UPDATE 1-African Minerals says CRM investment completed

June 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) – African Minerals Ltd (AMIq.L) said a proposed 167.8 million pound ($260 million) investment by China Railway Materials (CRM) to develop the Tonkolili iron ore project has been completed following Chinese government approval.

As previously announced, CRM will take a 12.5 percent stake in African Minerals as a result of the investment and has the right to appoint a non-executive director to the board.

In February, African Minerals verified the size of the Tonkolili project in Sierra Leone at 10.5 billion tonnes of magnetite, making it the biggest deposit in the world.

China’s steel sector, which produced almost half the world’s steel output last year, is the biggest consumer of iron ore.

(Reporting by Julie Crust; editing by Victoria Bryan)

($1=.6465 POUND)

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UPDATE 1-China steel body looks to restrict iron ore imports

April 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

* CISA aims to eliminate small traders from iron ore market

Basic Materials

* Chairman urges traders to boycott big-three “monopoly” (Adds detail, calls for boycott)

BEIJING, April 2 (Reuters) – The China Iron and Steel Association is drawing up measures to reduce the number of traders allowed to import iron ore, an industry source said on Friday.

“CISA is currently discussing the measures with the China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals and Chemicals Importers and Exporters (CCCMC) and details will emerge later,” a source at CCCMC said.

CISA will also implement an “agent system” aimed at making sure that import volumes are in accordance with the actual needs of steel mills and preventing traders from engaging in reselling. A new “auditing system” will also allow ports to refuse entry for low-quality imported ores.

At the Friday meeting, CISA chairman Shan Shanghua urged licensed importers to boycott the big three iron ore miners in the next two months in order to fight back against their “monopoly behaviour”, according to a report by the 21st Century Business Herald.

He said that China’s domestic ore production would be enough to keep China’s mills running for two months, and port stockpiles could also be used.

According to the China Securities Journal, the association plans to tear up the import licenses of trading companies that imported less than 1 million tonnes of iron ore in 2009.

An inspection of stockpiles building up at major Chinese ports got underway earlier this month to check quality and ascertain which traders were buying merely to speculate on soaring prices.

After its long struggle to impose “discipline” on China’s wayward iron and steel sector last year, it remains unclear how CISA will enforce the new measures, which are described as “sectoral” and therefore unlikely to involve the government.

CISA, which was not immediately available to comment, has previously blamed small traders for undermining its position in benchmark price talks with foreign miners last year.

It claims their imports of vast quantities of ore made it difficult for the association to improve China’s position during the negotiations and persuade Rio Tinto (RIO.AX), BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) and Vale (VALE5.SA) to give a favourable price to Chinese customers.

Since last year, CISA has vowed to substantially reduce the number of licensed importers and impose strict “guidance prices” for iron ore, but it has not had the clout to implement its plans.

A trader based in east China’s Zhejiang province said even if they were fully implemented, the new measures were unlikely to have much of an impact on the market.

“There are very few traders who import less than 1 million tonnes anyway,” he said, adding that many traders in the industry were already operating without licenses. (Reporting by David Stanway, Editing by Michael Urquhart)

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Virbhadra Singh assumes charge of Steel Ministry

May 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 29 (ANI): Minister for Steel Virbhadra Singh assumed charge here on Friday.

He was welcomed by Steel Secretary P.K.Rastogi and other senior officers.

Talking to reporters after taking charge, he said that one of his key priorities would be to ensure that the expansion programmes of the public sector giants the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) is completed in time in a cost effective fashion.

“While the capacity of SAIL will go up to 26 million tons that of RINL will go up to six million tons after the expansion. Both the expansion programmes will involve an expenditure of over Rs.70, 000 crore,” he said.

He added that steel sector in India and China have recorded positive growth during the first quarter of this calendar year while the global steel production has contracted by 23 per cent during the same period.

“Another focus area will be to bring in a rational, seamless and transparent regime for allocation of raw material resources to existing and prospective steel producers,” he said. He further said, the Ministry of Mines would be requested to undertake consequential amendments to Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957 to bring amendments to force.

