SAIL considering take over of NISCO

Business Line has reported that Steel Authority of India Ltd is keen to take over Howrah based West Bengal state owned sick unit National Iron and Steel Company Ltd, if the state government agrees to write off all the liabilities.

Mr SK Roongta told The Hindu that SAIL was interested in setting up a downstream unit, like a rerolling facility at NISCO, using billets produced by the SAIL plants. He indicated that the 350 odd employees would be retained as SAIL employees in case the takeover came thorough.

As per reports NISCO with accumulated losses of about Rs 150 crore has 125 acres of free hold land in Belur with its own railway siding. NISCO was set up as a mini-steel plant in 1934 and had three electric arc furnaces, a finishing line and a steel foundry with an annual capacity of 30,000 tonnes. It has been closed for six years but reports suggest that it will have good synergies with the SAILs Durgapur Steel Plant and the IISCO Steel Plant.

RINL plans to set up a seamless tube mill

Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, as a pert of its expansion plan, is reported to be considering setting up a seamless tube mill to enter the booming OCTG segment

Mr Y Siva Sagar Rao CMD of RINL said We will start manufacturing seamless pipes for oil and gas pipelines as the energy sector has great potential for growth both domestically and abroad. The current plan is to manufacture 300,000 tonne seamless pipes by December 2008 at an investment of Rs 850 crores.

RINL plans to increase its capacity of hot metal to 8.5 million tonnes from current level of 3.4 million tonnes by 2011-12 at an investment of Rs 8,692 crore.

Indian Railways manufacturing units meet targets during April to August

It is reported that all the production units of Indian Railway have either met or exceed the targets set for production during April to August period.

Integral Coach Factory produced 449 coaches during the period April to August 2006 exceeding the target by 8 coaches.

Rail Wheel Factory produced 57713 wheels and 22066 axles during April-August 2006 as compared to the target of 55522 wheels and 21774 axles.

Chitranjan Locomotive Works, Diesel Locomotive Works and Rail Coach Factory produced 48 electric locos, 77 locos and 525 coaches respectively equaling the target.

Power ministry aiming for 2-3 ultra power projects in each state

It is reported that power ministry is working towards a plan where each state may have two ultra mega power plants after the number of ultra mega power projects has increased from four to eight.

Mr Sushil Kumar Shinde union minister of power recently said that "Since I have taken over as power minister, the number of ultra mega power projects has gone up from four to eight. We may even have a situation where there are two-three ultra mega power projects in a state.

Mr Shinde informed that the power purchase agreement for the Sasan and Mundra ultra mega power projects will be signed early in October.

At present, the government is concentrating on awarding the Sasan in Madhya Pradesh and Mundra in Gujarat projects by the end of the year. Next in line are the projects in the Ib Valley in Orissa and Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

NTPC to execute 1000MW Nabinagar power project alone

It is reported that NTPC Ltd has proposed to implement the 1,000 MW Nabinagar power project on its own.

The Rs 4,000 crore projects was conceived as a JV of the Indian Railways and NTPC in 2002 for meeting the captive power needs of railways but the project has not taken off for almost 4 years due to differences between the railways and the power ministry over its implementation.

All the required clearances related to land, environment and fuel are in place for the project at Nabinagar. Coal India Limited has confirmed the coal availability of this project from its coal fields in Pachra and South Pachra blocks in North Karanpura.

Mr Paolo Rocca outlines Chinese threat to global steel balance

Mr Paolo Rocca CEO of Tenaris perceives China as a potential threat to the balance of the steel industry and acknowledged that it is very likely that in the near future the steelmakers will have to face a serious problem of overcapacity.

Mr Rocca said that "China's steel production and consumption have shifted the industry center of gravity. In a mere 10 years China's production has grown to represent 35% of total production from 15%. China's total net steel exports in the first half of this year were 10 million tons in a world that is consuming 1 billion tons. That compares with the 50 million tons of steel that the former Soviet Union used to export 10 years ago, when a sudden slowdown in the Soviet bloc's steel demand resulted in excess capacity and a flooding of the market.

