April, 16 2006
POSCO CEO vows to meet deadline for Paradip project
POSCO has said its Indian project is on schedule despite stiff opposition to its 12 million tonne steel plant in Orissa and is confident that its experience in building mammoth steel plants will help in overcoming all hurdles to the Indian project.
POSCOs CEO Mr Ku-Taek Lee reportedly told a group of visiting Indian journalists in South Korea Like the Pohang and Gwangyang plants, which are pride of South Korea, what I dream and hope for is that the project in Orissa will be successful and get a pride of place in the state. I reiterate that the project is on schedule. The protest has delayed some of our deadlines, but if you look at the progress of the plant, we are on target. The central government and the state are lending us good support.
We are putting all our efforts in building up the plant. POSCO is not a company that only talks. We are a company that walks its talk Mr Lee said.
Carbon trading begins in India
It is reported that two Indian firms have become the first in India to receive payments from a UK firm for helping reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere marking the arrival of carbon trading in India, opening a fresh stream of dollar earning opportunities for those investing in clean technologies in the country.
Pune based Mahalaxmi Construction Corporation Ltd and its sister company RDS Construction Ltd in Kolhapur recently received the payment from Climate Care, a UK based carbon credit trading company, under a carbon trading agreement after they individually commissioned 0.8 MW wind power turbines in Karnataka and signed an emission reduction purchase agreement with Climate Care.
By generating power using wind energy, instead of polluting fossil fuels such as coal or oil, the two wind driven turbines will help save 1,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide being emitted in the atmosphere per year.
WCL reports net profit of Rs 1,351 crores in 2005-06
The Nagpur headquartered Western Coalfields Limited has produced record 43.20 million tonnes of coal during 2005-06 resulting in Rs 1,351 crore.net profit. WCL had produced 41.41 million tonnes in 2004-05.
WCL CMD Mr GS Chugg told that the estimated turnover of WCL during the year 2005-06 is Rs 4,906 crore, showing an increase of Rs 401 crore against previous year's Rs 4,505 crore. The estimated profit is to the tune of Rs 1,351 crore against Rs 935 crore of previous fiscal, he said, adding that the company has recorded a growth of 4.3% over previous year.
WCL would be investing, from profits, in procuring latest sophisticated machines for underground mining operations to minimize the losses and enhance the production.
Gangavaram port settles for Malaysian Integrax in place of Dubai port
Gangavaram Port Limited announced that it no longer has any connection with Dubai Port International which had initially planned to hold a 13% cent equity in the venture. "Dubai Port association with us was only as a technical service provider. Subsequently we severed all links with them, including the offer for equity participation," said the GPL CMD Mr D V S Raju.
Mr Raju said Malaysia based Integrax Berhad was now GPL's technical partner besides having a 20% equity in the company. "As promoters we have a 51% share in the company while 11% in state government equity. A US based international fund holds the balance equity of 18%" Mr Raju added.
Mr Raju said that things were moving as per schedule "If work progress at this pace, the project will be ready by December 2007. But even if there is a delay of 10 days, the project schedule will be upset by many months" he said. The GPL plans to complete five berths to handle 25 to 30 million tonnes of cargo by December 2007. The balance 24 berths, that can handle a total of 200 million tonnes of cargo, would be completed in a phased manner.
Orissa Sponge allots equity shares to Torsteel Research Foundation
Orissa Sponge Iron & Steel Ltd has informed BSE that with reference to the earlier announcement regarding issue of equity share warrants on preferential mode to the promoters Torsteel Research Foundation, TRFI has paid balance 90% of consideration on January 09, 2006 and requested to convert the warrants into equity shares.
On the request of TRFI, the Board of Directors at its meeting held on January 31, 2006 has allotted the equity shares in lieu of equity share warrants.
Daitari-Banspani track by year end to improve iron ore movement
Mr NK Goel General Manager of East Coast Railway said that the Daitari-Keonjhar-Banspani rail route will be commissioned by the end of this year.
The new route would achieve the distinction of being the first line in the country for running 25 tonne axel load goods train, he claimed. Besides, it will help the Railways achieve an additional iron ore loading.
CSN and Esmark eyeing troubled Wheeling-Pitt Steel
It is reported that Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel is in takeover talks with Brazilian steelmaker Cia Siderurgica Nacional and Chicago based steel processor Esmark and that Wheeling Pittsburgh's board of directors met Thursday to consider an offer from Esmark. Takeover speculation has buoyed Wheeling-Pitt shares, which have more than doubled this year.
