October, 08 2006
Indian Railways announces mega plans
Mr Lalu Prasad union minister for railways, while delivering the keynote address at the Conference on Building Infrastructure Issues and Opportunities held at Vigyan Bhawan, announced that Indian Railways propose to spend Rs.100,000 crore on modernization of railway signals, track and rolling stock keeping in view the transport needs during the next five years and to reduce the cost of operations.
As per reports, Indian Railways plans to set up rolling stock units in partnership with international companies and has decided in principle to set up the proposed coach, loco and wheel factories by inviting joint venture partners through a global competitive bidding. It is likely to have a 26% cent ownership in the joint venture.
SAIL wins Zee Business Pinnacle award
A Zee Business release said that Steel Authority of India Limited has been conferred Zee Business Pinnacle Steel Award.
Asian Paints won the Pinnacle Paint Award and HDFC won Pinnacle Bank award. Mr E Sreedharan MD of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has been conferred with the Zee Business Pinnacle Lifetime Achievement Award.
These awards are instituted by business news channel Zee Business. The first Zee Business Pinnacle Awards were given in 19 categories from the construction, building and allied industries in real estate, acknowledging contribution in technical, creative and individual fields.
TATA Steels project office starts at Seraikela in Jharkhand
TATA Steel is reported to have started its project office on the outskirts of Seraikela town of Jharkhand to facilitate setting up its 12 million tonne steel plant. Now, TATA Steel would be able to coordinate its various activities through this project office.
TATA Steel already has a number of social welfare activities running in the district including Mission Hariyali and lift irrigation projects. The project office in association with the district authorities has chosen to train around 40 youths hailing from the district in electrical and masonry disciplines.
As per reports, TATA Steel needs around 10,500 acres for the project to come up in the Tontaposhi area outside Seraikela town. Of this, around 2,000 acres are government land while another 8,000 acres belong to around 2,300 families. An additional 500 acres are forest land for which the company would have to give back to the state an equivalent compensatory afforested land elsewhere.
ADAG to sign MoU for 1,500MW power plant at Pipavav
Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Groups Reliance Energy Limited has submitted its expression of interest to the state government to set up an imported coal based 1,500MW power plant near Pipavav in Gujarat at an investment of over Rs 6,000 crore. For this new plant, ADAG is expected to sign an MoU with Gujarat government during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit, to be held from January 12th to 14th 2007.
Asper reports ADAG is also planning to set up a jetty and port near its power project in order to establish coal import linkages with its plant. It is expected that the plant would be set up over 1,000 hectare of land, which is available after the National Thermal Power Corporation backed out from the setting up of its power project.
Singareni to introduce High Wall mining
It is reported that Singareni Collieries would introduce High Wall technology for extraction of coal on a pilot basis by deploying latest Australian machinery.
Mr JV Dattatreyulu director operation said that these machines could drill up to 500 meters below the ground level and would prove beneficial to enhance coal production.
SCCL has been facing coal production constraints due to due to lack of modern machinery for underground mining after extracting coal through open cast method.
ICF to supply rail coaches to Angolan railway
Indian Railways Integral Coach Factory will supply 56 rail coaches in 10 varieties to Caminho de Ferro de Mocamedes Railways of Angola. ICF got the Rs 55.59 crore orders through RITES Ltd and would be exporting coaches to Angola and sending Diesel Electric Multiple Unit coaches abroad.
In the first batch, 22 second class day coaches were shipped last week. The remaining coaches would be sent in two batches in November 2006 and April 2007
Dr Goundan GM of ICF informed that all the coaches are Cape Gauge (1,067 mm), which is prevalent only in Africa. The DEMU trains and the Accident Relief Train, also part of the order, can run at 75 kilometer per hour. The other coaches, including second class, restaurant cars and luggage cum brake vans, can run at 100 kilometer per hour.
ICF has already exported railway passenger coaches and spares to 12 Afro Asian countries for a total value of Rs 73.55 crore.
US steel prices weakening Mr Bradford
Mr Charles Bradford of Bradford Research & Soleil Securities in New York last week said that steel industry pricing conditions in US are beginning to weaken due to excessive inventories in the hands of the customers and all the major trade groups, that track steel prices, report a decrease in recent weeks and that costs are also falling very fast especially for steel scrap and natural gas.