Mr Rocca said In the same way, any reduction in the rate of demand growth in China, if not contained at a regional level, could have a strong negative effect on worldwide markets.

However Mr LN Mittal told reporters that he believe that China can't be a long term steel exporter for structural reasons. Mr Mittal said "All signs are there that China can't be a long-term exporter. Mr Mittal pointed out that China lacks raw materials and cheap energy and therefore Chinese companies can't be low cost steel producers. Moreover, he predicted that the U.S. and Europe would launch trade actions if China continued to export heavily.

Arcelor Mittal to talk with Grupo Villacero

Arcelor Mittal is reported to have added Latin America in its list of possible areas of growth and may make an acquisition in Mexico. Reuter has reported that Mr LN Mittal would be holding discussions with Mexican Grupo Villacero SA. Wall Street Journal quoted him as saying that We are interested in Villacero, though 'I haven't seen the plant yet and I don't know if it's for sale.

Mr LN Mittal during an interview in Buenos Aires also talked about strengthening position in Latin America, naming Argentina, Brazil and Central America as possible areas for expansion. He said Brazil is very interesting for us. We will continue to look at opportunities for strengthening our presence there. Mr LN Mittal had previously emphasized the importance of seeking growth in India and China.

Grupo Villacero, owned by entrepreneur Mr Pablo Villarreal, has units in Mexico and Texas. Villacero is Mexico's No 1 supplier of long products.

Maverick shareholders approve sale to Tenaris

Maverick Tube Corp. said that at a special meeting held Monday, the firm's stockholders approved its planned merger with a subsidiary of Tenaris SA. According to a release about 69.4% of the 36,954,313 shares entitled to vote, voted in favor of the merger.

Tenaris SA announced that, following the vote today by a majority of Maverick Tube Corporation's stockholders in favor of the proposed acquisition by Tenaris, the acquisition should be completed on October 5, 2006. On that date, Tenaris will transfer to the paying agent for the transaction $65 per share in cash for each issued and outstanding share of Maverick's common stock and a subsidiary of Tenaris will merge with and into Maverick. Once the merger is completed Maverick will become a subsidiary of Tenaris.

Tenaris plans to buy Maverick for $3.2 billion. Tenaris and some of its subsidiaries have entered into syndicated term loan facilities in an aggregate of up to $2.7 billion; the balance will be met from cash on hand. Citibank and BNP Paribas have acted as global coordinators, lead arrangers and book runners for the syndicated loan facilities. Tenaris will consolidate Maverick's balance sheet and results of operations in its consolidated financial statements beginning in the fourth quarter of 2006.

Mr German Cura, who has been appointed as Area Manager of Tenaris's operations in North America, will lead the integration of Maverick's operations into those of Tenaris. Tenaris will move promptly to integrate Maverick into its global industrial and commercial system and to market Maverick's products and services under the Tenaris brand.

MEPS expects SS prices to stay high due to surge in nickel

MEPS expect that the alloy surcharges on stainless steel will remain at their current unprecedented high levels for at least two months. It said that for 304 grade flat products, surcharges in October will be in excess of Euro 1,900 per tonne in Europe and more than $2,500 per short ton in the US.

Alloy surcharges have risen by more than 150% since January. The LME price of nickel has doubled since March, and there is much controversy about the reasons for this. Users continue to claim that the nickel market is not under supplied and that the upsurge in prices is the result of speculation by financial investors. It is true that LME nickel stocks have been extremely low and this tends to support the opinion of those who say there is a structural shortage.

MEPS said that the hike in nickel prices is increasing the supply of scrap onto the market. World trade in stainless scrap has risen by more than 1 million tonnes over the last four years. But so far this is not having a dampening effect on the price of nickel.

Record levels of stainless steel production have certainly helped keep the figures high. Output of crude stainless in the first half of this year was almost 13.9 million tonnes up by 6.5% YoY. Intriguingly, figures from the International Stainless Steel Forum reveal that most of this increase took place in the second quarter of the year as output in April-June was 12.6% higher than in the same period a year earlier. This is likely to have continued into the third quarter.

