October, 06 2006
TATA Steel evaluating various opportunities including Corus
On the backdrop of reports of its interest in Corus, TATA Steel, after initially denying media reports about its proposed takeover of Corus as speculative reports from unconfirmed sources, admitted that it was evaluating various opportunities including Corus.
It said in a statement that "Given recent industry consolidation, TATA Steel is reviewing a number of global opportunities. In this context, Tata Steel is evaluating various opportunities including Corus.
TATA Steels statement added that there can be no certainty that an approach will be made and, if made, that it will result in an offer for Corus.
Ms Annanya Sarin a spokeswoman for Corus declined to confirm or deny a report in the Financial Times that TATA Steel was considering a tie up with Corus.
Mr Ratan Tata chairman of the TATA group may be the prime mover behind the deal as he had met Corus chairman Mr Jim Leng in July 2006.
Indian government approves revival of CILs ECL
The cabinet committee on economic affairs of Indian government has approved a rehabilitation scheme for Coal India Limiteds subsidiary Eastern Coalfields Limited by a combination of infusion of funds, waiver of loans & conversion of loan into equity.
Infusion / Investment of funds
An investment of Rs.2956.83 crore from 2003-04 to 2012-13 for augmentation of production to be met from internal resources of ECL
Waiver of non-payment of loans / interests
1. Waiver of unsecured loans amounting to Rs.519 crore during 2008-09 by CIL
2. Waiver of interest on unsecured loans amounting to Rs.168.65 crore up to 2002-03 and future interest of Rs.33.73 crore per annum from 2004-05 to 2008-09 by CIL i.e. till such time the unsecured loan is waived
3. Waiver of Rs.82.47 crore of apex charges for the earlier years upto 31.03.2004 and further waiver of service charges @ Rs.14 crore per annum from 2004-05 by CIL
4. Waiver of electricity duty @ Rs.18 crore per annum from 2004-05 for 5 years
Conversion of loan to equity
Conversion of current account balance of Rs.1532 crore of ECL as on 31.3.2003 by CIL into equity share capital in proportion to ECL bringing down its negative net worth.
The CCEA has also approved that arrears of National Coal Wage Agreement VII (NCWA-VII) will be disbursed in three instalments by March 2007.
These measures will help the company to earn profit after taking into account the impact of NCWA-VII on a sustainable basis.
TATA - Corus combination
A combined TATA-Corus entity would have an annual steel production of 25 million tons, making it the world's fifth or sixth largest steel producer. However, with an estimated steel making capacity of 18 million tonnes of Corus, more than three times TATA Steels, it would be a case of a minnow swallowing a whale.
Analysts see strong synergies between TATA Steel and Corus. While it would help the TATA Steel to enter the high end steel markets of Europe, the partnership would give Corus accessibility to low cost ore and steel making resources. JP Morgan recently said An alliance between Corus Group and TATA Steel could benefit Corus in two ways, access to low cost slab and synergies from distributing Corus long products through Tata's Indian distribution arm.
Analysts said TATA may have trouble justifying a takeover at Corus' current share price, but said the potential deal underscored growing appetite amongst steelmakers for consolidation.
Senior group officials from TATA Steel are said to be currently doing the rounds with banks to check on funding for a deal. According to the Metal Bulletin, Standard Chartered Plc, ABN Amro Holding NV and Deutsche Bank are said to have agreed to lend as much as $6.5 billion for the buyout.
UKs prime minister Ms Marget Thatcher privatized British Steel in 1987, which subsequently merged with netherland based Koninklijke Hoogovensin 1999 to form Corus. It produced 18.2 million tonnes of steel in 2005 reporting a profit of 451 million pounds on revenue of 10.14 business pounds with 47,200 employees worldwide. It agreed in March 2006 to sell most of its aluminum assets for $1.1 billion.
Indian government approves road projects for $8.8 billion
Indian governments cabinet committee on economic affairs has approved for undertaking six laning of 6500 kilometers of National Highways comprising of 5700 km of Golden Quadrilateral and balance 800 km of other sections of National Highways under NHDP V at a cost of Rs.41,210 crores ($8.8 billion).
The approval envisages Rs.35,692 crore coming from private sector and the balance amount of Rs.5,518 crore as viability gap, cost of land acquisition, utility shifting, consultancy etc, which will be met by Government.
The projects are to be taken up on Build Operate and Transfer mode following a Design, Build, Finance and Operate pattern with a maximum of 10% Viability Gap Funding.
