New Indian mining policy to attract overseas players

Indian government is targeting to increase foreign direct investment in the mining sector to INR 100,000 crores in the next 2 years from the current level of about $150 million by encouraging JVs between Indian and overseas miners under the new mining policy which is under finalization.

Mr T Subbarami Reddy minister of state for mines on the sidelines of CIIs Indian Mining Summit told reporters that FDI inflows into mining will rise substantially once the new mining policy is cleared in Parliament. We are confident the policy will get the go ahead in the coming budget session. An FDI of INR 100,000 crore will contribute an additional INR 50,000 crore to the gross domestic product. It will also create 1 million jobs.

Mr Reddy said that the government was in favor of joint venture collaborations since the Indian partner would be aware of the local issues while the overseas collaborator would bring in technology and investments. Mr Reddy said the new policy would also address the controversial issue of mineral rich states not willing to supply minerals to others for setting up industry by empowering central government to intervene in allocation of mining licenses to eligible applicants if state government delays the process.

Mr AKD Jadhav mining secretary said the mining sector should be accorded industry status. He said The mining sector should be accorded industry status which would help arrange more funds from banks and institutions. The government is also keen to form a mineral development fund which would be formed by the royalty paid to the state governments while the Centre would give a matching amount.

The new policy is based on the recommendations of the Anwarul Hoda committee, which was formed to look into the Mining Act and to suggest policy changes in this regard. The policy would be presented before the cabinet soon and after which it would be placed in Parliament for approval.

JSW Steel to enter long products

It is reported that JSW Steel Limited, so far a flat steel player, is planning to set up bar & rod mills at Toranagallu facility in Bellary District of Karnataka to enter long product market and has ordered Morgan for supply of both the mills including complete automation.

The rod mill will produce 5.2 mm to 22 mm wire rods with a capacity of 600,000 tons. The mill will be designed for a maximum speed of 120 meters per second. The rod mill's start up date is expected to be early January 2008.

The high speed rebar mill with slitting technology of 1 million tonne capacity will produce a product range that includes plain bars, rebars, round corner squares and angles. Commissioning for the bar mill is expected to be in March 2008.

Opposition brewing against TATA Steels plant in Bastar

IANS has reported that 27 tribal were arrested in Bastar district of Chattisgarh while protesting against TATA Steel's proposed steel plant and that situation is very tense. The report cites as a police official saying that We have arrested 27 villagers of Sirisgura village on charges of indulging in a violent protest against TATA Steel and injuring dozens of fellow villagers who support the construction.

The report mentions that the Communist Party of India has joined in opposing TATA Steels plant, which they allege is a bid to grab tribal land. Mr Manish Kunjam of local CPI unit told IANS Police have been assaulting protesters, even women members, and dozens have been injured in police action during the past three days. The police can't suppress the voice of the protesters. The villagers are determined to stop the company from grabbing the land of innocent tribal families.

Sirisgura is one of 10 villages in Lohandiguda block in Bastar region where TATA Steel has selected 4,500 acres of land to set up its steel plant and township with Rs.100 billion investment under a MoU signed in last June.

Jindal Saw denies sale of its US based plate mill

With reference to the news item appearing in a portal regarding sale of plate mill by its USA affiliate Jindal Saw Ltd denies the rumor. Jindal Saw in a filing to BSE said that there is no such indication in the organization's communication in the recent past, which may have led to such speculation, which is completely baseless and is strongly denied.

Jindal SAW has two chief business entities in the Texas, JUSCO and SAW Pipes USA. JUSCO makes steel plates and services shipyards, oilfield fabricators, heavy equipment producers, machinery makers and has an installed capacity of 1.2 million tonnes. As per reports, Jindal SAW holds a 49% stake in JUSCO through its wholly owned US unit Jindal Enterprises, SPU holds another 29% in JUSCO and the balance is held by the promoter group in their individual capacity.

Nisshin Steel may set up steel plant in Gujarat Report

ET has reported that Japanese Nisshin Steel is exploring possibilities of setting up a steel plant in the state of Gujarat. As per the report a team from Nisshin Steel visited Gujarat and communicated to the Gujarat government that it wants around 100 hectares near a port, from where it can import coal and iron ore.

The report cites as a state government saying that A three member delegation comprising companys top executives visited Dahej and the adjoining area to scout for a suitable location. They have not decided on anything.