MEPS concluded that there is certainly a danger of the market over-heating. Many of these duplicate orders may be cancelled. If the nickel price shows any sign of weakness, stainless buyers will be encouraged to hold off from placing new orders in the expectation of surcharges falling.

Ternium plans $1.4 billion investments till 2009

Latin America's largest steelmaking group Ternium announced that it plans to invest more than $1.4 billion up to 2009 to expand production at its plants to 12 million tonnes from last year's 11.6 million tonnes.

Mr Daniel Novegil president of Ternium detailed the investment plan at an annual meeting of the International Iron and Steel Institute in Buenos Aires. He told Reuters that forecasts of increased demand for steel in Argentina led the company to raise its initial investment in the South American country to $800 million in the next three years from an original planned investment of $680 million.

Luxembourg based Ternium is controlled by Argentina's Techint and comprises of Argentina's Siderar, Venezuela's Sidor and Mexico's Hylsamex.

Klkner &Co strengthens position in US by buying Action Steel

Klkner & Co has concluded the purchase of the distribution company Action Steel with headquarters at Indianapolis in Indiana State of US to further expands its activities on the North American market.

Action Steel with its market base has a similar alignment as Namasco Corporation, the North American subsidiary of Klkner & Co AG. After the takeover of Action Steel, Namasco with Corporate Offices at Atlanta in Georgia will have over 18 branches in the US.

Action Steel is a steel distribution company in the Midwest of the US with locations at Indianapolis in Indiana and Louisville in Illinois. Action Steels product portfolio primarily encompasses steel bar and structurals, steel pipe and tubing and flat rolled sheet and plate. Action Steel has approximately 110 employees and a sales volume of $70 million in 2005. The range of services offered by Action Steel includes plasma burning, shearing and sawing as well as other machining operations.

Dr Thomas Ludwig CEO said "This acquisition is a successful step in the expansion of our market position in North America and a consistent continuation of our growth strategy. Based on its portfolio, Action Steel fits in ideally with our North American subsidiary Namasco Corporation and with its locations in Indiana and Illinois enlarges our radius of activity in the USA.

Klkner & Co is the largest producer-independent steel and metal distributor in the European and North American markets combined. The core business of the Klkner & Co group is the storage and distribution of steel and non-ferrous metals. About 200,000 active customers are supplied through approximately 240 distribution locations in 14 countries in Europe and North America. Klkner & Co was founded 100 years ago by Mr Peter Klkner. During the financial year 2005, the company achieved sales of approximately Euro 5 billion with around 10,000 employees.

CVRD may sell stake in California Steel -Report

According to a report in local business daily Valor Economico Companhia Vale do Rio Doce is studying whether to sell its 50% stake in US based California Steel Industries.

According to the report, the sale of CVRD's stake could fetch between $300 million and $400 million. The proceeds could then be used to reduce the company's soon to be heavy debt load which would be pushed to about $22 billion from its current $4 billion level after Incos purchase.

CVRD declined to comment on the report when contacted by Dow Jones Newswires.

Government to divest Stake in Slovenian Steel Group

To keep speculators away from privatization process, the commission overseeing the sale of the state's stake in Slovenian Steel Group has decided that potential bidders will first pay Euro 10,000 for a memorandum, whereupon they will sign a data confidentiality agreement and get the data from the company's database and schedule due diligence & talks with the management. The call for bids will be published in the Official Gazette and the daily Delo.

Ms Marija Zagozen the head of the commission told the press last week that the stake has already been appraised, but the value will not be disclosed. She said "The price is subject to negotiations. But the commission decided that the entire content of the offer, not only the price, will be important." Ms Maria said that the company needs a partner that will create jobs and promote development and carry out all the planned investments.

The state owns 80.35% of the company and intends to keep 25% plus one share for the time being. However, other owners will also be called upon to sell their shares.

Slovenian Steel Group includes 14 companies, the core companies being Acroni Jesenice, which makes high end flat steel products, and Metal Ravne, which specializes in the manufacturing of high speed steels and certain special and construction steels. The group saw revenues rise 6.7% in the first half of this year to SIT 63.8bn (Euro 266.2 million), while profits slumped 31% to SIT 2.75bn (Euro 11.5 million).