Up gradation of existing road will improve traffic safety and provide faster movement of vehicles with improved riding quality and time. This will lead to reduction in vehicle operating cost and significant reduction in fuel consumption for the vehicle resulting in energy conservation.
POSCO India promises jobs to displaced families
POSCO India has promised jobs to all displaced families in Orissa in its effort to tone down the year long opposition to its plans for setting up steel plant in Paradip. It said that POSCO India will provide one employment to the all original displaced families and also families losing all agricultural land in accordance with the provision of the Orissa New R&R Policy 2006.
Mr Soung Sik Cho MD of POSCO India said that "The welfare of the families coming under our project site is high on our priority list and POSCO India will make all possible efforts to provide the locals who are directly and indirectly affected by the project a better life for tomorrow POSCO India will provide employment to all displaced families. To increase their employability Vocational training programs will be conducted at regular intervals".
JSPL completes acquisition of assets of UMI Special Steel
Jindal Steel & Power Ltd has informed that as per sale notice of Honorable High Court of Jharkhand at Ranchi dated July 18th 2006 for liquidation of the assets of UMI Special Steel Ltd, formerly known as Bihar Alloy Steel Ltd, JSPL successfully won the bid and owned the assets of UMI now.
The assets of UMI Special Steel Ltd consist of more than 550 acres of land and also 2.385 acres of freehold land. UMIs assets also include plant and machinery consisting of steel melting shop, rolling shop, finishing shop, forging shop, the residential quarters of workers & officers, clubs, dispensary and Guest House etc
CERC takes DVC under regulated power tariff regime
The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission has brought West Bengal state owned Damodar Valley Corporation under the ambit of regulated tariff mechanism as per the Electricity Act of 2003 and announced generation and transmission tariffs for 2004-09.
DVC will now have to approach the State and central electricity regulators for the purpose. State regulators would now be able to determine the retail distribution tariff for DVC's consumers falling within their respective jurisdiction.
Prior to the Act DVC had autonomy to determine its own rates for bulk supply as well as retail distribution under Section 20 of the DVC Act of 1948.
TATA Steel shareholders approve fund raising
TATA Steel has received approval from its shareholders for raising Rs 6,500 crore from the international or the domestic market through the issue of securities. The proposal to raise the funds through the issue of ordinary shares, shares through depository receipts, securities with or without detachable, non detachable warrants or other securities, was approved by the shareholders at the AGM held in July.
TATA Steel also informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that it had also received the shareholders' nod for a borrowing limit of Rs 20,000 crore, subject to necessary provisions and approvals. An increase in the company's authorized share capital from Rs 850 crore to Rs 2,000 crore was approved at the meeting.
CII-EXIM team assessing RINL for business excellence award
It is reported that a 6 member team of the Confederation of Indian Industry has commenced 4 days visit to Rastriya Ispat Nigam Limiteds Vizag Steel Plant to assess its performance for the CII-EXIM Bank Award for Business Excellence.
CII team is visiting many of the production facilities, service departments and is interacting with workers and officials to asses VSP on many parameters.
The team comprises of senior assessor of CII including Mr MS Balasubramanian, Mr ND Rao, Mr J Bhattacharya, Mr Sanjeev Kapoor, Mr S Narasimhan and Mr Yatindra Mohan.
CVRD inaugurates world's biggest iron ore project Brucutu
Companhia Vale do Rio Doce has inaugurated the Brucutu Project, the world's biggest iron ore mining complex in initial production capacity, on October 5th 2006. Budgeted at about $1.1 billion, the project is located in the S Gonlo do Rio Abaixo municipality, 93 kilometers away from Belo Horizonte. CVRD said $856 million is being spent on the mine itself and $206 million on locomotives and railroad wagons.
In the project's first phase, Brucutu will produce 12.2 million tonnes of iron ore per year. In the second phase, expected for 2007, production at Brucutu will reach 23 million tonnes per year. In 2008, Brucutu is expected to reach its installed annual capacity of 30 million tonnes of iron ore.
With reserves estimated at about 737 million tonnes, Brucutu is the biggest mine in the Minas Centrais Complex, which also includes the Gongo Soco, ua Limpa, and Andrade mines.
CVRD is expanding output to satisfy strong Chinese demand for the key steelmaking raw material.