Takeover rumors have been rampant for months because of Wheeling-Pitt's deteriorating finances. Last month, it reported a Q4loss of $23.4 million. It also said it was granted some breathing room by lenders and the federal Emergency Steel Loan Guarantee Board, which provided a $250 million loan that, financed the steel maker's 2003 bankruptcy reorganization. Wheeling-Pitt lost $33.8 million last year on production of 2.5 million tons. The company warned analysts in March that it expects to a first quarter loss.
CSN, Brazil's largest steel producer, has been at the top of a list of potential buyers. Wheeling-Pitt rolls CSN steel slabs into sheet and sends them on to CSN's Terre Haute plant for further processing. Industry sources say CSN wants to acquire a US steel producer to increase its footprint in North America.
The Chicago steel processor Esmark has purchased nine steel processors since it was founded in 2003. The company currently purchases about 750,000 tons of semi finished sheet annually, then rolls, coats and cuts it for customers in the construction, appliance and other markets. Wheeling-Pitt would give Esmark a captive source of steel.
S Korean farmers fund may buy POSCOs shares
It is reported that The National Agricultural Cooperative Federation is likely to buy shares in POSCO citing an official of the farmers' fund. It's not decided yet, but the chances are very high,'' Im Jung Soo, an investment manager at the fund, said. We are considering it as an investment opportunity'' he added.
Im was responding to a Chosun Ilbo report that Shinhan Financial Group Ltd, South Korea's second largest lender, and the farmers' fund each agreed to buy stakes of about 1% to help fend off any hostile bid. The newspaper cited an unidentified POSCO executive.
It is reported that Mr Kim Jeong Hoon, a spokesman for Shinhan Financial, declined to comment and Mr Yoon Duk Il, head of POSCO's investor relations team said the steel maker did not ask any local financial institutions to buy its shares.
Shougang's profit drops by 65% in Q1 of 2006
China's second biggest producer of steel Beijing Shougang Co reported drop in profit by 65% in the first quarter from a year earlier because of lower prices and higher costs of raw materials. Net income fell to 99.6 million yuan ($12.4 million) from 284.2 million yuan a year ago, according to domestic accounting standards. Sales rose to 5.3 billion yuan from 5.24 billion yuan.
China's steel prices fell 31% during 2005 and reached a low for 2005 in the fourth quarter.
USs energy needs open new opportunities for coal mining in Appalachian
Appalachian regions coalmining industry, which went into a nosedive in the 1980s because of falling foreign demand and increased production of cheaper coal from Western states, s on the rebound and mines are being reopened with the skyrocketing cost of oil and new pollution controls. Demand for US coal is expected to be a record 1.2 billion tons this year, up from 1.18 billion in 2005, according to the National Mining Association. Production is forecast to be 1.16 billion tons, a 3.2 percent increase over 2005. 69 mines opened in Appalachia last year, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
Many credit coal's revival to it being seen as an alternative to increasingly expensive oil and natural gas. Others point to the binge in construction of or plans for new coal fired power plants to satisfy the nation's surging demand for electricity. High sulfur coal tied to air polluting sulfur dioxide was once shunned because it was too expensive and dirty to burn, blamed for acid rain and watershed damage. But more power plants are using advanced pollution controlling scrubbers and are better equipped to handle such fuel.
"The market's very strong," said Mr Bruce Hann GM of Central Appalachian Mining of Ohio, which in 2004 reopened the Hopedale Mine near this eastern Ohio town of about 3,300. "It was just an economic decision. It made sense."
Mittal Steel SA pricing model required for sustenance
An expert witness brought to a Competitions Commission Tribunal against Mittal Steel SA believes that Mittal Steel may have to close down in the longer term if it was forced to change its pricing model. Mr Mike Walker, deputy chairman of the financial consulting company CRA International and a specialist in competition law was the last witness brought to the tribunal in which some gold miners have charged that Mittal's import parity pricing model was unfair.
Mr Walker was trying to prove to the tribunal that Mittal Steel SA's pricing structure was not extraordinarily high because when viewed historically, the company was unable to earn enough during the steel purchasing cycle to cover its weighted average capital cost. "I don't propose that Mittal shut down immediately. It has its assets and should continue using them" Mr Walker said. But in response to a question from Harmon Gold's senior legal counsel, Mr David Unterhalter, on whether Mittal Steel's operations were unsustainable in the long term, Mr Walker said "On the basis of the figures, yes. Mittal should not continue its operations in the long term."
Mr Unterhalter rejected the theory suggested by Mr Walker on the grounds that if it were correct, the future was very bleak for five other top South African companies. "If your theory is correct, it sketches a sombre picture that some of the most important companies in South Africa's corporate landscape do not have a long-term future" Mr Unterhalter argued.