Canales Clariond family secures controlling stake in Imsa

Mexico's Canales Clariond family has acquired an 88% stake in steel and industrial conglomerate Grupo Imsa through share redistribution. The Canales Clariond family, which previously held 43.55% in the steelmaker, acquired the shares from the Clariond Reyes Retana family via investment vehicle Tarida.

Although the 88% stake is large enough to negate shareholder approval for a merger with Tarida, Canales Clariond intends to hold a vote. If less than 75% of the minority stockholders vote in favor, Tarida will launch a public bid to buy up the remaining shares

Imsa makes steel processed products, aluminum and other related products. The company has manufacturing facilities in Mexico, the US, and Chile.

Daiwa Securities predicts firm iron ore scenario next year

Daiwa Securities SMBC said that iron ore prices may rise next year because of increasing demand from China.

Mr Mark Pervan head of research at Daiwa in Melbourne during an interview said that benchmark ore prices from Australia may rise by 5% in the year from April, 2007. He had earlier forecast in May that prices would fall 10%. Mr Pervan said "We've seen a return to very strong importing of iron ore into China, while Chinese steel output has been rising year on year for the last couple of months. The latest data suggest to me that iron ore demand is very strong."

Mr Pervan said that Rio Tinto and BHP are likely to take the lead from CVRD in pushing for higher prices next year. He said higher freight rates from Brazil mean that Chinese buyers have been paying almost $20 a metric ton more for iron ore from the South American nation, compared with Australian imports. He said that The Chinese are saying Australian iron ore prices are too high at $59 but they are paying $73 for Indian ore, while Brazilian iron ore is costing $79 a ton.

Mr Pervan also said that the rising iron ore production in China isn't likely to damp the country's demand for imports, as domestic ore typically costs more than those imported given the low iron content, said. He said The cost of producing a ton of iron ore with an iron content of 65% in China may be double those in Australia, which averages $21. The idea that China is ramping up production to rely less on imports is not sustainable.

IISI announces new office bearers and members

The Board of Directors of the International Iron and Steel Institute, after its board of directors met on the first day of IISIs 40th Annual Conference at Buenos Aires in Argentina, announced election of Mr John Surma, president & CEO of US Steel as the new chairman of IISI and Mr Ku-Taek Lee chairman & CEO of POSCO, Mr Akio Mimura representative director & president of Nippon Steel Corporation and Mr LN Mittal president of Arcelor Mittal as vice chairmen for one year.

The Board of Directors also elected the 2005/2006 Executive Committee. The members are:
1. Mr Hajime Bada president and CEO of JFE Steel
2. Dr Jorge Gerdau Johannpeter president of Gerdau SA
3. Dr-Ing Jrgen R Grossmann CEO of Georgsmarienhtte Holding GmbH
4. Mr Ku-Taek Lee chairman & CEO of POSCO
5. Professor Dr Ulrich Middelmann chairman of the executive board of ThyssenKrupp Steel AG
6. Mr Akio Mimura representative director and president of Nippon Steel Corporation
7. Mr LN Mittal president of Arcelor Mittal
8. Mr Alexei Mordashov chairman of Severstal
9. Mr B Muthuraman MD of TATA Steel
10. Dr Paolo Rocca president of Techint Group
11. Mr John P Surma president and CEO of US Steel Corporation
12. Ms Xie Qihua chairwoman and president of Bao Steel Group Corporation
13. Mr Philippe Varin CEO of Corus Group plc
14. Mr Ian Christmas secretary general of IISI

The board of directors of the IIISI has also elected and welcomed the following companies and associations as new members of IISI:

Regular Members
1. Commercial Metals Company Mr Murray McClean
2. Hyundai Steel Mr Yong-do Lee
3. Saarstahl Mr Claude Kintz
4. Schmolz + Bickenbach Group Mr Benedikt Niemeyer

Associate Members
1. Ningbo Baoxin Stainless
2. Viraj Group
3. Walsin Lihwa Co.

