mr Hassey added that “We see continuing growth in demand for our high value products from the global aerospace and defense, chemical process industry, oil & gas and electrical energy markets. Shipments under long term agreements in these markets should continue to grow over the next several years. We do not anticipate a significant impact from the recently announced delay in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner schedule.”
Peabody chairman Mr Boyce honored for distinguished service
Mr Gregory H Boyce chairman & CEO of Peabody Energy have been honored with a Distinguished Service Award from the University of Arizona's College of Engineering. Mr Boyce was honored for his contributions to the energy industry and leadership in developing innovative solutions for America's energy needs using clean coal technologies.
Mr Tom Peterson Dean of the University of Arizona's College of Engineering said that "There is no greater challenge we face as a nation and as a global community than to find a long term, sustainable solution to our energy needs. Coal is the backbone of our energy resource portfolio and we honor Mr Greg for his leadership and innovation as chairman and CEO of the world's largest coal company. He epitomizes the leadership strength that comes from an educational background and business experience that combines engineering and management."
Mr Boyce is a University of Arizona alumnus and has extensive US and international management, operating and engineering experience. He joined the company in October 2003 as president & CEO and was elected to the Board of Directors in March 2005 and chairs the Executive Committee. He was elected Chairman in October 2007. Mr Boyce's leadership activities include serving as VC of the World Coal Institute and as a member of the Coal Industry Advisory Board of the International Energy Agency. He is Co Chairman of the Coal Based Generation Stakeholders Group and chaired the National Coal Council's 2006 report, Coal: America's Energy Future. He is a board member of the Business Roundtable, the Center for Energy and Economic Development and the National Mining Association.
Mr Boyce also is a member of the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association and a member of Civic Progress in St Louis. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the School of Engineering and Applied Science National Council at Washington University in St Louis; the Advisory Council of the University of Arizona's Department of Mining and Geological Engineering and St. Louis Children's Hospital.
Peabody Energy is the world's largest private sector coal company, with 2006 sales of 248 million tons of coal and USD 5.3 billion in revenues. Its coal products fuel approximately 10% of all US electricity generation and more than 2% of worldwide electricity.
Siemens to supply 25 locos to Queensland Rail
Siemens’ Transportation Systems Group announced that it has received an order for 25 heavy haul electric locomotives from Queensland Rail in Australia. The order is worth EUR 108 million.
The new locomotives will be built at Siemens’ plant at Allach in Germany and delivery will begin in 2009.
Queensland Rail intends to expand its locomotive fleet in the Goonyella Coal Systems. Queensland Rail has turned to Siemens for advanced rail technology. The company is already operating locomotives upgraded by Siemens and in 2008, will begin operating 20 Siemens locomotives ordered in 2006.
The Transportation Systems Group of Siemens AG is one of the leading international suppliers to the railway industry. As single source supplier and system integrator, the Group combines in its business segments Automation & Power, Rolling Stock, Turnkey Systems and Integrated Services all the expertise necessary to cover the spectrum from signaling and control systems to traction power supplies, as well as rolling stock for mass transit, regional and main line services.
