July, 18 2006
SAILs BSL plans 13 million tonnes by 2020 - Reports
It is reported that Steel Authority of India Ltd is considering to set up a 5 million tonne steel mill facility in the Bokaro Steel Plant premises at an estimated cost of Rs 20,000 crore and that the plan would soon be put up before the SAIL board for in principle approval.
As per reports Mr VK Srivastava MD of BSL admitted that the plan was on the drawing board but added that a final decision will only emerge after BSL completes its initial expansion entailing an investment to Rs 8,000 crore to increase BSLs hot metal capacity to 6.5 million tonnes in the next three four years as outlined in SAILs Corporate Plan 2011-12. Mr Srivastava said that after completion of phase 1 expansion in 2011-12, the company will embark on a second phase to further expand capacity to 8 million tonnes. And if approved this proposed facility will see BSLs capacity shooting to 13 million tonnes by 2020.
SS Blue Lady in the Greenpeace list of 50 toxic vessels
Greenpeace has selected 50 ships which might be scrapped and had asked the owners of these ships to declare that their ships will be decontaminated before scrapping at Asian countries. SS Blue Lady, which formerly sailed as SS Norway, is one of them.
In March 2005 when the ship was in the port of Bremerhaven, where the French workers who built the ship 45 years ago, called out for a protest on the potential departure of the ship for scrap without being decontaminated properly. According to the workers the ship contains 1250 tons of asbestos containing material. The workers don't want to expose the workers on Asian ship breaking yards to the risks that they were exposed to when building the ship. A lot of the French workers are now getting ill from working with the asbestos while building the ship in 1960.
Indian Supreme Court is to take a call on the future of SS Blue Lady now, as the report on toxic wastes aboard this vessel by a 15 member team from Central Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, National Institute of Occupational Health and Gujarat Maritime Board has been submitted to it last week. The inspection was carried out while SS Blue Lady, no longer powered, remained at anchor off Pipavav Port supported by two tugs Inetrsurf and Seaways 5, at an estimated cost of $70,000 per day as per local sources.
Local sources say that SS Blue Lady was bought by a group of Indian ship breakers with firm orders from a consortium of shipbuilders of Bangladesh and the vessel was meant to be broken at the shores of Bangladesh. But subsequent disputes on price renegotiation led to a ban on the entry of vessel in Bangladesh and the vessel was diverted t India as a last resort. If Supreme Court allows entry of SS Blue Lady and proper care is not taken while breaking, its toxic wastes may possibly contaminate Indian shores and endanger lives of workers.
Steel mills rush for coal blocks
It is reported that out of the 665 applications scrutinized by the ministry of coal for allotment of 20 coal blocks for captive mining, more than 50% are from steel industry. The remaining applicants are a mix from the cement and power industries. This indicates a rush for coal mines by steel majors in addition to great iron ore race.
The applications were in response to an advertisement put out by the ministry of coal late last year, inviting bids for allotment of 20 coal blocks and eight lignite blocks for captive mining from companies engaged in the generation of power, production of iron and steel or cement.
As per reports after the first round of scrutiny the applications have been forwarded to the respective state governments for recommendations. Majority of the blocks are in Jharkhand, West Bengal and Orissa.
As on January 1, 2006, the geological reserves of coal had been estimated at 253.30 billion tonne while proven reserves were 95.866 billion tonne.
Chhattisgarh rejects NMDCs proposal for sponge plant in Bastar
The Chhattisgarh government has rejected a proposal by National Mineral Development Corporation to set up a sponge iron plant and a 10MW power plant in the Bastar region.
IANS has quoted a senior state official as saying that The Chhattisgarh government has rejected the proposal in totality as NMDC has failed to keep up its previous written promise for setting up a Romelt technology based 1.5 million tonne per annum steel plant at Nagarnar, for which the government handed over 403 hectares land to the NMDC in 2002 overcoming stiff protest by locals. The Chhattisgarh government is in no way interested in NMDCs fresh proposal. How can the government allow it to build a sponge iron unit at Nagarnar, the same site that the company had selected 10 years ago for setting up a steel plant?
NMDC had submitted a proposal earlier this month for a 200,000 tonne per annum sponge iron plant and a power plant at Nagarnar in Bastar district of Chattisgarh.