Affiliated Members
1. Argentine Steel Producers Association
2. Special Steel and Alloys Consumers and Suppliers Association

Regular Members are companies that produce more than 1.8 million tonnes of crude steel per year. Associate Members are companies that produce less than 1.8 million tonnes per year. Affiliated Members are steel associations and institutes.

IISI now has 200 members including steel producers, national or regional steel federations and steel research organizations.

Arcelor Mittal considering new steel mill in Brazil

Arcelor Mittal confirmed that it could invest $4.5 billion as part of plans under consideration to increase output at its Brazilian operations. Confirming a report in Financial Times, a spokesman told Agence France-Presse The group is currently studying investment projects for increasing production in Brazil totaling $4.5 billion.

The spokesman confirmed a new factory is among the proposals under consideration and that this would cost around $2.5 billion to $3 billion. Such a plant would double annual Brazilian steel output from the group to 20 million tonnes.

The FT had quoted Jose Campos the head of flat steel operations in South America, as saying the new plant could be built on the coast of Brazil within 100 km of Arcelor Mittal's largest Brazil production operation in Vitori.

Mittal Steel Ostrava goes for arbitration against Vitkovice sale

The Euro weekly reported that Mittal Steel Ostrava has started a second arbitration process against the Czech Republic, seeking Euro 700 million over the privatization of Czech steelworks Vitkovice Steel.

The report quotes a source close to the matter as saying that "Mittal Steel says that it expected to take over Vitkovice Steel when buying a state held share in Mittal Steel Ostrava, formerly Nova hut. This did not happen. The state prevented Mittal Steel from taking part in the privatization, by which it reduced the value of its investment in Mittal Steel Ostrava.

M Leopold Laskovsky supervisory board member of Mittal Steel Ostrava told CTK "The dispute is justified to some extent. It started in November 2004, when the cabinet decided it would not allow bidders embroiled in lawsuits with the state to take part in the privatization of Vitkovice Steel." Mr Otradovec added the arbitration lawsuit started immediately after the privatization of Vitkovice Steel.

Mittal Steel also wants the state to return about 14% of Mittal Steel Ostrava, now managed by the Finance Ministry, in another arbitration process.

Mittal Steel bought Nova hut from the state in early 2003. Vitkovice Steel was taken over by Russia's Evraz for CZK 7.05 billion last year.

S&P raises MMKs long tem corporate rating to BB

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services announced that it has raised its long term corporate credit rating on Russian steelmaker OAO Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Kombinat to BB from BB- citing improvements in its operating performance and financial risk profile and that the outlook is stable.

Ms Tatiana Kordyukova credit analyst with S&P said The rating action reflects the gradually enhancing quality of the company's asset base, together with increased operating efficiency, considerable debt reduction, strong liquidity and still high cash flow generation.

S&P believes MMK's financial position would be able to sustain a decline in steel prices without significant deterioration in its credit quality. It also expects MMK to keep debt below $2 billion and avoid any large debt intake during the implementation of its growth projects.

Ms Kordyukova added Any future rating upgrade will require further strengthening of the company's business profile, together with the clarification of its corporate governance policies, shareholding structure, and the nature of relationships with shareholders.

At the same time, the Russia national scale rating on MMK was raised to ruAA from ruAA-.

Metalloinvest to float IPO at Moscow & London in late 2007

Mr Alisher Usmanov and Mr Vasily Anisimovs Metalloinvest is considering an initial public offering of shares in the last quarter of 2007. Mr Dale Bender its IPO project manager on the sidelines of an IPO conference said that Metalloinvest was planning a Russian listing, which would be followed by an issue of Global Depositary Receipts in London

A stake of no more than 25% is likely to be on offer in the flotation of the company, which Mr Bender said was currently valued at $10 billion to $12 billion.

Mr Bender said "The point of the IPO is to position ourselves better in the consolidation that's going on in the industry. To the best of my knowledge, the shareholders are not looking to cash out."

Metalloinvest is reorganizing its assets into a single holding company that would also include other firms controlled by Mr Usmanov and his business partner Mr Vasily Anisimov. These assets include the Russia's two largest iron ore producers, Lebedinsky GOK and Mikhailovsky GOK, as well as the Urals Steel and the Oskol Electrometallurgical Steel Plant.