Nisshin Steel is primarily into manufacturing steel and various finished products including coated steel, Stainless steel and special steels. There are 29 companies in the Nisshin Steel Group in Japan comprising of a wide range of industries.

Usha Martin to take over U-Tor Construction Steel

Usha Martin Ltd announced that its board of directors, by a resolution passed by circulation on November 24th 2006, has decided to take over of the business of U-Tor Construction Steel Ltd at Agra with effect from December 1st 2006 at a net value not exceeding Rs 8.5 crores subject to due diligence and necessary approvals.

India to launch steel usage promotion campaign

It is reported that 8 advertising firms including Ogilvy and Mather, McCann Erickson, JWT, Lowe, Leo Burnett, Mudra, Grey Worldwide and Bates India have been shot listed by a high powered group comprising of steel ministry and steel makers for making campaign presentations during next month for final selection.

Indian government and steel industry have joined hands to unleash a massive advertising campaign to promote steel consumption in the country. India's s per capita consumption of steel at 35.3 kilograms in 2005-06 as compared to the world average of 165 kilograms and the Indian steel industry is pushing to increase it to match the targeted growth of steel industry.

SAIL announces appointment of 3 part time non official directors

Steel Authority of India Limited has informed BSE that on nomination by government of India, the board of directors of the company has approved the appointment of Mr PK Sengupta, Professor Javaid Akhtar and Dr Vinayshil Gautam as part time non official directors on the board of the company.

HZL denies report on investment plans in Congo

With reference to the news item appearing in financial daily indicating that the Hindustan Zinc Limited is gearing up to acquire some copper mining assets in Congo mentioning estimated investment and its method of funding, HZL has clarified to BSE that the published news item is totally baseless and the company totally denies its correctness and that it does not have any plan or discussions to acquire any copper mines in Congo or elsewhere.

A report in the media recently mentioned that Vedanta group controlled HZL has initiated discussions with the government of Congo for acquiring an unexplored copper mine with an estimated reserve of more than a billion tonne at an investment of about $2 billion and that to partially fund the acquisition, it may come out with a follow on offering in the next year. The report cited some sources a saying that the deal was likely to be finalized in another 4 to 5 months.

Government approves IPOs REC, PFC and PGCIL

Indian cabinet committee on economic affairs has approved the initial public offerings of Rural Electrification Corporation, Power Finance Corporation and Power Grid Corporation of India. IPO proceeds will be used by the companies to finance their expansion plans.

In the case of PFC, 11.73 crore shares will be issued representing 10.22% of the post issue capital. For PGCIL, CCEA has approved equity dilution of up to 24% of the post issue capital of the company, which will be done in tranches. For REC, the post issue equity dilution will be 20% with 15.6 crore shares being floated.

The IPOs are scheduled to enter the market between January and March 2007.

RETL declared lowest bidder for transmission line packages

Anil Ambani Groups Reliance Energy Transmission Ltd has emerged as the lowest bidder for the two tenders invited by Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd for constructing the grid lines linked with Western Region Strengthening Scheme in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Central Electricity Regulatory Commission in a statement said that "Reliance Energy Transmission Ltd has emerged as the lowest bidder in each of the Packages B and C, for which separate price bids were invited by PGCIL.

TATA Power, L&T, GMR group, China Light and Power-Gammon India, Lanco-Deepak Cables and two Spanish consortiums were in race for the two projects.

The two projects are part of PGCIL's Rs 50 billion western grid scheme. Package B is for building sub stations and grid lines in southern Maharashtra at a cost of INR 11 billion to INR 12 billion and the Package C entails setting up grid lines in Gujarat at an investment of about INR 5 billion to INR 6 billion.

BHEL Trichy to increase capacity to 5800MW by December 2007

Bharat Heavy Electrical Limiteds Tiruchirapalli unit has undertaken an expansion plant to increase its equipment manufacturing capacity from 4,000MW to 5,800 MW. Mr S Sathyanarayanan ED of unit while addressing the annual meet of BHEL's subcontractors said that the expansion program, at an outlay of Rs 190 crore, was part of the Rs 1,000 crore expansion plan charted out by BHEL to increase the capacity of its manufacturing units across the country.

As per reports, the expansion plan had already begun and around 60% of the required machineries had already started arriving at the site and the orders for the rest of the machineries needed would be placed by December. The expanded BHEL complex would become operational by December 2007.