NMDC had in the late 1990s announced plans to set up a steel plant at Nagarnar for which it was to manage the Romelt technology, used for extracting iron from any iron bearing wastes of mines, from Moscow Institute for Steel and Alloys.
Mining ministry entrusts IBM for quick approvals of mining plans
Indian mines ministry has decided to amend the existing rules so that applications for mining plan & scheme found to be in order at pre submission stage would be disposed off by the Indian Bureau of Mines within 90 days. In a review meeting of IBM activities at the Ministry of Mines it was felt that timely approval of mining plans is a crucial feature of ground mineral extraction and IBM should disseminate the amendment among all prospective mine owners applying for approval.
IBM was directed to update its web site and to make it more interactive. IBM would prepare an inventory of abandoned mining sites and prepare rehabilitation plans. Detailed guide lines for project implementation with prescribed unit cost would be prepared and mining companies would have to bear the cost of rehabilitation and regeneration. IBM has already prepared project proposals for 106 mine sites in consultation with Tata Energy Research Institute.
IBM proposed to create a legal cell to expedite clearance of pending cases to give more teeth to its regulatory activities. The Controller General, IBM pointed out that during 2003-04, 500 cases were filed involving 61 mines, out of which 300-350 cases are still pending. Creation of a legal cell in IBM is in consideration of the Ministry.
Orissa calls for ad valorem based royalty on mining
Orissa government has asked the planning commission to alter the calculation of royalty on mining from the present fixed rate basis to a value based one.
Orissa CM Mr Naveen Patnaik told reporters that the state had been losing annual revenue of Rs 150 crore due to fixed royalty. He said that if this was changed to ad valorem, then both the Centre and state could derive huge benefits.
State of Orissa is likely to see huge mining activity in future, if some of the MOUs for steel plant take shape of reality.
Paradip Port to develop 100 million tonne capacity by 2011-12
BL has reported that Paradip Port Trust plans to double its cargo handling capacity to 100 million tonnes by the end of the 11th Plan period 2011-12 by construction of a new dock system comprising of eight berths on the western side of the existing central dock system and creation of additional facilities both within the present dock system and outside of it for handling bulk items dry as well as liquid.
The additional 50 million tonne capacity would result from the construction of 8 new berths in would create an additional capacity of 16 million tonnes, the construction of a deep draught iron ore and coal berth within the present dock system another 20 million tonnes, the commissioning of the single point mooring about 20 kilometers from the coastline into the sea will help the port handle an estimated 9 million tonnes of crude traffic and deepening of the existing berth faces and the channel would help the port handle bigger vessels boosting the traffic throughput by an additional 5 million tonnes.
CILs training institute to train Petro Bangla executives
Bangladeshs official agency engaged in developing the mining sector in that country Petro Bangla has approached Coal India Ltds subsidiary Indian Institute of Coal Management to help it develop skilled managerial personnel so that it can be self sufficient to a considerable extent.
Petro Bangla wants to minimize its dependence on China in the area of developing mining of coal and other minerals. It feels that it will be easier to source technical and financial support from India rather than China. Currently, the country imports technology from China.
It is reported that IICM will prepare a special training program for the executives of Petro Bangla and may even conduct these courses in Dhaka.
Suzlon Energys US subsidiary bags 105MW orders
Suzlon Energy Ltd has informed that Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation, the USA, a subsidiary of the Suzlon Energy AS Denmark and a step down subsidiary of the Company has signed with Edison Mission Group for an additional 105 MW of capacity comprising of 50 units of Suzlon's S88 - 2.1 MW wind turbine generators, the delivery of which would begin in mid 2007.
ISMT board approves raising of $75 million
ISMT Ltd has informed that its board of directors in a meeting held on July 17, 2006, has approved the raising of funds to the extent of $75 million or equivalent amount in rupees, by way of issue of shares, global depository receipts or foreign currency convertible bonds by public offer, rights issue or private placement subject to the approval of the members.
The Board has also authorized the committee of the board of directors to finalize the mode(s), timing, terms and conditions of issue.