“There is a need to restructure some of the smaller steel PSUs and for attempting mergers to capture the benefits of improved synergies. The companies under restructuring/merger mode include the Bird group of companies, the HSCL, the BRL and the SIIL,” he said (ANI)

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China’s Tianjin plans 23 mln T steel group – paper

April 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment

SHANGHAI, April 13 (Reuters) – China’s northern city of Tianjin plans to merge its four state-owned steel mills into a group with annual capacity of about 23 million tonnes, the China Business News said on Monday, citing a company official.

China is eager to consolidate its fragmented steel sector, partly in order to bolster their bargaining position on iron ore supplies from top miners BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) (BLT.L), Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) (RIO.L) and Brazil’s Vale (VALE5.SA)(RIO.N).

The country has urged steel mills to consolidate so that the top five mills jointly account for more than 45 percent of the nation’s total capacity, while facilities located in coastal areas account for more than 40 percent of the country’s capacity.

The state-owned asset management body of the coastal city near Beijing plans to establish a steel group to control the four existing mills, similar to steel sector consolidations in the provinces of Hebei and Shandong, the newspaper said.

The four companies are Tianjin Tiantie Metallurgical Group, Tianjin Tiangang Steel Group, Tianjin Steel Pipe Group and Tianjin Metallurgical Group (Holdings) Ltd, the newspaper said, citing the official in Tiantie, the largest of the four.

The state-owned parent of Tangshan Iron and Steel Co (000709.SZ) merged last year with two smaller rivals to become the country’s second-biggest steel mill, Hebei Iron and Steel Group. It now ranks among the world’s top five steel producers.

Earlier, the Shandong provincial government merged Jinan and Laiwu to create Shandong Iron and Steel Group. The new group is set to ultimately take over other fast-growing private mills in the province.

(Reporting by Alfred Cang and Jacqueline Wong)

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Rahul Gandhi opens revived steel plant

March 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Jagdishpur (UP), Feb 28 (ANI): Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi has vowed to make his constituency stand out as the best in Uttar Pradesh after presiding over a function marking the reopening of a sick steel plant here.

Rahul reopened Malvika Steel, a sick steel plant, in his parliamentary constituency of Amethi on Friday.ahul said that the reopening of the plant, which shut own in early 1998, was one of his dreams.On that day, I made up my mind that if I will do one thing in these five years, it would be the reopening of this steel plant,” he said.

Rahul also said with the cooperation of the people, he would make Amethi and Rae Bareilly, the best districts in a state ruled by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

“We will fight this battle together and make Amethi and Rae Bareilly the best districts of Uttar Pradesh,” he added.

The Congress party has tied up with the state’s main opposition, Samajwadi Party in a bid to unseat the BSP in the forthcoming general elections.

The steel plant, spread over an area of about 740 acres, was acquired by the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) in an auction held under aegis of Delhi High Court at a price of Rs.209 crore.

As per preliminary estimates, SAIL will invest around Rs.300 crore to make the plant viable. Thus, the total investment by SAIL in this venture would be more than 500 crore, which is the largest single investment in the steel sector in the State of Uttar Pradesh.

The main strengths of the plant are: (i) located on a major highway and rail route; (ii) adequate flat land for a well laid out steel plant and township; (iii) proximity to a perennial water source; (iv) proximity to vast consuming centers in Uttar Pradesh small pig size (10 kg) preferred by foundaries; and (v) most of the civil works, structural works and major equipment for the major facilities are available. (ANI)

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Rahul Gandhi opens revived steel plant

March 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Jagdishpur (UP), Feb 28 (ANI): Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi has vowed to make his constituency stand out as the best in Uttar Pradesh after presiding over a function marking the reopening of a sick steel plant here.

Rahul reopened Malvika Steel, a sick steel plant, in his parliamentary constituency of Amethi on Friday.ahul said that the reopening of the plant, which shut own in early 1998, was one of his dreams.On that day, I made up my mind that if I will do one thing in these five years, it would be the reopening of this steel plant,” he said.

Rahul also said with the cooperation of the people, he would make Amethi and Rae Bareilly, the best districts in a state ruled by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

“We will fight this battle together and make Amethi and Rae Bareilly the best districts of Uttar Pradesh,” he added.