CVRD & ThyssenKrupp sign iron ore deal for feeding CSA mill

CVRD and ThyssenKrupp have signed a new long term contract valued at about $7 billion to supply iron ore and pellets to the 5 million tonne per annum CSA steel mill in Brazil for 15 years. Under the contract, CVRD will each year supply 2.7 million tonnes of pellets and 5.9 million tonnes of iron ore once the CSA plant is up and running in 2009.

CVRD in a statement said "This agreement is aligned with CVRD's strategy to promote the expansion of the Brazilian steel industry, through minority and temporary stakes in projects in Brazil. Further, it highlights its unique capability as a long term reliable supplier of high quality iron ore at competitive prices, given its large scale operations and excellence.

Mr Roger Agnelli CEO of CVRD's said "Thyssen is a traditional client and the CSA project is part of CVRD's strategy to expand the Brazilian steel industry through minority stakes. We are creating a complete supply chain between CVRD and ThyssenKrupp.

ThyssenKrupp and CVRDs 90:10 JV is a key part of ThyssenKrupp's strategy to expand in North America. It is said that due to low Brazilian labor costs and the proximity to CVRD's iron ore deposits in Brazil, ThyssenKrupp will be able to produce steel slabs in Rio 10% to 15% cheaper than at similar facilities in Germany. As per reports ThyssenKrupp will ship 3.3 million tons of its estimated annual steel slab output from Brazil to the NAFTA region and 2.2 million tons to German facilities.

In addition to the new contract, ThyssenKrupp already buys some 15 million tonnes a year of iron ore from CVRD. CVRD's previous biggest contract of 120 million tonnes over six years was with the world's largest steelmaker Arcelor Mittal.

Baosteel keeps Q1 prices mostly flat

Chinas biggest steelmaker and price trend setter, Baosteel announced its price details for first quarter of 2007 where prices of most of its steel products are kept in line with those for last quarter of 2006.

All price changes listed below are exclusive of 17% VAT except specified otherwise and will come into force as of the date of issuance.

(Sourced from Mysteel.net)

CSN combine acquires 15.16% stake of Corus

In the middle of a takeover battle between TATA Steel and CSN for acquiring Corus, in a busy session on late Thursday evening at London Stock Exchange, CSNs corporate broker UBS AG acting through its business group and legal entities picked up 66.1 million shares or 7.36% equity of Corus while CSNs adviser Goldman Sachs acquired 36 million shares representing a 4% stake.

Companhia Siderurgica Nacional had already acquired 3.8% stake in Corus through its investment arm earlier from open market and this transactions make the CSN combine the biggest shareholder of Corus with 15.16% stake. However the takeover clause on launching an open offer may not apply for them as they have picked up stake separately.

BNP Paribas, Barclays and Goldman Sachs are CSNs advisers to the counter bid for Corus and UBS is their corporate banker. CSN started the due diligence early this week and is expected to make a formal bid early next week before the Corus shareholders meeting. Industry experts see this transaction as another example of CSNs strategy to put pressure on TATA Steel and garner support for its own bid for Corus.

Brazilian steel production to touch 50 million tonnes by 2010

Brazilian Steel Institute has forecast that the Brazilian capacity for steel production should reach 50 million tonnes per year in 2010 based on investment forecast of $ 11.2 billion over the next four years. Brazil currently produces 34 million tonnes of steel per year.

Mr Luiz AndrRico Vicente president of IBS in a conference on the industry at S Paulo in Brazil said that the production should increase due to forecasted investment in new units and that the steel sector is already undergoing a modernization and expansion process.

Mr Rico Vicente estimates that after investment of $15.9 billion during 1993 and 2005 in the Brazilian steel industry another $ 11.2 billion should be invested until 2010.

Mr Vicente in a press release published by the IBS said that Brazil is getting ready to cater to new demands that might stem from a rising global economy and that presently approximately 40% of the Brazilian steel production is shipped abroad.

Nickel reaches highest levels in 19 years on LME

Nickel rose to its highest in at least 19 years in London after a report showed stockpiles may decline reducing its supply. Nickel for delivery in three months on the LME gained $1,600 or 5.2 percent to $32,750 per tonne the highest since at least 1987 and $125 more than the previous 19 year high set on October 20th 2006.

LME in a daily report said that LME monitored nickel inventory dropped by 150 tons to 6,480 tons of which only 76 percent are available to the market, equal to one and a half day of global consumption. Inventory monitored by the LME booked and scheduled for future delivery to buyers, known as canceled warrants, rose by 330 metric tons or 29% to 1,560 tons.