Western India Shipyard bags 3 ship repair orders
Western India Shipyard Ltd has announced that it has won 3 orders for repairing of vessels valued at Rs 70.00 million.
The orders include MV Swatirani at Rs 30.00 million, MT Maratha at Rs 30.00 million and MV Pyari Amma at Rs 10.00 million.
Adhunik Metaliks board approves Unistar takeover
Adhunik Metaliks Ltd has announced that the board of directors of the company at its meeting held on July 17, 2006 has approved the take over of Unistar Galvanizers & Fabricators Pvt Ltd.
Adhunik Metaliks also noted the allotment of Iron Ore Mines by the Government of Orissa to the Company.
China June crude steel output danger signal for global steel industry
China's crude steel production rose more than 18% in June to a record monthly level of 36.62 million tonnes. Chinas crude steel production for the first half of the year also rose by more than 18% to 199.47 million tonnes.
The first half figures indicate that Chinese steel production for 2006 would certainly be more than 400 million tonnes and most likely in the range of 420 million, as the monthly production is increasing every month, an increase of almost 15% to 20%.
If production continues at June's pace, surplus availability is likely to depress domestic prices and perhaps result in a flood of exports that could trigger trade disputes with other countries and start a downslide in global steel prices.
According to latest customs statistics China's steel exports already surged by 102% from the previous year to a record high of 4.43 million tons in June 2006 indicating that what is stored in future. China's net steel exports amounted to 2.76 million tons in June 2006 up by 35.96% over May 2006 as imports of 1.67 million tons of steel in June 2006 witnessed a drop of 33.46% YOY over June 2005.
Currently, China accounts for 33.4% of world steel output and in the January to May 2006 period, China accounted for 86.1% of new capacity brought on stream during the period. The sector continues to expand despite government efforts to reduce capacity, with analysts saying the country already has 100 million tons of excess installed capacity.
Esmark embarks on Wheeling-Pittsburgh takeover
Chicago based steel service center group Esmark Inc has announced a $1.1 billion hostile takeover bid for troubled Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corp., parent of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel, the company's primary operating subsidiary.
Esmark said that it plans to seek control of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel by proposing 6 to 11 candidates to replace directors at Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel at the its next annual shareholders meeting. If successful, Esmark said it would present a proposal to the board to merge Esmark with Wheeling-Pittsburgh. If accepted by the company's board of directors, Esmark's merger would be subject to approval by shareholders of Wheeling-Pittsburgh.
Mr James Bouchard CEO of Esmark said in a statement "Merging Esmark and Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corp. would create an American owned and operated steel company that offers shareholders and employees of Wheeling-Pittsburgh a stake in what would be a well managed and financially sound company; versus an unprofitable and highly leveraged integrated steelmaker."
Wheeling-Pittsburgh said in May it was talking to Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Siderurgica Nacional about a strategic alliance that could bring a minority investment in the company. The talks also included a possible long-term deal in which the Brazilian steelmaker would supply steel slabs to Wheeling-Pitt.
Phelps, Inco & Falconbridge improve offer terms
Phelps Dodge Corp, Inco Ltd and Falconbridge Ltd have improved the terms of their planned friendly merger. Phelps has raised the cash portion of its Inco bid by C$2.75 per share, Inco has increased the cash portion of its Falconbridge offer by C$1.00 per share and the Falconbridge board has declared a special cash dividend of C$0.75 per share. The companies said in a joint statement that the new terms mean Phelps values Inco at C$80.70 per share based upon the formers closing stock price and closing US/Canadian dollar exchange rate last Friday.
Phelps Dodge and Inco also amended their Combination Agreement to enable them to merge before Incos 100% acquisition of Falconbridge.
Incos amended offer for Falconbridge will expire on July 27.
If successful, the three-way combination of Phelps Dodge, Inco and Falconbridge will create one of the worlds leading mining companies and the largest based in North America. Phelps Dodge Inco will be the worlds leading nickel producer, the largest publicly traded copper producer and a leading producer of molybdenum and cobalt.