Mr Bradford points out in a recent report that
1. Service center inventories remain excessive and tonnage inventories have been increasing every month since last November.
2. Flat rolled steel prices probably peaked in July. The major mills have been holding their prices but smaller mills have been discounting over the last two months.
3. Steel imports have remained high. Even if indications are true that imports could have dropped somewhat in September, they likely will rise again in October.
Mr Bradford also said that due to the high steel inventories and lower scrap prices lately, some steel users have pulled orders for steel and expected steel prices to drop.
China's economy to grow at 10% in 2006
It is predicted that China's economy would grow at around 10% this year and the consumer price index would stay at 2%. Mr Xu Yifan deputy director of the National Bureau of Statistics last month said that the economy would maintain its steady and fast growth the rest of the year despite a slowdown of fixed assets investment and rising loans.
NBS statistics show the growth rate of fixed assets investment, a major indicator of economic growth, dropped 5.9 percentage points over previous month to 21.5 percent in August. Chinese banks lent 177 billion yuan ($22.4 billion)on average per month in July and August, half of the average monthly new loans in the first six months.
The figures indicated the macro economic control measures had taken effect and China's economy had made a good start on the 11th Five-Year Program period of 2006 to 2010.
China's economy grew at 10.2% last year and the growth rate was 10.9% in the first half of this year. The government has been making efforts to cool it down.
9 crewmen of Giant Step remain missing
Rescuers continued searching for missing crew members on Saturday after iron ore laden MV Giant Step ran aground and broke into 2 pieces in stormy waters off in Ibaraki Prefecture in the eastern Japanese coast.
Giant Step reported a fire in the cabin Friday afternoon and later ran aground and broke apart. The coast guard said the ship broke in two about two thirds of the way from the bow. The bow portion was resting on the seabed on its port side while the stern portion was listing around 30 degrees.
Panamanian registered 98,587 tonne Giant Step was carrying around 190,000 tons of iron ore from Australia and was scheduled to enter Kashima Port on Thursday. The Giant Step crew was made up of 25 Indians and one Sri Lankan.
China to become No 2 in auto sales this year and surpass US by 2020
China's automobile sales are expected to reach nearly 7 million units this year, making up one tenth of the world's total with the potential to surpass the US as the world's top auto market by 2020. According to a forecast of the State Information Centre the figure will climb to 10 million by 2010 and 20 million in 2020.
SIC has predicted that more middle income Chinese families could afford a car in the coming years due to rising income and falling car prices.
Chinese consumers' demand for sedans has been growing on an average of 37.5% annually. This year, the sale of sedans is estimated to hit 4 million as compared with 800,000 units in 2001.
China's automobile sales stood at 3.24 million units in 2002, ranking fourth in the world. The position rose to third in 2004. China will overtake Japan this year to become the world's second largest automobile seller.
BHP to start production in Haju Block next year
BHPBs Indonesian unit, PT BHP Biliton will start coal mining at the Haju block in Central Kalimantan next year with the initial production expected to be about 0.7 million tonnes per year. BHPB has it has spent about $40 million on developing the Haju mine.
Mr Indra Diannanjaya resident director of BHPB told media that "Most of the Lahai area is protected forest. So we can only conduct exploration in the Haju Block, which is not protected. We have completed our feasibility studying Haju. And for the rest of the Lahai area, we're waiting for the government's decision regarding its status, as actually some parts of it are not categorized as protected so that these could be exploited."
The Haju Block covers a total area of 4,787 hectares, as compared to the overall Lahai concession in Central Kalimantan which extends to 46,620 hectares and holds huge coal reserves.
Mr Indra said that BHPB would also start coal production in 2008 in the firm's other coal mining concession in Maruwai, which has proven reserves of 70 million tons of coal.
Bangladeshi rebars mills hike prices due to power crisis
It is reported that rebar mills in Bangladesh have increased the prices of reinforcement steel bars due to ongoing power crisis by about 5% to 6% recently.