Nickel stocks have slumped by 70% in the past year. Societe Generale forecast earlier this month that demand will beat supply by 40,000 tons in 2006. Consumption of nickel grew this year in line with global stainless steel production and as per International Stainless Steel Forum SS makers may increase output 14% this year to 27.8 million tonnes. Nickel has risen by almost 150% since the start of year, boosted by predictions of tight global supply and strong global demand.

23 miners killed in Polands Halemba coal mine

The death toll from a 2 days old gas explosion at Halemba coal mine in Ruda Slaska 300 kilometers southwest of Warsaw rose to 23 after rescuers found the bodies of the remaining trapped miners making it the worst accident in the Polish mining industry for 27 years. Polish President Mr Lech Kaczynski declared national mourning through November 25.

Mr Zbigniew Madej spokesman for Kompania Weglowa SA which operates the Halemba mine said that the section of the mine where the blast took place, about a kilometer underground, has not been used for coal extraction since March.

The Halemba coal mine began operations in 1957 and two prior explosions in the 1990's claimed 24 miners.

This disaster is the biggest in Poland since 1979 when a blast killed 34 workers in the Dymitrow mine in Bytom. According to the countrys Mining Office accidents have claimed 46 lives so far this year up from 21 a year ago. More than 180 people have died in coal mining accidents in the Polish mining region of Silesia in the last three decades.

EU sets 3rd January as deadline to rule on TATA Steels bid for Corus

It is reported that EU regulators on Thursday set a January 3rd 2007 deadline to rule on TATA Steel's $7.7 billion bid for Britain's Corus Group PLC. However, TATA Steel's offer is unlikely to face lengthy antitrust scrutiny as the two companies have few overlaps.

The European Commission can extend its deadline if rivals complain or if it identifies possible antitrust problems with the deal. It usually decides on mergers where the companies make more than euro 5 billion worldwide or euro 250 million in Europe.

CSN claims to be a better suitor for Corus than TATA Steel

Cia Siderurgica Nacional SA, which is competing with TATA Steel to take over Corus Group Plc, said that it is a better fit than for Corus TATA Steel. Mr Jose Marcos Treiger head of investor relations of CSN at a press briefing in Amsterdam said Tata is a nice fit for Corus, but we think that we probably are the best fit.

Mr Treiger declined to comment on how serious CSN is with its intention to buy Corus and on a possible timeframe for a final decision on a possible acquisition. He added We are ready to grow internationally because we need to complement our domestic market. There will be a lot of synergies between CSN and Corus.

Zinc continues to climb on LME as inventory drops

Zinc for delivery in three months on the LME rose by $85 or 2% to $4,445 a ton as of 1:13 PM in London as inventory monitored by the London Metal Exchange dropped by 1.2% to 87,925 metric tons, lowest since April 1991. Zinc has more than doubled this year and traded at a record $4,580 on November 10th 2006.

The declines in stockpiles caused supply tightness for zinc on the LME, a situation known as backwardation. The contract for immediate delivery was $82 more expensive than the benchmark three month as of yesterday, almost double the $42 gap on November 21 suggesting buyers had to pay more if they need metal urgently. In a market with ample supplies longer dated contracts trade higher than nearby ones due to storage and interest costs.

Hertfordshire based World Bureau of Metal Statistics said that consumption of Zinc exceeded output by 167,000 tons in the nine months to September as China's zinc use increased by 29% and that consumers have tapped stockpiles to fill the production shortfall inventory has plunged 80% in the past year.

Freeport to acquire Phelps Dodge

Bloomberg has reported that Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc has agreed to buy Phelps Dodge Corp for $25.9 billion in cash and stock in the world's biggest mining takeover. Phelps Dodge stockholders will get $88 in cash and 0.67 share of New Orleans based Freeport. The deal values Phelps Dodge at $126.46 a share 33% more than its closing price November 17th 2006.

Freeport has secured finance from JPMorgan Chase & Co and Merrill Lynch & Co, who are also its advisers and the cash portion of the bid is about 70% of the total bid. Phelps Dodge is advised by Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley & Co. The acquisition is expected to close at the end of the first quarter of 2007.

Mr J Steven Whisler CEO of Phelps Dodge agreed to the takeover after failing this year in his bid to acquire Canadian nickel producers Falconbridge Ltd. and Inco Ltd. for $40 billion. Falconbridge was acquired by Xstrata Plc and CVRD bought Inco.