Mittal and Nippon Steel agree to keep ties-paper
Nihon Keizai Shimbun has reported that Mittal Steel and Nippon Steel Corp have agreed to continue an alliance between Nippon Steel and Arcelor following Mittal Steel's acquisition of Arcelor. According to the Nihon Keizai business daily, Mittal Steel CEO Mr LN Mittal and Nippon Steel President Mr Akio Mimura met on Sunday in the western Japanese city of Kyoto and agreed to maintain the alliance even after Mittal Steel's acquisition of Arcelor.
Nippon Steel provides Arcelor technologies for high grade sheet steel for automobiles and Arcelor sells most of this steel to Japanese car makers in Europe. The alliance had a clause allowing either party to terminate the contract in case of a change of company control, and investors have been watching closely to see whether Nippon Steel would end the agreement as Arcelor's high margin car steel business was seen as one of the great attractions for Mittal Steel.
Nihon Keizai also said that Mr Mittal and Mr Mimura agreed to consider expanding on an existing joint automotive steel business in North America.
Nippon Steel and Arcelor also have a venture in Shanghai with China's Baoshan Iron & Steel Co to produce sheet steel for Japanese car makers with plants in the region.
POSCO HQ under seized by striking workers and 75 injured
It is reported that POSCO will resort to emergency management measures as a violent labor dispute continues to damage its operations. The announcement came after 2,000 workers from several small builders subcontracted to POSCO on Sunday remained holed up inside the POSCOs 12 story office in Pohang.
The workers forced their way into the building on Thursday, protesting against what they called POSCO's illegal involvement in their labor action against their companies. They accused POSCO of providing substitute workers to weaken their bargaining position. The workers have been occupying the building after negotiations with their companies for higher wages and better working conditions failed. The strikers are believed to have taken over the building to dramatize their protest.
About 75 people have been injured in scuffles the last several days between police and striking workers who are occupying the headquarters of South Korean steelmaker Posco, police and media reports said Monday.
POSCO claimed the strike has resulted in damage equivalent to 10 billion won ($10.5 million) per day. It has asked police to remove the workers, but admitted that the strike could be a long drawn out affair since the construction workers are threatening to put up stiff resistance. Pohang police said it has cut off basic utilities to the upper stories of the POSCO building and will not allow the workers access to food
POSCO said actions by the striking workers, whom it does not hire directly, has not seriously affected the running of the company so far because POSCO workers were generally off duty from Saturday through Monday. The company, however, said administrative and management work could be disrupted from Tuesday, when its employees come to work. It added that because of the space taken over by the striking workers, the company will regulate the work schedules so about 70 percent of its 447 people at company headquarters in Pohang actually come to the office at any given day.
Fortescue - Nobel talks fail and new partner likely
Mr Andrew Forrest's Fortescue Metals Group is believed to be close to announcing a new partnership deal for its $2.5 billion Pilbara iron ore project after talks with Hong Kong based Noble Group broke down. Russian Severstal and Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation are now Fortescue's most likely saviors. FMG called a trading halt yesterday ahead of a statement by Noble to the Singapore Stock Exchange saying it had halted talks with the Fortescue Metals.
Noble had been planning to take a 10 per cent stake in FMG for between $270 million and $300 million. A source close to the company said the sticking point may have been a demand by Noble for a 51 per cent stake in FMG's marketing arm. Mr Richard Elman CEO of Noble said that the parties had failed to reach agreement on certain elements of various contracts. He said "If at some point in the future we can reach an understanding with regard to marketing their iron ore to China, we would be extremely pleased."
Mr Graeme Rowley Fortescue operations director was confident an alternative equity deal would be struck soon. He said "We've been in discussions with a number of people and will continue to do that until we can reach a satisfactory financial settlement. I'm confident that we will do that." Mr Rowley declined to reveal the prospective partners, but said Fortescue expected to finalize its funding initiatives soon.
Once a cornerstone equity partner is secured, Fortescue is expected to launch a $1 billion to $1.5 billion bond issue in the US to provide the remaining funds needed to develop the ambitious Pilbara venture.
Nickel rises to 19 year high on LME as stockpiles decline
Bloomberg has reported that the nickel rose to its highest in at least 19 years as stockpiles shrank, curbing supply and that the price has almost doubled this year. Nickel for delivery in three months on the LME increased by $1,200 or 4.7% to $26,800 a ton as of 10:30 AM London time.