The tribunal is expected to make its findings known after the Easter recess of several public holidays over the next fortnight.
Assmags BKM iron project to break ground in June 2006
Diversified miner Assmang expects the first pick in the ground at its newly announced R3.2 billion Bruce, King, Mokaning (BKM) iron ore export, now known as Khumani Iron Ore Mine project by midyear. The project lies adjacent to Kumba Resources giant Sishen mine, near Kathu in the Northern Cape, and will replace and surpass the 5.5 million tons currently being produced yearly at Assmangs Beeshoek mine, located in the same iron rich neighborhood, but further to the south.
The development of a Greenfield 8.4 million tons a year export mine on the Bruce, King, and Mokaning farms in the Northern Cape. A second-phase expansion to 16 million tons is already being considered. The iron ore will be mined from a series of open pits by conventional drill, blast and loading into trucks for hauling to the primary and secondary crushers. From there, it will be transferred by conveyor to stockpiles ahead of the plant. The run of mine ore will be stockpiled on blending beds in two categories, on grade and off grade. On-grade material will then be washed and screened to produce the final products and incorporates tertiary crushing of the oversize material from the screening plant. Off-grade material will also be washed and screened and the oversized crushed in the tertiary crushers and, thereafter, beneficiated through jigs to remove contaminants. The product will be railed to Saldanha Bay and the export market. Three products will be produced lumpy, medium size and fines. The lumpy will grade at 66% iron, while the medium size will be at 65.5% iron, and fines will grade at 65% iron.
Earthwork on the site is scheduled to start in June 2006 with first production expected during the early months of 2008. The project team is currently busy with detailed engineering and design as well as putting in place all contracts, structures and procedures for the start of construction. Key milestones include start of earthworks in June, start of civil construction in August, start of steel fabrication in September, start of mechanical erection in January 2007, start of piping fabrication in February 2007, start of piping erection in May 2007, start of electrical and instrumentation installation in June 2007, start of cold commissioning in September 2007, and start of hot commissioning in November 2007.
Assmang is a 50:50 JV between Assore and African Rainbow Mineral.
Arcelor silent on possible Russian move
Arcelor is refusing to say whether it could sell part of the company to Mr Lisin Chairman of NLMK to fend off a hostile takeover bid by Mittal Steel. There has been media speculation that Mr Vladimir Lisin, Russia third richest man and owner of a NLMK firm may buy a 15% stake in Arcelor.
Reportedly Arcelor's CEO Mr Guy Dolle may meet Mr Lisin on April 23 at a steel industry event in Spain.
That would make things more difficult for Mittal Steel's attempt to buy Arcelor.
Danieli to modernize structural mill at CMC Steel Alabama
Danieli Morgdshammar has been contracted for the supply of two new 26 vertical breakdown rolling units for modernization of the CMC Steel structural mill in Birmingham.
Installation of the new heavy duty SHS housingless type roll stands in place of two old rolling units will enhance plant efficiency and operating conditions and will contribute in minimizing the present maintenance requirements. The supply will include spare rolling units, set of entry & exit guides, workshop equipment for rolls changing and auxiliaries.
The new breakdown units will be designed for taking up to 6 1/4 square billets and 10x6 rectangular blooms. Danieli automatic finishing facilities with cooling bed, in line straightening & cutting to length unit and a 90 ft long automatic stacker operate successfully at this plant since early 1999. In the following years some other minor modifications were made to the existing finishing mill, including new spindle supports. The structural mill produces up to 8 WF beams, 4 S beams, 6 angles and 8 channels and flats.
ZIIC turnover grows by 20% to $632 million
Dammam based Zamil Industrial Investment Company has reported a turn over of SR2.4 billion ($631.9 million) for 2005 a growth of 20.5% over 2004 and net profit after Zakat contribution of $28.4 million. Shareholders equity grew by 18.7% to SR587.5 million. Export sales accounted for $249 million representing 39% of total revenues and 5% growth over 2004.
ZIIC was founded in 1998. It employs more than 6,500 people in 55 countries. As an international manufacturing and fabrication group, it provides leading air conditioning, pre-engineered steel buildings, structural steel products, process equipment, transmission and telecommunications towers, open web joists and decks, and architectural glass processing solutions to meet the requirements of the global construction industry through its three sector businesses Zamil Air Conditioners, Zamil Steel Industries and Zamil Glass Industries.
