Essar Steel to get license for Bailadila iron ore deposits No 3

IANS reported that the central government has approved the Chhattisgarh government's proposal to award the prospecting license to Essar Steel for a 2,285 hectare stretch in Bailadila iron ore deposit No 3 at Dantewada district of Chattisgarh.

Essar Steel will use the Bailadila iron ore to feed its INR 70 billion Greenfield integrated steel plant to be set up in two phases in Dantewada district with a capacity of 3.2 million tonne per annum.

State owned National Mineral Development Corporation had got the mining lease right of an area of 3,308.04 hectares in Bailadila deposit no 3 on February 3rd 1977 for a period of three decades. Chattisgarh government did not renew the lease on the grounds that NMDC did not undertake any excavation during last 30 years.

The hilly region of Bailadila, located in Dantewada district, has large reserves of high quality iron ore stocks, divided into 14 deposits. NMDC has been excavating mines in three bigger deposits for domestic supplies as well as for exports to China and Japan.

TATA Steel begins centenary year celebrations

TATA Steel has begun celebrating its centenary year celebrations amidst fireworks at the jubilee park at its Jamshedpur based steel plant last week. The occasion has taken a special dimension, as TATA Steel recently acquired Corus as a giant leap to become global steel major. The celebrations are also coinciding with the 168th birth anniversary of its founder Mr Jamshedji Tata.

The beginning is quite fascinating. 43 year old Mr Jamshedji Tata read a report by German geologist Mr Ritter von Schwartz which stated that the best iron ore deposits were in the Chanda district of the Central Provinces in India and decided to setup TATA Iron & Steel Company. Mr PN Bose an Indian geologist first proclaimed that he had discovered rich iron ore deposits in the princely state under the Maharaja of Mayurbhanj. Than another geologist Mr CM Weld and his assistant Mr Srinivas Rao spotted a village called Sakchi, at the meeting point of the rivers Kharkai and Subarnarekha, near the iron rich Gorumahisani Hills.The plant was set up in a mere three years. The construction engineers spent seven weeks drawing up the plans. These engineers were Mr Julian Kennedy and Sahlin & Company, invited by TISCO from Pittsburgh and Brussels respectively.

Some of the historical milestones of TISCO include

1911: This is the year the first ingot rolled out of the Tata Steel works. Coke ovens were fired and blast furnaces with 200 tonnes capacities regularly exceeded 220 tonnes production and often even touched 280 tonnes.
1914: In the First World War Tata Steel supplied 1,500 miles of rail and 300,000 tonnes of steel material at concessional rates for military campaigns in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Salonica and East Africa.
1917: The landmark Howrah Bridge in Kolkata used 80,000 tonnes of the company's steel. It still stands tall.
1924: New rail, merchant and sheet mills go into operation. In the early years, rail mills were the mainstay of the plant, till the company decided to diversify in 1917.
1932: Tata Steel celebrates Founder's Day on March 3 for the first time.
1942: The armored cars being used extensively in World War II. Look at them closely. They are called Tatanagars and are fitted with bulletproof plates and rivets made by Tata Steel. It was in this year that the company got involved in the production of amour plates and alloy steels.

JSW Steel reiterates opposition to iron ore export

JSW Steel has once again voiced their opposition to continuing export of iron ore and has urged the central government to stop export of iron ore forthwith to avoid shortage in the future.

Mr Sajjan Jindal vice CMD of JSW Steel while attending the inaugural function of a mega industrial exhibition 'Incomex-2007' told media here that the country was getting a royalty of INR 289 crore per 100 million tonnes of iron ore export. But if the same iron ore was converted into steel it would be worth INR 35,000 crore. He added that ''The countries like Japan and China use our ore and sell steel to us. The present level of iron ore in the mines of the country might last for another 19 years to 20 years then we have to beg for steel.''

Dr BN Singh JMD and CEO of JSW Steel in his address on the concluding session of a workshop on rolls fro flat steel also urged the Indian government to put restrictions on raw material export which could prove detrimental to manufacturing sector. He stressed the need to increase countrys value added product export that showed growth in real term.