Nickel stockpiles tracked by the London Metal Exchange fell 120 tons to 6,462 tons, the lowest level since May 18 2005. Of the 6,462 tons in LME warehouses, 3 594 are under canceled warrants. That leaves less than 3 000 in warehouse and available which is incredibly low.
Credit Suisse Group said last month in a report that nickel demand in 2006 will beat output by 15,000 tons.
Rautaruukki, SKF and Wartsila to sell Ovako
Rautaruukki Corporation, AB SKF and WtsilCorporation have signed an agreement to sell the operating companies owned by Oy Ovako Ab to a company owned by the shareholders of Hombergh Holdings BV, WP de Pundert Ventures BV and Pampus Industrie Beteiligungen GmbH & Co. KG. The transaction is subject to relevant regulatory approvals and is expected to close in September 2006.
The total price for the shares is approximately Euro 660 million, comprising a cash payment at closing of approximately Euro 535 million, a deferred cash payment of Euro 15 million to be paid in July 2008 and an interest bearing vendor note of Euro 110 million to be paid within 3 to 6 years from closing. In addition, the buyer will assume estimated net debt of Euro 40 million at closing, making Ovako's Enterprise Value approximately Euro 700 million.
The new Ovako was established in May 2005, when the owners combined their long steel businesses into a jointly owned new company. Rautaruukki, SKF and Wtsilown 47.0%, 26.5% and 26.5% of Ovako, respectively. With 16 production sites and some 4,600 employees in Europe, Ovako is a leading producer of engineering long steel products for the European rolling bearing, heavy vehicle, automotive and general engineering industries. Pro forma net sales in 2005 amounted to Euro 1.3 billion.
Hombergh Holdings BV and WP de Pundert Ventures BV are Dutch holding companies active in among others precast concrete, steel and energy sectors. Pampus Industrie Beteiligungen GmbH & Co. KG a major player in the German steel industry with 18 factories in Germany and one in Canada.
Arcelor and Bamesa to set up a steel service centre in Romania
Arcelor has announced that it is setting up a steel service centre 40:60 JV with Spanish group Bamesa in the Topoloveni region which is close to Pitest where French auto major Renault has Dacia facility producing Logan car. Arcelor and Bamesa would invest euro 30 million between now and 2008. Construction work has already begun and the service center will be running in the first half of 2007.
The service center would cater to high end steel needs from auto and appliances segments. The service center will feature leading edge technology and will use press blanking, slitting, cut to length and trapezoidal lines to meet customers' requirements for sheet metal that is cut and formed to order.
Mr Michel Wurth deputy CEO in charge of Arcelor's flat products sector, stressed the importance of this initiative as part of Arcelor's leadership strategy in the automotive industry: "This new SSC enables us to extend our relationships with existing major international customers moving into this region. As world number one in automotive steels, Arcelor offers the same high product quality and tailored service standards wherever our customers are located."
Bamesa and Arcelor have already been working together for more than eight years. Their service center JV Bamesa lik is the leading steel service centre in Turkey.
Bamesa, based in Spain, has steel service centers in Spain, Portugal, France and Turkey, along with interests in Mexico and Romania. Bamesa's projected 2006 sales are over euro 1 billion.
Evraz Group reported to bid for Thach Khe iron deposit in Vietnam
Russian Kommersant has reported that Evraz Group has submitted a bid in the tender for conducting feasibility study, along with Giproruda Institute for Designing Mining and Ore Enterprise, for mining and processing venture at Thach Khe deposit in Vietnam adding that Evraz may drop the project if Vietnam insists on building a steel plant also.
Vietnams Thach Khe deposit is reported to have 544 million tons of iron ore reserves with Fe content of 61% to 62%. Vietnam wants to build a mine with the annual capacity of 5 million tons of ore and a 4.5 million ton enterprise of flat steel plant located 50 kilometer from the mine at an estimated cost of $3 billion.
Polaris buys Heron's iron ore assets in Western Australia
Australian Polaris Metals NL will acquire Kalgoorlie's Heron Resources Ltd's Western Australian iron ore projects, comprising a total of 50 tenements covering 4,000 square kilometers in a $5.5 million deal. Under the deal Heron will receive about $5.5 million worth of Polaris shares or 29.73 million shares and up to 15 million performance options with MD Mr Ian Buchhorn to accept a board position with Polaris.