US auto majors up in arms against domestic steelmakers
6 US based auto majors DaimlerChrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Nissan and Toyota announced that they will take an active role in the US International Trade Commission's sunset review to determine whether the duties will remain in place and have urged ITC to terminate anti dumping and countervailing duties on corrosion resistant steel used extensively in the manufacturing of automobiles
US ITC is required to conduct a sunset review on antidumping and countervailing duties every five years. The duties will be lifted unless the ITC finds that the steel industry is likely to face material injury as a result. The duties on corrosion resistant steel have been in place since 1993 on imports from six countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Korea. US steel industry wants the tariffs to stay in place for another five years. A final decision will be made later in October by the ITC.
Mr Mustafa Mohatarem chief economist with General Motors said "This marks the first time that these six companies have united on a trade issue. We have joined together because further protection for the steel industry is simply unjustified. Continuing these outdated duties hurts American manufacturing competitiveness and US jobs.
Ms Josephine Cooper VP of Toyota said A great deal has changed in the steel industry since the duties were put in place 13 years ago. There is no longer an economic basis for keeping these duties. The steel industry benefits from unnecessary protection while the duties hurt a much wider sector of the U.S. economy."
The six automotive companies together purchase $200 billion annually in materials, parts and services for their US operations. Steel is a critical component of every vehicle and a significant portion of production costs. Automotive purchasing departments worldwide face enormous pressure to reduce vehicle base costs, typically at a steady pace of 2% to 5% annually. Global sourcing is one of the most attractive ways to ease this pressure, especially when the U.S. price is the highest in the world.
Severstal and Anglo American announce alliance
Severstal and Anglo American signed an agreement to establish an alliance to jointly explore deposits of nickel, copper and zinc in Russia, which will initially focus on projects in the Republic of Karelia and the Murmansk region with the ultimate intention of jointly developing deposits in these regions and elsewhere in Russia.
Severstal spokesman Mr Sergei Loktionov said that the cooperation agreement has been signed but did not stipulate a specific timeline nor did it indicate possible levels of investment.
Mr Simon Thompson director of Anglo American and chairman of the exploration division said: "We are delighted to establish this exploration joint venture with Severstal and look forward to working with them to develop new base metal projects in Russia.
Mr Roman Deniskin head of Severstals mining division said We strongly believe in Russia's prospects in minerals exploration and development. Severstal is excited to be going forward in this with such an experienced partner as Anglo American.
North American steelmakers cutting production
The actions being taken by steelmakers in North America for reducing production, are pointing to the prospect of reduced demand in US during the remainder of 2006.
Mittal Steel US announced that it would be idling two blast furnaces because of softer market conditions in light flat rolled products.
US Steel has also said that it has a blast furnace down at Granite City, and would be taking one of the smaller furnaces offline at its Gary plant in Indiana later this month.
Stelco had said that it was shutting a blast furnace down for 22 days at its Hamilton plant beginning October 23.
Ryerson buys Lancaster Steel Service
Ryerson Inc announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Joseph T Ryerson & Son Inc has acquired Lancaster Steel Service Company Inc based in New York. Lancaster will be renamed Ryerson Lancaster and all of Lancaster's employees are expected to join Ryerson. Financial terms of the deal will not be disclosed.
Lancaster was founded in 1963 and operates from facilities in Lancaster and Liverpool. Lancaster Steel distributes carbon flat rolled, plate, bars, tubing and structural steel and possesses broad processing capabilities, including precision blanking, leveling, slitting, plasma and oxy fuel cutting, as well as shearing and sawing.
Ryerson said Lancaster Steel's operations are complementary to our existing capabilities and will allow the combined company to pursue cross selling opportunities while continuing to serve the existing customer base of Ryerson and Lancaster.
Ryerson Inc is North America's leading distributor and processor of metals, with 2005 revenues of $5.8 billion. The company services customers through a network of service centers across the United States and in Canada, Mexico and India.
Hyundai Heavy settles SBQ plate prices with Japanese mills
Worlds largest shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co announced that it has agreed to a price hike of $20 to $30 per ton on steel plate imports from Japanese steelmakers. The shipbuilder said it has agreed to a $20 price hike to $600 per ton for deliveries beginning October and will pay $610 for shipments beginning January.
The negotiations, which began on July 18, were stalled due to failure to agree a price. South Korean shipbuilders reportedly demanded a $100 price cut while Japanese steelmakers requested a $100 hike.
Hyundai estimates that out of its requirement of 3.2 million tonnes during 2007, it may import about 0.8 million tonnes from Japan and about 0.7 million tonnes from China.