Mineral Technology acquires Turkish ASMAS

Minerals Technologies Incs unit Minteq International Inc announced that it has completed its acquisition of Turkish refractories producer ASMAS. The company will pay about $30 million for the business, with up to $5 million being paid through 2009 based on performance criteria through 2008.

Istanbul based ASMAS will continue to operate in Turkey under its brand name as part of Minteq, with some management being retained. In 2005, ASMAS posted net sales of $20 million.

The refractories segment of Minerals Technologies Inc posted sales in 2005 of $328 million. Minerals Technologies had full year 2005 earnings of $53.3 million on sales of $995.8 million.

Mittal Steel SA announces price hike

Mittal Steel South Africa on announced that it would be increasing prices on selected flat and long steel products from November 1 but will limit the increase to 5%.

Flat steel products, which will increase by 5% include plate, hot rolled coil and cold rolled coil. In the flat steel products category there will be no increases on galvanized, color coated, automotive, appliance and tin steel products.

In the long steel products category there will be increases on structural steel, window sections and fencing material. Certain wire rod products will increase by 7.5%. There will be no price increases on other long steel products such as billets, rebar, rails, and normal wire rod.

Mr Rick Reato CEO of Mittal Steel SA said "We have since August attempted to keep the lid on any price increases but international price trends has required us to increase the price on selected products".

Strike continues at coal mines of Mittal Steel Temirtau

Interfax-Kazakhstan has reported that workers of all 8 coalmines of Mittal Steel Temirtau in Karaganda region of Kazakhstan, continued their strike.

Mr Vyacheslav Sidorov head of Korgau coalminers' union told Interfax on Monday that workers of Tentekskaya, Shakhtinskaya, Lenin, Kazakhstanskaya, Kuzmebayev, Kostenko, Saranskaya and Abaiskaya mines demand a rise in pay, namely an hourly rate of $15, and safer working conditions.

The report said that a conciliatory commission chaired by Mr Grigory Prezent ED of Mittal Steel Temirtau is expected to announce the final decision on a possible pay rise within two days.

Fortune 500 Global mining companies

Fortunes Global 500 list of companies for 2005 raised the bar to get into it to $13.7 billion in revenue up from $12.4 billion in 2004. Profits for the 500 companies jumped 30%. Total revenues for the Global 500 in 2006 add up to $18.9 trillion, a third of the world's GDP.

3 mining companies featured in the list, with BHPB taking the top spot among miners.

Source Fortune 500
Revenue & profits in $ billion

TMK Announces H1 2006 IFRS Consolidated Results

TMK, has announces its IFRS fiscal results for the six months ended June 30th 2006 after Ernst & Young conducted a review of the financial statements. TMK said that favorable global market conditions, especially stable demand for oil and gas pipes as well as further improvements and cost control, have contributed to the positive results of the Companys activity in H1 2006.

Summary of TMKs H1 2006 Results is as under

In Million $

TMK has noted that this information for H1 2005 and H1 2006 reflects the transfer of Sinara Handel GmbH to TMK in H1 2006 and adjusted EBITDA is a non IFRS financial measure.

Total sales volume in H1 2006 amounted to 1.462 million tonnes, including 0.482 million tonnes of seamless threaded pipes for the oil and gas sector. Total shipments in H1 of 2006 increased by 49,400 tonnes over H1 of 2005. The total volume of steel produced in H1 2006 increased by 28,700 tonnes, amounting to 1.108 million tonnes as compared to 1.080 million 1 tonnes in H1 2005.

Founded in 2001, TMK is Russia's largest producer and exporter of pipe products. It produced a total of 2.92 million tonnes in 2005.

CSC to revise Q4 prices

Yieh has reported that Taiwan's China Steel Corp is going to raise its export price on fourth quarter. The price of hot and cold rolled plate products will be kept at their current levels but prices for HDG, EG, ES and wire rod products will all be increased again.