The deal includes the Poondano project about 25 kilometers from Port Hedland in WA's North Pilbara region which has a target potential of between 5 million and 15 million tonnes of iron ore and an option over the Bungalbin project in the Yilgarn province. Bungalbin is already being explored by iron ore miner Portman Ltd under an option agreement.
Mr Kevin Schultz MD of Polaris said that the deal underpinned the company's existing iron ore focus. He said "The deal offers a significant boost to Polaris' existing iron ore portfolio at Goldsworthy in the North Pilbara and the company's Evanston project in the proven Yilgarn iron ore province."
The sale of the iron ore assets is part of a broader asset sale to allow Heron to focus on its nickel projects, including the Kalgoorlie nickel project. Heron is also spinning off other non-nickel projects including its uranium and copper-gold interests.
Monarch acquires Feralloy Corps Cleveland facility.
Monarch Steel Co. announced that it has entered into a purchase agreement with Feralloy Corp to acquire its operations and facilities at 4650 Johnston Parkway in Cleveland. The transaction is expected to close within the next 30 days. Both companies have developed a mutual transition plan intended to provide service continuity to their customers during this interim period.
Both companies are processors and distributors of steel products.
Chicago based Feralloy Corporation was founded in 1954 by TUI AG and operates an extensive network of processing centers strategically located throughout the US and Mexico. Eight coil processing plants, as well as five joint venture facilities, provide value added processing of hot rolled, pickled, cold rolled and coated sheet products to manufacturers and producers.
Tin carrying ship hijacked
Platts has reported that a ship carrying a consignment of refined tin of Malaysia Smelting Corp was hijacked over the weekend in Bangka Sea. Platt has cited a company official as saying that "The ship contains our refined tin and other producers from Bangka. We are claiming for insurance now." Thee company official did not give further details.
It is reported that it was a regular shipment from its 75% owned Indonesian smelter PT Koba Tin on Bangka Island, which ships 1,600 tonnes to 2,000 tonnes of refined tin to Singapore from Bangka Island every year.
MSC's Butterworth plant in Malaysia has a designed capacity of 50,000 tonnes per year while 75% owned Indonesian PT Koba has a maximum output capacity is 20,000 tonnes per year.
Highveld sales price disappoints markets
Financial market and steel analysts expressed disappointment with Anglo Americans sale of its 79% stake in steel maker Highveld Steel & Vanadium to Russian steel maker Evraz for $678 million and with the news of the transaction Highvelds share price fell by 13.51% to end on last Friday at R64 a share.
Anglo American sold the stake for an average price of R62.36 a share, representing a 13% premium to the average price of R55.15 a share for the 30 days before Anglos announcement of its intentions to sell Highveld in last October. However, analysts and investors had been expecting Anglo to sell its stake for a far larger premium.
Anglos announcement last year that it was selling its 79% interest in Highveld propelled its companys price upwards, at one stage trading as high as R99 a share and R62.36 a share was a 15% discount to R74 a share, which was Highvelds closing price on Thursday.
Mr Stephen Meintjes an analyst with Imara SP Reid said that Anglo American could have negotiated a higher price and that R55.15 a share was a depressed price. He added that Anglo American, however, did not have much choice. They could not dilly dally and delay the implementation of their strategy because of unfavorable market conditions at one of their businesses. They had no control over the timing of the sale.
AK Steel increases surcharge on electrical steel for August shipments
AK Steel announced that it plans to add a surcharge of $235 per ton to its electrical steel products shipped in August. The August surcharge is up from a $225 per ton surcharge added to July shipments of electrical steel products.
AK Steel said the surcharges are based on reported prices for raw materials and energy used to manufacture the products, with the June 2006 purchase cost used to determine the August 2006 surcharges.
Iranian Sadid Pipes secures $30million loan
The Islamic Development Bank has agreed to grant a $30 million loan to Irans Sadid Pipes and Equipment Company. The interest rate on the loan is based on the 12 month LIBOR plus an additional 1.4%.