CVRD gets EC approval for Inco purchase
Companhia Vale do Rio Doce announced that it has obtained an unconditional clearance from the European Commission under the EC Merger Regulation with respect to its offer to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Inco Limited.
With this approval, CVRD has cleared all but one hurdle as Investment Canada, which evaluates foreign purchases of Canadian businesses, is still to announce its ruling.
The expiry date of CVRD's offer to purchase all of the outstanding common shares of Inco at a price of C$86.00 in cash per share is October 16th 2006.
Nucor gets approval for purchase of Verco
Reuters, citing a Federal Trade Commission notice, has reported that the US antitrust authorities have approved plans by Nucor Corp to buy substantially all of the assets of Verco Manufacturing Co after completing their investigation.
The cash deal is valued at $180 million. The acquisition is slated to close this quarter.
Verco produces steel flooring and roof decking at locations in Phoenix and Fontana and Antioch in California.
Mittal Steel US to idle BFs in Cleveland and Indiana Harbor
Mittal Steel US announced that it is idling two blast furnaces one each in Cleveland and its Indiana Harbor facility in East Chicago indefinitely to bring production capabilities in line with reduced demand for light flat rolled products and that no employees will be laid off.
Mittal Steel US said that the furnaces will undergo maintenance and be reactivated when market conditions warrant increased production levels.
Michael Rippey CEO of Arcelor Mittal US said "We are confident that we can maintain and service our customers' requirements working under this production configuration and are committed to maintaining our customers' business.
As per reports, Mittal Steel US operates 10 blast furnaces in US.
CVRD to reduce stake in Usminas
Mr Roger Agnelli CEO of CVRD after inaugurating Burcutu project told reporters that CVRD wants to reduce its 22% stake in Brazilian steelmaker Usminas. Mr Angelli said "We want to sell some of our shares to balance control of Usiminas."
Mr Agnelli added that the move would better guarantee funds for the growth of Usiminas.
The other shareholders in Usiminas include Nippon Steel with 19.4% stake, Usminas Workers' Fund with 13.2%, Votorantim with 7.6%, Camargo Correa with 7.6% and Bradesco with 2.6%.
AML to buy BHPBs Marriott nickel project
Australian Mines Limited announced that has entered into an option agreement with BHP Billiton to purchase the Marriott Nickel Project, north of Kalgoorlie. Under the terms of the agreement, Australian Mines now holds a 12 month free option to evaluate the project. Should the company opt to exercise its right to acquire the project, Australian Mines will pay BHP up to A$500,000 depending on the prevailing nickel price and a 1% royalty on revenues received from nickel sold.
The deposit contains an inferred mineral resource comprising 550,000 tonnes at 1.4% nickel for 7,700 tonnes contained nickel. The project will now become the primary focus for Australian Mines over the next 12 months. The company plans to commit a minimum A$0.5 million to a program of infill and extension drilling to firm up the resource base, carry out detailed metallurgical test work and complete a preliminary open pit scoping study.
Mr Brett Young COO of Australian Mines said that the acquisition was very timely given the record prices prevailing for nickel. He said "We view Marriott as a real growth investment, given that the ground is highly prospective, with the ore body still open at depth and up dip. As part of the deal, we have secured a ready buyer of all of Marriott's production, with an off take agreement in place with BHP the operator of the nearby Leinster Nickel Operation.
Australian Mines owns and operates the Blair Nickel Mine, south of Kalgoorlie, which has historically produced in excess of 25,000 contained tonnes of nickel.
CVRD denies reports of sale of California Steel
Mr Roger Agnelli CEO of CVRD has denied market speculation that CVRD might be interested in boosting or selling its 50% stake in U.S. steelmaker California Steel Industries Inc near Los Angeles.
Mr Agnelli after inaugurating a new CVRD mining project in the central Brazilian state of Minas Gerais told reporters "We have no intention to either buy a bigger share or to sell any part of our share. CVRD sees the US steelmaker as our entryway into the US West Coast market.
Mittal Steel Temirtau coal miners resumed work
The miners of all eight mines of the Mittal Steel Temirtau resumed their work in compliance with an agreement reached on October 4.
Mr Vyacheslav Sidorov chairman of the miners trade union Korgau said "All mines are working, the coal is produced and the trade union recalls the application for a meeting on October 7. It is very difficult to call the people to work. Not everyone realizes the significance of the signed agreement.