Freeport owns the Grasberg mine, the largest gold mine and second-largest copper mine, in Indonesia's Irian Jaya region. Freeport also owns copper refineries in Indonesia and Spain. Phelps Dodge mines for copper in the US, Chile and Peru. The company also plans to start its Tenke copper mine in the Congo. The acquisition will enable Freeport to overtake BHP Billiton Ltd. as the world's largest publicly traded copper producer.

Dongkuks Q3 net soar by 349% YoY

South Korea's no 3 steelmaker Dongkuk Steel Mill Co announced that its third quarter net profit soared by 349% YoY from a year ago despite increased costs for raw materials. The company attributed the bumper earnings to reduced corporate taxes and gains from equity investments.

Its net profit came to 48 billion won ($51.4 million) in July to September 2006 period as compared with 10.7 billion won a year ago. However, Dongkuks sales went down by 2% YoY to 782.1 billion won and operating profit fell by 17% YoY to 49.8 billion won.

Magang buys 71% stake of Burwill Steel Products

Maanshan Iron & Steel has recently signed agreement with Burwill Holdings Limited to buy 71% stake into the latter's wholly owned subsidiary Burwill Steel Products (Yangzhou) Co Ltd at a price of RMB 61.65 million.

Burwill Steel Products (Yangzhou) Co Ltd focuses on processing and delivery of high value added steel products.

Magang has been attracted by the rosy prospect of processing business of high end steel products in Yangtze Delta. Magang intends to build up several new production lines in the joint venture and raise its capacity up to 800,000 tonnes per year in near future.

(Sourced from Mysteel.net)

Gindalbie & Anshan JV signs MOUs with Geraldton Ports

The board of Gindalbie Metals Ltd announced that it has signed two MoUs with the Geraldton Port Authority on behalf of the Karara Iron Ore JV participants for access to suitable storage and loading facilities at Berth 5 and Berth 7 at the Geraldton Port for the export of iron products from its Karara Iron Ore Project in Western Australia.

Under the MOU's, Gindalbie and the GPA have agreed to work together to complete formal documentation for the lease of space at Berth 5 for the storage and shipment of up to 4 million tonnes per annum of hematite ore and at Berth 7 for the storage and shipment of up to 8 million tonnes per annum of magnetite ore. The parties will also complete documentation in respect to provision of Port Services by the GPA.

The MOU in respect to Berth 5 also envisages Gindalbie providing a throughput guarantee of 1.5 million tonnes per year for a period of 10 years commencing from the time first delivery of hematite to the Port occurs. Any shortfall on the throughput guarantee will require a payment of $2 per tonne of ore by Gindalbie to the GPA. No throughput guarantees are required in relation to Berth 7.

Gindalbie Metals JV with Anshan Iron and Steel Group Corporation made the decision to export its concentrate and pellets through the Geraldton port rather than the proposed Oakajee facility in July this year to provide maximum certainty for its development and shipment plans. The decision comes two months after Gindalbie passed up the option of building the company's pellet plant in Geraldton, choosing instead to build in China because of cost reasons.

TMKs Seversk Pipe Plant to test OMZs caster in December

Uralmash-Izhora Groups OMZ-Uralmash division has shipped continuous casting machine equipment to Pipe Metallurgical Companys Seversk Pipe Plant and its assembly is nearing completion. Seversk Pipe Plant is likely to conduct test runs in December and the caster is expected to be put into operation in early 2007.

The contract for production of the equipment for two new continuous casting machines for Taganrog Metallurgic Plant and Seversk Pipe Plant was concluded between TMK and OMZ in October 2004. Both continuous casting machines have been built on the basis of engineering by SMS Demag with annual capacity of 1 million tons of steel products. The first machine was supplied to TMKs Taganrog Metallurgical Plant in June 2006.

OMZ is one of the largest heavy industry enterprises in Russia. It specializes in engineering, manufacturing, sales and maintenance of plant, equipment and machinery for the nuclear power industry and also producing special steels and providing industrial services. The company comprises the divisions of OMZ NPPEQ, OMZ- Spetsstal, OMZ-MINEQ and OMZ Uralmash-Promuslugi located in Russia and Skoda Steel and Skoda JS in the Czech Republic.