According to the terms of the agreement Sadid Pipes and Equipment Company will purchase HR coils from the Saudi Arabian Noble Night Trading Co.
Sadid Pipes and Equipment Company is a major producer of steel pipes up to 3,000 mm diameter for oil, gas and water projects.
V&Ms Brazilian unit plans 13.8% increase in seamless tube sales
BNamericas has reported that Vallourec & Mannesmanns Brazilian subsidiary V&M do Brasil plans to sell 525,000 tonnes of seamless tubes this year as compared to 461,000 tonnes in 2005.
A VM do Brasil official told BNamericas "It is worth mentioning that in 2005 there was a production halt to conduct the expansion works. The expanded plant, located in Minas Gerais capital Belo Horizonte, has output capacity of 560,000 tonnes per year.
V&M do Brasil is controlled by V&M Tubes, a joint venture between France's Valourec and Germany's Mannesmannrohren-Werke AG.
AK announces tentative labor agreement at Butler
AK Steel Corp announced that it has reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract with its United Auto Workers local in Butler in Pennsylvania. Talks in Butler began on June 20 as the present contract covering that plant expires September 30th 2006.
AK announced a tentative agreement with its UAW local in Zanesville in early May. That agreement, covering about 200 workers, was ratified by May 9.
But AK and its union of Middletown workers, Armco Employees Independent Federation, have not reached an agreement on a new contact though their talks started on November 30th 2005 and AK has locked out AEIF members from Middletown Works since March 1st.
Mr Brian Daley AEIF president does not believe the announcement of an agreement in Butler puts AEIF leaders in an awkward position. He said I see it as putting AK Steel in an awkward position. Why is it that AK Steel will negotiate with other unions night and day, and they wont come to the table with us? Theyve had our proposal for a week now.
AK Steels track record in reaching seven new labor agreements since 2003 speaks for itself, said Alan McCoy, AK vice president, government and public relations. Our goal has always been, and continues to be, to reach a competitive new labor agreement with the AEIF.
ZIIC posts 83.2% increase in net profit during January to June
Zamil Industrial Investment Company, has announced a net profit after Zakat contributions of SAR 96.9 million ($25.9 million) for the first half of this year, an increase of 83.2% over the same period in 2005. Total turnover for the first half of this year was SAR 1.34 billion ($356 million), an increase of SAR 143 million ($38.2), representing a 12% growth over the same period in 2005.
Total exports amounted to SAR 500 million ($133.3 million), representing 37% of turnover. The products of ZIIC's sector businesses are marketed and sold in more than 80 countries around the world.
Mr Khalid A Al Zamil MD of ZIIC said "ZIIC's performance during the first half of the year was remarkable with significant growth compared with the same period last year. Securing several major contracts contributed to this. We anticipate continued growth for the remainder of this year."
Saudi Arabia based ZIIC is an international manufacturing and fabrication group focused on growth segments of the construction industry like steel, air conditioners, glass and insulation.
Timken raises Q2 and 2006 earnings estimates
The Timken Company announced estimated 2006 second quarter earnings per diluted share of approximately $0.79, up from $0.73 per diluted share for the same period a year ago.
Excluding the impact of special items, the company estimates 2006 second quarter earnings per diluted share of $0.89, up from the previous estimate of $0.75 to $0.80 per diluted share and above last year's second quarter earnings of $0.77 per diluted share.
The difference between reported and adjusted earnings is due primarily to restructuring and rationalization charges and the impact from asset dispositions.
Mr James W Griffith Timken president and CEO said "We are pleased to deliver another strong quarter for our shareholders. Our better than expected results reflect the continued strength of our industrial markets as well as improved execution. Steel Group performance, in particular, was very good in the second quarter, due to both market demand and productivity gains. Second quarter result also benefited from lower pension and retiree medical expenses."
Centrex metals to list today on the ASX
South African Centrex Metals is expected to list on the Australian Stock Exchange today after raising more than $8 million in its initial public offer.
The Adelaide based company plans to spend at least $2.4 million in its first year, proving up its iron ore projects on the Eyre Peninsula.
The company has tenements covering more than 2000 sq km, all of which are close to vital infrastructure.