Mr Sidrov stressed that the Mittal Steel Temirtau was not going to save on safety means anymore. "If he creates normal condition, he will receive the accomplished plan. If he does not - he will lose. Anyway an underground worker of the fifth class will be paid an average salary of 90 thousand KZT. It is not ruled out that there will be people that will not be satisfied, but our main task is to get the mines going.
Corus shares surge on reports of TATA Steels interest
Shares in Corus were in heavy demand after TATA Steel admitted it is considering Corus as one of the options for global acquisition. Corus shares leapt 46.25p or 11.35% to 453.75p on the news.
At 453.75p, Corus Group Plc trades on a forward 2007 multiple of 12.8. Including today's big advance, the shares have put on a whopping 51% over the 2006 calendar year so far.
Bid speculation over Corus has gradually intensified in recent months. In June, Mr Roman Abramovich bought a 42% stake in Evraz, immediately triggering talk of its merger with Corus. Just a few days ago Gerdau, Brazil's biggest steelmaker, squashed speculation that it was eyeing up Corus by saying that while it is looking for potential acquisitions, the Anglo Dutch group is not in its sights.
Consolidation in the global steel industry has intensified since Mittal Steel launched its hostile takeover bid for Arcelor in January and eventually succeeded after a very bitter battle.
Miners clash over Huanuni tin mine kills 12
Local media has reported that 12 people were killed and at least 45 more were injured on Thursday when independent miners allied with President Evo Morales clashed with workers from Bolivia's state run mining company over access to South America's richest tin mine. Among the dead were men and women from both groups, as well as a local bus driver, according to media reports.
Hundreds of miners belonging to independent cooperatives stormed the state owned Huanuni mine demanding more access to its tin deposits. State employed miners counterattacked to regain control of the mine and the groups exchanged gunshots and threw mining explosives.
It remained unclear Thursday evening whether the independent miners still held the mine.
Erdemir shares suspended after report of stake sale
Reuters has reported that the shares of Erdemir were suspended on Thursday after a newspaper report that the firm was in talks to sell a minority stake to a foreign company.
Turkey's Vatan newspaper on Thursday quoted a Financial Times report that OYAK Group, the army pension fund which bought Erdemir in a privatization last year, was in talks. The FT quoted Erdemir Vice Chairman Mr Aydin Muderrisoglu as saying that it was talking to fewer than five international steel companies with a view to a minority stake sale through an investment in the holding company.
Oyak Group had planned to buy Erdemir in partnership with but ditched that deal to take control of the firm alone in a $3 billion deal to satisfy competition related issues.
POSCO keen on ties with Nippon
World's 5th largest steelmaker POSCO does not like the idea of a merger with another big steel company in response to the creation of Arcelor Mittal. Mr Lee Ku-taek CEO of POSCO during an interview told the Financial Times that "We do not see any obvious synergy effects that would result from a merger between us and any other large steelmaker."
Mr Lee, however, said this did not mean POSCO would always be averse to such a move. He also said he might be keen to extend our existing relationship with Japan's Nippon Steel Corp.
Mr Lee also voiced an interest in China saying that "I would love to do something in China but much will depend on the thinking towards foreign ownership of the Chinese government and I hope to see a change in stance on this.
IISI announces 2nd steeluniversity.org Challenge
The International Iron and Steel Institute have formally announced the dates for the next steeluniversity.org Challenge. The event will run from 12 HRS GMT on Wednesday 8th November to 12 HRS GMT on Thursday 9 November. During this time participants will be challenged to make a batch of steel using the Electric Arc Furnace simulation and will then refine it using the Secondary Steelmaking simulation in order to produce a cast of the correct composition.
There will be two levels of entry with two separate winners; a university student entry and a steel industry entry. Each winner will receive a cheque for 250 and will be presented with the prize at an IISI event.
The competition challenges the entrant to develop and produce a particular grade of steel for a demanding application in a limited time and at the lowest cost. Entrants can repeat the exercise as many times as they wish during the 24 hours to reach a successful conclusion or improve on a previous attempt.
Initiated in 2005, the competition is aimed at students and young employees and graduates in the steel industry to encourage them to participate in a virtual steelmaking challenge. Last year the competition attracted more than 600 registrations with participants from 28 countries.
For more information and competition guidelines visit www.steeluniversity.org or contact Dr Ruth Hambleton at steeluniversity@iisi.be
ThyssenKrupp may expands alliance with JFE in US
JMB has reported that Mr Karl Ulrich Kohler president of ThyssenKrupp Steel revealed that ThyssenKrupp may expand the partnership with JFE Steel in North America.