Besides hot roll and galvanized products, CSC is going to decrease the steel prices for other products by around 5% to 10%.

As per reports, CSCs prices are currently slightly lower than that from South Korean and Japanese mills but they are still unable to beat cheaper prices on offer from China.

Evraz repays $175 million Eurobonds

Evraz Group announced the repayment of $175 million of its Eurobonds, which were originally placed in September and December 2003. The Eurobonds had a term of 36 months with a coupon of 8.875%. Currently, Evraz Group has outstanding $300 million 2009 Eurobonds and $750 million 2015 Eurobonds.

Mr Pavel Tatyanin CFO of Evraz said We have fully repaid our debut Eurobond issue. Since 2003, when it was initially placed, Evraz has evolved to become a leading steel and mining company and has strengthened its presence on the global debt markets. On behalf of Evraz Group, I would like to thank the investment community for your support of our strategy and your confidence in our ability to deliver superior financial results.

Arcelor Mittals management profile 20 Dr Lou Schorsch

Dr Lou Schorsch has been appointed in Arcelor Mittals management committee board last month as CEO Flat Americas.

Dr Lou Schorsch has been CEO of Mittal Steel USA since the merger between Mittal Steel and ISG in October 2004. Prior to this Dr Schorsch was the President and CEO of Ispat Inland where he was responsible for significant improvements in the companys operational Performance

Dr Schorsch has over 25 years of experience in consulting and managerial roles predominantly relating to the steel industry. Prior to joining Ispat Inland in October 2003, Dr Schorsch held various senior positions in the consulting and e-commerce sectors. His immediate previous assignments have been as President and CEO of GSX.Com Inc and Principal at McKinsey & Company, where he worked from 1985 until 2000. While at McKinsey, he was a co leader of the firm's metals practice.

Dr Schorsch has published numerous articles in such publications as Business Week and Challenge and has also co-authored a book on steel titled "Upheaval in a Basic Industry".

NLMK shareholders approves dividend for H1 of 2006

Novolipetsk Steel announced that as a result of voting on the resolution proposed for approving the dividends for the first half of 2006 at the Extraordinary General Meeting held on 29 September 2006, the amount of 1.5 ruble per common share would be paid. Further to the Dividend Declaration on 16 August 2006, the Board of Directors approved a record date for the half yearly dividend of 16 August 2006.

NLMK transfers funds for dividend payments on Global Depositary Shares to the depositary bank on 23 November 2006. Depositary bank sets payment date no later than 5 days after receipt of funds. Dividends on GDSs will be paid, by default, in U.S. dollars (USD) based on USD/RUR spot F/X rate on the day of currency conversion by the depositary bank.

ChTPZ and Metalloinvest to continue strategic partnership

FIS has reported that the 3rd coordinating council between ChTPZ Group and Metalloinvests Ural Steel took place under an agreement on strategic partnership signed in September 2004.

Mr V. Sadykov GD of ChTPZ Group and Mr N Efendiev ED of Metalloinvest along with other concerned directors and technical specialists took part in the coordinating council meeting.

Mittal Steel Temirtau may start using Russian coal

Mittal Steel Temirtau is looking to buy Russian coal to keep its mills running as a miners' strike threatens to spread to the operation's steel plants.

Mr NK Choudhary GD of Mittal Steel Temirtau is reported to have told media We are trying to avoid temporary closures of the company's workshops and find coal from Russia.

Coal miners are striking to support demands for better wages, safety and social conditions after a methane gas blast on September 20 killed 41 at Mittal Steels Lenin coal mine in the Karaganda region of Kazakhstan.

Arch Coal appoints Ms Jennifer as president of Arch Energy Resources

St Louis based Arch Coal Inc named Ms Jennifer J Johnson as president of its Arch Energy Resources unit, responsible for revenue risk management of the company's coal supply.

Ms Johnson will report to Arch Coal's VP of marketing and trading. She will be responsible for corporate strategy related to Arch Coal's annual coal supply of more than 140 million tons, including coal and emissions trading, coal procurement and terminal management.

Ms Johnson most recently was VP of corporate strategic planning for power producer Dynegy Inc.