Mr ANH Akhtar Hossain power secretary confirmed the decision of power cut and said "We have decided to suspend power supply to steel and re rolling mills during daytime, particularly from 8AM to 11PM. The mills will get power during rest of the time.
Mr SK Masudul Alam Masud general secretary of the Bangladesh Steel Mills Owners Association told FE that the production cost of re rolling mills has gone up due to power rationing throughout the day. He said that "Although the secretary of the Ministry of Power had described the power rationing a temporary phenomenon, now it has become a permanent problem.
He said the leaders and owners of the steel and re-rolling mills are scheduled to meet with the chairman of the Dhaka Electric Supply Authority today to inform him about the problem arisen out of frequent power outages. He warned that "We will stop paying the electricity bills from the next month if the decision of power rationing is not withdrawn immediately.
Canadian researchers developing new materials for concrete reinforcement
Mr John Newhook an associate professor in civil engineering at Dalhousie University in Halifax and project leader of a university research network called Intelligent Sensing for Innovative Structures last week said that the construction industry is slowly moving toward the use of new non corrosive materials in concrete construction and for evolving new ways of monitoring aging structures that could have hidden flaws.
Professor Newhook said that one branch of research is looking at the use of small fibers mixed into the concrete to strengthen the product at the micro-level and prevent the initial small cracks that can lead to big trouble. He said researchers are also promoting the use of glass fiber and graphite reinforcing rods in cement construction in place of the traditional steel rebar. Professor Newhook said "Steel corrodes. Depending on the environment, it can corrode quickly or it can corrode slowly.
Professor Newhook also said "We are a part of a team trying to advance the idea of what we call structural health monitoring. The essence of the idea is can we put some sensors on these structures that can give us feedback on their condition in real time and on a continuous basis. Canada is taking a reasonably strong leadership role in that area."
IISI calls for accident free & healthy workplace in steel industry
The board of directors of the International Iron and Steel Institute has issued a policy statement that addresses the issue of safety and occupational health.
In a statement issued by all members of the board of directors of IISI they stated that Nothing is more important than the health and safety of people who work in the steel industry. To aim for an accident free working environment is everyones responsibility. The goal is an accident free and healthy workplace.
The board of IISI outlined six principles for excellence in safety and occupational health. The member companies of IISI have adopted these principles as the basis for creating a 100% accident free environment for all work in the industry all over the world.
1. All injuries and work-related illness can and must be prevented
2. Management is responsible and accountable for health and safety performance
3. Employee engagement and training is essential
4. Working safely is a condition of employment
5. Excellence in health and safety support exceptional business results
6. Health and safety must be integrated in all business management processes.
Mr Ian Christmas secretary general of IISI said Accident frequency statistics from IISI Members show a significant improvement in safety performance over the past five years. Many steel plants are now reporting several years free of any lost time injury. However, much work remains to be done and the recognition by the IISI board of directors that safety and occupational health must be the top priority is a very positive step.
Arcelors Constructalia wins Trophs Internet de la Construction
The steel construction website Constructalia-France received a prize at the 5th edition of the Trophs Internet de la Construction 2006. The site received the recognition in the category of Online documentation and technical information of a company of more than 500 employees.
Ergonomics, design and adequacy between contents and expectations were the main criteria that the jury took into account. Composed of journalists as well as construction and internet professionals, the jury examined almost 275 candidates in 20 categories.
Constructalia is the Arcelor's internet portal designed to inform and advise all construction professionals including architects and engineers etc on steel construction solutions. Constructalia includes the group's complete catalogue of steel products in addition to their applications for the construction sector in structures, fades and roofing. The site is available in English, French, Spanish, German, Polish and Portuguese
Anglesey Mining updates on Labrador iron ore project
Anglesey Mining PLC announced last week that it has completed an initial feasibility study on its iron ore properties at Labrador in Canada and aims to put a mine into production at a rate of 2 million tonnes of ore a year by 2010 although first production is expected in 2008.
Anglesey said the feasibility study confirms that an economic operation is viable at the Labrador properties and the proposed project will involve open pit mining from one deposit initially at a rate of 5,000 tonnes per day over a period of 8 months per year. This will be followed by a washing and screening process, which will separate the mined material into lump and fines, which will then be loaded on to rail cars for transportation to the port of Sept Iles for onward shipping, either to Europe or the Far East.