Mr Kohler is also reported to be in talks with JFE Steel for the expansion of their alliance based in Europe and Japan.
Arcelor Mittals management profile 22 Mr Sudhir Maheshwari
Mr Sudhir Maheshwari has been appointed in Arcelor Mittals management committee board last month as Head of Finance, M&A.
Mr Sudhir Maheshwari previously was the MD Business Development & Treasury of Mittal Steel and has 20 years of experience in steel and related industries. Prior to this he was the CFO of LNM Holdings NV since January 2002 until its merger with Ispat International in December 2004. Mr Maheshwari has worked for Mittal Steel for 18 years. He had also held the positions of CFO at Mittal Steel Europe SA, Mittal Steel Germany & Mittal Steel Point Lisas and director of finance & M&A at Mittal Steel. Mr Maheswari also serves on the board of various subsidiaries of Mittal Steel.
He has played an integral and key role in all the recent acquisitions by Mittal Steel including turnaround and integration activities. He has also played a key role in various corporate finance and capital market projects including the initial public offering in 1997.
Mr Maheshwari is an honors graduate in accounting and commerce from St Xavier's College Kolkata and a Fellow Member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants and The Institute of Company Secretaries in India.
Daewoo increases order intake target for 2006 to $12 billion
The world's 2nd largest shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering has increased its target for new orders this year to a record $12 billion to encash increased demand for tanker ships and rigs to handle oil and liquefied natural gas. DSME said it expected the increased demand to continue into 2007.
The company has increased its 2006 target after winning three new orders totaling $430 million for ships that can carry liquefied natural gas.
DSME said it had $10.2 billion of orders so far this year as compared to a total of $6.8 billion in 2005.
Baosteel considering technology support to CSN for steel mill
China's biggest steelmaker Baosteel Group Corp may provide equipment and technology for a $1.5 billion 4.5 million tonne steel mill planned by Brazilian Cia. Siderurgica Nacional at Itaguai near Rio de Janeiro.
Ms Xie Qihua chairwoman of Bao Steel said in an interview that CSN had earlier offered Baosteel to partner the mill and BaoSteel is considering investing in Brazilian steel mills and shipping product to China for processing into steel products to reduce its reliance on imported iron ore. Ms Xie said We have been invited by CSN to Brazil to get some future business together. We just supply the equipment and some technology. Talks with CSN are at an initial stage and the companies have not finished their discussions.
CSN wants partners to help it triple steel output and increase iron ore and slab exports under a $5 billion plan. CSN is seeking partners for a 4.5 million ton mill and is selling a 30 percent stake in its Casa de Pedra iron ore mine in Minas Gerais. CSN said in August that the mine is worth at least $8 billion, putting the value of a 30% stake at $2.4 billion. CSN's steel output will rise to about 15 million tons a year from 5.5 million tons and iron ore output will more than double to about 50 million tons from 21 tons under the expansion plan, making it one of the world's four largest producers.
Techint Technologies secures order for radial stacker from QCOAL
Techint Technologiess through its Australian company Techint-SEMF Pty Ltd obtained a positive achievement with SEDGMAN Limited, a leading provider of engineering services to the Australian coal industry. Techint-SEMF was awarded an important contract for the turn key supply for a radial stacker for coal to be installed at the SONOMA Coal Preparation Plant located at Collinsville in North of Queensland owned by QCOAL Pty Ltd.
The radial stacker has a capacity of 800 tonnes per hour and a conveyor length of 90 meters. The expected delivery date is June 2007 and the whole preparation plant will be commissioned in September 2007.
Techint-SEMF has just successfully delivered a similar radial stacker to Thiess-SEDGMAN JV for the mine of Wilpinjong in the Hunter Valley in NSW.
Arch Coal names Mr Metzroth to VP analysis & strategy
Arch Coal Inc announced that effective October 16th Mr Lawrence Metzroth will join the company as VP of analysis and strategy, a function it plans to grow in the future. Mr Metzroth will report to Mr C Henry Besten senior VP of strategic development and reporting to Mr Metzroth will be Arch Coal Sales VP of Market Research Mr Andy Blumenfeld.
In his new role at Arch Coal, Mr Metzroth will be responsible for providing the coal producer with global economic and energy market intelligence, analyses, and insights, according to the release. The company said it plans to add additional resources to the analysis and strategy function under Metzroth's direction in the near future.
Mr Metzroth most recently served as vice president of fuels advisory services for Global Energy Decisions software and consulting firm serving the energy industry.