The Congress party has tied up with the state’s main opposition, Samajwadi Party in a bid to unseat the BSP in the forthcoming general elections.

The steel plant, spread over an area of about 740 acres, was acquired by the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) in an auction held under aegis of Delhi High Court at a price of Rs.209 crore.

As per preliminary estimates, SAIL will invest around Rs.300 crore to make the plant viable. Thus, the total investment by SAIL in this venture would be more than 500 crore, which is the largest single investment in the steel sector in the State of Uttar Pradesh.

The main strengths of the plant are: (i) located on a major highway and rail route; (ii) adequate flat land for a well laid out steel plant and township; (iii) proximity to a perennial water source; (iv) proximity to vast consuming centers in Uttar Pradesh small pig size (10 kg) preferred by foundaries; and (v) most of the civil works, structural works and major equipment for the major facilities are available. (ANI)

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Paswan appeals to steel makers to complete projects

February 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Feb 18 (ANI): Steel Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister Ram Vilas Paswan today appealed to all steel makers to complete their ongoing and planned projects as per schedule so that they are ready to reap maximum benefit of the upturn in demand that will follow the current economic slowdown.

Speaking at the 2nd Summit on ‘Mining to Steel Making’ organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here, Paswan said the Indian steel industry backed by a resurgent Indian economy will grow from strength to strength.

the country has natural resources, the skill base, technological acumen and the financial capability to make steel industry a centre-piece of Indian economic achievements,” he added.

He further said that just as India’s growth in the recent years has been largely driven by domestic factors, its steel sector has also grown on the back of a growing domestic market for steel backed by natural resource endowments on the supply side.

The steel producers should be mindful of using their raw materials judiciously and exercise extreme economy in use. All technology must be used to the fullest extent to optimize consumption of raw materials in line with global bench marks of efficiency, ” he added.

He said, our supply side advantages are indeed very strong and we should not fritter away our finite resources. (ANI)

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FACTBOX – Job cuts mount as global downturn bites

December 16, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Reuters – British electronics group Laird Plc on Tuesday announced the loss of 5,000 jobs, or nearly half its staff, as it predicted fourth-quarter revenues would be

25-30 percent below last year on a drop in demand.

The company said the jobs will have gone by the end of the final quarter from its manufacturing operations in North America and Asia.

Following are some details of major job cuts announced by companies in non-financial sectors since the beginning of September:

REGION – EUROPE:

COMPANY SECTOR NUMBERS DATE

————————————————————-

Renault Auto 6,000 Sept 09

Stora Enso Paper 3,150 Sept 10

UPM-Kymmene Paper 1,600 Sept 10

Alitalia Airlines 3,000 Sept 15

Akzo Nobel Manufacturing 3,500 Sept 29

Daimler AG Auto 2,300 Oct 14

ONO Telecoms 1,300 Oct 24

GKN Plc Auto 1,400 Oct 27

Volvo Auto/Equipment 4,340 Sep/Oct/Nov

BASF Chemicals 1,000 Oct 30

GlaxoSmithKline Pharma 1,200 Nov/Dec

ChTPZ Group Steel pipes 4,900 Nov 07

Telekom Austria Telecoms 1,250 Nov 10

Nokia Siemens

Networks Telecoms 1,820 Nov 11

British Telecom Telecoms 10,000 Nov 13

Spansion Inc Semiconductor 4,000 NOV 18

Wolseley Plumbing/Heating 7,300 Nov 18

Supplier

AstraZeneca Plc Drug maker 1,400 Nov 20

PSA Peugeot-Citroen

Auto 3,550 Nov 20

Rolls-Royce Engine maker 1,500-2,000 Nov 20

Sandvik Tool maker 2,400 Nov 20

freenet AG Telecoms 1,000 Nov 20

Philips Electronics

Healthcare 1,600 Nov 22

Skanska Construction 3,400 Nov 25

ArcelorMittal

Steel 9,000 Nov 27

Suzuki Motor Corp Auto 1,200 Nov 28

Telecom Italia Telecoms 9,000 Dec 3

SSAB Steel 1,300 Dec 8

SKF Bearings 2,500 Dec 10

Rio Tinto Mining 14,000 Dec 10

Stanley Works Tools 2,000 Dec 11

DSM NV Chemicals 1,000 Dec 15

Electrolux Home Appliance 3,000 Dec 15

Laird Plc Electronics 5,000 Dec 16

REGION – NORTH AMERICA:

COMPANY SECTOR NUMBERS DATE

————————————————————-

Hewlett-Packard IT 24,600 Sept 15

Federal Mogul Auto, Engg. 4,000 Sept 17

eBay IT 1,000 Oct 06

Micron Technology IT 2,800 Oct 09

BorgWarner Auto 1,250 Oct 17

Yahoo Inc Technology 1,500 Oct 22

Merck & Co Pharma 6,800 Oct 22

XEROX CORP Technology 3,000 Oct 23

Chrysler LLC Auto 6,000 Oct 24

Whirlpool Corp Consumer 5,000 Oct 28

Gannett Co Inc Media 3,200 Oct 28

YRC Worldwide Inc Transport 3,750 Oct 29

Tenneco Inc Auto 1,100 Oct 29

Wabco Auto 1,000 Oct 29

Motorola Mobile phones 3,000 Oct 30

TRW Auto 1,000 Oct 30

ArvinMeritor Inc Auto 1,250 Oct 31

Mattel Inc Consumer 1,000 Nov 06

Ford Motor Co Auto 2,260 Nov 07

DHL Express BV Transportation 9,500 Nov 10

Nortel Communications 1,300 Nov 10

Applied Materials Technology 1,800 Nov 12

Sun Microsystems IT Up to 6,000 Nov 14

Pepsi Bottling Group

Inc Soft drink 3,150 Nov 18

Neptune Orient Lines

Transportation 1,000 Nov 19

UAL Corp Airlines 1,200 Dec 3

AbitibiBowater Inc Paper 1,100 Dec 4

AT&T Inc Telecom 12,000 Dec 4

DuPont Chemical 2,500 Dec 4

Avis Budget Group Inc

Car Rental 2,200 Dec 4

Dow Chemical Co Chemical 5,000 Dec 8

Wyndham Worldwide Corp

Hotel 4,000 Dec 8

3M Co Manufacturer 2,300 Dec 8

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV

Breweries 1,400 Dec 8

Danaher Corp Manufacturing 1,700 Dec 8

Office Depot Inc Retail 2,200 Dec 10

BorgWarner Inc Auto 3,000 Dec 11

Furniture Brands

International Inc Furniture 1,500 Dec 11

Fairchild Semiconductor

International Inc IT 1,100 Dec 12

REGION – ASIA-PACIFIC:

————————————————————-

COMPANY SECTOR NUMBERS DATE

Nissan Auto 2,500 Oct 13

Nikon Cameras 1,500 Nov 22

Sony Corp Electronics 16,000 Dec 9

REGION – AFRICA

————————————————————–

COMPANY SECTOR NUMBERS DATE

Lonmin Mining 5,500 Nov/Dec

————————————————————–

REGION – MIDDLE EAST

————————————————————–

COMPANY SECTOR NUMBERS DATE

Saudi Basic Industries

Corp (SABIC) Plastics 1,000 Dec 11

————————————————————–

TOTAL 284,870

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Steel majors slash HR coil prices

November 4, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Steel majors slash HR coil priceshe steel major JSW Steel has announced a slash in prices of their HR coils amounting to Rs. 5,500. The reduction in total is now 25-30 percent as the industry already reduced its prices by 8-12 per cent in October.

The international prices that plummeted up to fifty percent from $1200-1250 a tonne between February and July compelled the national producers to lower down its mark bringing it to a level close to their marginal cost of production. The cost of production was higher as the coal prices were also set at a higher mark for the whole year.

While JSW has announced its stance, other steel companies such as Essar Steel and government owned SAIL has also reduced its prices by Rs 4,000-5,500 a tonne and Rs 4,000-6,000 a tonne respectively. Tata Steel and Ispat Industries are also expected to follow the same trend.

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