Azerboru OJSC to supply pipes to Russia
Azerbans Azerboru OJSC plans to sign long term contract with the Russian Oil Gas Trade House to organize sale of its pipes in Russia. Mr Azim Azimov Chairman of Azerboru told media "Pursuant to the contract concluded with the Russian Oil Gas Trade House first lot of pipes more than 1000 tonnes was delivered to the Russian market. At the end of April we will sign another contract for the next lot of pipes for about 4000 tonness and later this contract will be continued."
Mr.Azimov informed that said that one mill was commissioned at the end of the last year in Sumgait and plans are on for commissioning of more units. Special program was developed for improvement of production. $10 million of investment and $20 million of turnover means are required to resume production. If the necessary capital is attracted, it will be possible to produce 324,000 tonnes of pipes every year he said.
Mr Azimov also said that in the future Azerboru OJSC intends to advance proposal to establish steel mill complex in the territory near Dashkesan.
Solid Energy gets approval to shift endangered snails to start coal mining
State owned New Zealand mining company Solid Energy said that it will shell out 2 million New Zealand dollars (US$1.2 million) moving a colony of endangered snails from the site of a planned coal mine. The company will deploy a team of 15 snail catchers to pluck 250 giant Powelliphanta augustus snails from their home on a hill rising from the country's South Island, the only place the snails are known to live and transport them each in their own sterile plastic container to a new home.
The government on Wednesday granted Solid Energy permission to shift the snails from Mount Augustus on South Island's West Coast, clearing the way for NZ$400 million (US$246 million) of high quality coal to be extracted.
A group opposed to plans to move rare snails to make way for a coal mine on the West Coast says Solid Energy has exaggerated how much money it will make from the project. The group says the company has been exaggerating the value of the mine to create increased pressure on the Conservation Minister.
Solid Energy says the group has misinterpreted the information and it stands by the figures.
Ten major carmakers to launch production in Russia
About ten major foreign car markers are planning to assemble cars in Russia, the industry and energy minister Mr Viktor Khristenko told local media. Mr Khristenko said the Russian car market worth $22 billion per year was witnessing stable and serious growth.
"Toyota, which signed a memorandum on its intention to build a plant near St. Petersburg is completing an agreement on its investments," he said. "Renault is also working in this direction and is set to finalize plans on its presence in the Moscow Region." Ford is currently assembling its cars in Vsevolzhsk, the Volga Area, Renault in Moscow and General Motors, BMW and Kia in Kaliningrad, Russia's exclave on the Baltic Sea. Volkswagen and Nissan are planning to open production in Russia soon. SeverstalAvto signed licensing agreements with FIAT, Ssang Yong and Isuzu. AvtoVaz and General Motors are producing Chevrolet Niva 4WD.
Mr Khristenko said it was a different type of activity when Russian investors purchased a right to produce foreign cars and cited the production of Kia Spectra in Izhevsk in European Russia and Ssang Yong Rexton offroaders by Severstal Avto. "Today we see that industrial assembly is the most rapidly growing sector on the Russian market," the minister said.
Moody acquires 49% stake in Chinese rating agency CCXI
Leading international credit rating agency Moody's Corporation has entered agreement to buy a 49% stake in China Cheng Xin International Credit Rating Co. Ltd. Terms and conditions of the transaction were not disclosed, but CCXI said Moody's has an option to increase its ownership over time as permitted by Chinese authorities. The transaction will be subject to regulatory approvals by the Chinese government.
Moody's will provide management expertise, technical support on rating methodologies and training of analysts. CCXI will continue to provide domestic ratings reflecting relative credit risk within China, while Moody's will continue to provide globally ratings. Moody's and CCXI also plan to market joint ratings to global issuers in the local Chinese markets.
"Moody's partnership with CCXI establishes an important platform for Moody's to provide credit ratings, research and analysis in China. Moody's will benefit from CCXI's local market knowledge and CCXI will benefit from Moody's technical know-how in credit ratings and analysis" said Mr Raymond W McDaniel Jr President and CEO of Moody's Corporation.
Established in 1992, CCXI is one of the first domestic credit rating agencies in China. It is headquartered in Beijing and specializes in providing rating opinions on corporate bonds, convertible bonds, financial institutions, structured finance and short term financing paper.
BSSA plans a seminar to promote use of SS at 2012 Olympics
Mr Nigel Ward the director of the British Stainless Steel Association while speaking at BSSA annual lunch said that the 2012 Olympics will provide an excellent opportunity for the stainless steel industry.
BSSA plans to hold a special seminar in the autumn targeted at architects, engineers and construction companies involved in the Olympics to promote the use and benefits of stainless steel.