The total expenditure through to the end of September on analyzing the properties has amounted to approximately 500,000 stg and its preliminary capital cost estimate for gearing up the properties for production is $30 million.
ICG to increase coal production through 6 new projects
International Coal Group has six new mining complexes planned for future development but Tygart projects in northern West Virginia would be the flagship development. Other future expansions include Jennie Creek in southwestern West Virginia, Beckley and Juliana in extreme southern West Virginia, and Big Creek in southwest Virginia.
Mr Ben Hatfield President and CEO of ICG told Putnam County Development Authority during September end that Tygart would develop 200 million short tons of reserves into two major deep mine complexes and that the favorable coal quality is marketable as low sulfur steam coal or high volatile metallurgical coal. The Tygart No 1 complex is planned for a mid 2008 startup. It's part of ICG's plans to grow annual production from 17 million short tons this year to between 17 million and 19 million short tons during 2007.
Mr Hatfiled said that Tygart No 2, Jennie Creek, Juliana and Big Creek are currently in the evaluation and planning stages.
Mr Hatfield said that ICG projects under construction include the Raven Complex in southeastern Kentucky, which is scheduled for start up in the third quarter and will add 1.2 million short tons and the Beckley Complex in southern West Virginia with startup in mid 2007 and adding 1.4 million short tons.
BOC TISCO starts gas supply to TISCOs expanded facility
BOC and Taiyuan Iron and Steel Corps JV BOC-TISCO has begun supplying gases from a new air separation unit last month at TISCO's stainless steel plant in north central China.
BOC-TISCO's new 1,400 tonne per day ASU, which came on stream in July, is supplying liquid and gaseous oxygen to enable the steel plant's phased expansion from 900,000 tonnes per year to 3 million tonnes per year.
As per reports, a second 1,400 tonne per day oxygen plant is being installed as part of phase 2 of the expansion project.
Cavico Mining announces investment to increase capacity
Cavico Vietnams subsidiary Cavico Mining has decided to spend an additional $2.69 million to increase the production capacity of its three existing projects. The fund includes an international loan through the Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development of Viet Nam and the company's reciprocal capital.
Mr Hua Thanh Binh director said that the investment would be to buy trucks, machines and other equipment for the Nui Beo Coal Mine, Cua Dat and Tuyen Quang hydro electric power plants that Cavico Mining has been developing. The company will also purchase many heavy equipment such as excavators and drillers for its new projects.
Arcelor Mittals management profile 24 Mr Inder Walia
Mr Inder Walia has been appointed in Arcelor Mittals management committee board last month as Human Resources Group Co-Head
Mr Inder Walia joined Mittal Steel in 2000 and has been responsible for the development and implementation of human resources strategies for the Company.
He has 24 years of experience in human resources positions. Mr. Walia has held various positions in human resources at Modi Corp and HCL Hewlett Packard.
He has a post-graduate degree in Human Resources from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India. He is also an active member of various human resource committees.
ICG announces exchange offer for Senior Notes due in 2014
International Coal Group Inc announced that it commenced an exchange offer to exchange up to $175 million aggregate principal amount of its 10.25% Senior Notes due 2014 which have been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, for a like principal amount of its original unregistered 10.25% Senior Notes due 2014.
The terms of the exchange notes are identical to the terms of the original notes for which they are being exchanged, except that the registration rights and the transfer restrictions applicable to the original notes are not applicable to the exchange notes.
Zimbabwean HCC promises to increase production by year end
Zimbabwe's Hwange Colliery Company Limited has said that it will be in a position to meet the national demand before end of this year after taking delivery of mining equipment from China during the past two weeks.
Mr Godfrey Dzinomwa MD of HCC said "We have already received eight trucks and other two are still at the border. We are hoping that once the equipment is commissioned, we will be able to meet national demand. HCCL also received two shuttle cars from South Africa last month.
HCCL has been failing to meet national coal requirements due to operational constraints and it has been worsened by a shortage of wagons at the National Railways of Zimbabwe.