Vinacomins coal export to reach 20 million tonnes in 2007

VNS has reported that Vietnam National Coal Mineral Industries Group has proposed a plan to export 20 million tonnes of coal next year and that high quality coal will be exported mainly to Japan while lower quality coal will be exported to the Chinese market. Vietnams coal exports hit 17 million tonnes in the first 10 month of the year up by 51% YoY with export volume to China at 13 million tonnes up by 170% YoY.

Mr Do Huu Hao deputy industry minister said that Vinacomin has outlined plans to decrease coal exports and raise import volume if domestic demand rises sharply. He added that Vinacomin will also invest heavily in exploration and processing technology in order to meet increasing demand from thermoelectric plants in the coming years.

However, the industry ministry estimates that due to increasing demand of coal for power generation, Viet Nam will have to begin importing coal by 2015 with volume reaching 20 million tonnes by 2020 and 50 million tonnes in 2025.

POSCO to set up 3rd EGL line

YIEH has reported that POSCO plans to build up the third electro galvanizing line to meet the continuously rising demand from white goods segment. As per reports, this proposal has been submitted to the shareholders.

The annual capacity of new mill will be about 300,000 tons. Construction of the line is expected to be completed within 2 two years and production is scheduled to start in 2009.

Suroyamsky iron ore deposit to be auctioned February 1st 2007

Interfax has reported that the natural resources agency for the Chelyabinsk region will hold an auction on February 1st 2007 for the rights to explore for and mine iron ore at the region's Suroyamsky property. The starting price for the 20 year license is 30 million rubles and the auction participation fee is 73,700 rubles. The deadline for applications from potential bidders is December 26 and confirmation of payment of a deposit equivalent to the starting price must be made by January 26.

The winner will have to prepare and approve the exploration plan within 12 months of license registration, begin exploration within 15 months and complete exploration within 48 months. The development plan must be prepared and approved within 60 months, and a mine must come on stream within 84 months and achieve capacity of at least 3 million tonnes per year within 96 months of license registration.

Suroyamsky is a large deposit that has lower magnetite content compared to other magnetite deposits. As per reports citing an agency official the deposit has P1 anticipated resources of 2.2 billion tonnes of titanium magnetite ore to a depth of 300 meters in its central part and 4.2 billion tonnes of apatite titanium magnetite ore on its edge.

Evrazs Teyskiy starts developing Izykhgolskoye iron ore deposits

Evraz Group has started developing Evrazrudas Izykhgolskoye ore deposit as part of the corporate investment program aimed at supporting ore mining needs and most of the money needed for the project is to be invested within 2006 and 2007. The opening ceremony took place in Teyskiy subsidiary on November 22nd 2006 and the first 120 tons of local ore were sent to the crushing shop.

The deposit is based in the Republic of Khakasia and has 11 million tons of ore reserves. The new deposit is going to be developed in the surface mining mode and the 57% iron content is expected to significantly decrease the operational expenses, particularly due to the possibility of skipping the primary processing stage. After the ore is crushed at the crushing and processing shop of Teyskiy subsidiary, it will be transported to Novokuznetsk in order to be agglomerated.

The launching of some new extracting facilities is part of Evraz Group strategy targeted at enhancing the profitability of mining business and making sure ore is supplied uninterruptedly to the companys metallurgical enterprises.

Shougang to install duplex RH plant for high end steel grades

Beijing based China Shougang International Trade & Engineering Corp has awarded SMS Mevac a contract to supply a Duplex RH recirculation degassing plant with two treatment positions. The new unit will mainly be used for the production of IF grades, automotive sheet as well as pipe steels. Commissioning of the RH plant is scheduled for mid 2007.

The new plant will be designed to treat heats with a nominal weight of 100 tonnes. Each treatment position is equipped with a hydraulic ladle lifting system, a metallurgical TOP lance and a vacuum lock system for the charging of alloying materials. The vacuum is achieved using a four stage steam ejector vacuum pump with variable pressure reduction rate for optimized process control.

Belaruss crude steel output up by 9.1% YoY in 10 months

As per the Statistics and Analysis Ministry, Belarus has increased ferrous metal output by 10.2% YoY in constant prices in January to October to 2.412 trillion Belarussian rubles.

Its production grew by 9.1% to 1.942 million tonnes of crude steel, 10.5% to 1.845 million tonnes of roll, 25.7% to 109,100 tonnes of steel pipes and 10.3% to 74,800 tonnes of steel cord.