Dr BN Singh, during a presentation Iron Ore Boom or Bane during a steel conference last month had highlighted the projected requirement of iron ore as 1.08 billion tonne per year for producing 675 million tonne of steel per year at 500 kilogram per capita consumption for 1.35 billion Indian. Dr Singh also urged that iron ore reserves per capita concept to be the deciding factor for banning iron ore exports by India.

Reserves in billion tonnes
Population in million
Per capita reserves in tonnes per person

TATA Steel to buy more coal assets in Australia

TATA Steel, post Corus, seems to be pushing its plans to buy into a coal mine in Australia in forward gear, as its need for securing global steel raw material sources has enlarged several folds.

Mr Ratan Tata chairman of TATA Steel while addressing a press conference in Jamshedpur said that We are looking at how we can align ourselves with Corus and buy into or partner with coal and iron ore producers to meet our needs. With CORUS our plan has now acquired global components. We have put in a proposal for a coal mine in Australia. We are scanning for possibilities elsewhere across the world too.

Mr Ratan Tata added that We are also looking at how Corus can improve its competitiveness in accessing raw materials, not from off take form us but from our connections globally.

TATA Steel already has a 5 % stake in the Carborough Downs Project in Queensland in Australia. Mr B Muthuraman MD of TATA Steel said the Carborough Downs stake was a small one and the company was looking at much more than that.

Indian steel makers see increased imports of defective steel

Some segments of Indias domestic steel makers feel that Mr P Chidambaram Indian finance ministers proposal to reduce import duty on seconds and defective steel from 20 % to 10% would result in flooding of sub standard and rejected steel products into India and that the packaging industry would be most effected due to likely increase in imports of waste waste tin plate.

Mr Moosa Raza president of Indian Steel Alliance told ET that The proposed duty cut on seconds and defectives is a retrograde step. It may facilitate imports of poor quality tinplate. As our economy improves we should insist on improving packaging norms. We had in fact asked for a hike in duty on seconds and defectives to the earlier level of 40%. He added that Imports of chemically coated tinplate is likely to go up. These tinplates have one side printed, which is toxic and hence unsafe for food packaging.

Mr Bushen Raina MD of Tinplate Company of India Limited said: We are trying to find out whether our products will be affected due to proposed duty cut on seconds & defectives. If it does, we could be faced with a serious threat of imports in seconds & defectives.

JSW Steel organizes workshop on rolls for flat rolling

Indias leading steel manufacturer JSW Steel Ltd has recently organized a 2 day international workshop Rolls-07 for flat rolling of steel at its Torangal facility in Karnataka, to provide a platform for interaction between roll manufacturers and steel producers.

The workshop was divided into 4 technical sessions and 22 papers were presented in 2 days. Over 130 delegates from 59 global companies having interest in roll manufacturing and flat rolled products attended the workshop. A large numbers of experts from various steel plants attended the program.

India's dredging sector gets a boost

In a move to support Indian governments drive to build up strong port infrastructure, Mr P Chidambaram Indias finance minister in budget for 2007-08 has exempted dredging activity from the import duty. This would result in lower cost of building required infrastructure in the country.

The beneficiaries of this move include all ports, which have undertaken dredging activities, dredging companies including the Dredging Corporation of India which is in the process of buying dredgers and the Shipping Corporation of India which has proposed to set up a dredging company with equity participation of Major Ports.

Mr AK Bhalla joint secretary of ports in the shipping ministry welcomed the move. He said The import duty exemption was a major step due to the extremely high funds requirement for capital dredging in the country, particularly for the Sethusamudram project. The import duty was a huge cost for us. The exemption will give a fillip to both Indian and foreign companies to undertake dredging projects.

The Ministry of Shipping has projected the size of the dredging market at over 1 billion cubic meters over five years. Apart from two high profile projects of Sethusamudram and Mumbai-Nhava Sheva channels, the other projects that have now come up for grabs include those being finalized by the Tuticorin, Paradip, Ennore, Haldia, New Mangalore and Cochin Port Trusts.

Kerala government to revive state owned Steel Complex

It is reported that the state government of Kerala, under its policy of funding a revival plans for loss making public sector units, has decided to bring back Steel Complex Ltd at Feroke near Kozhikode in Kerala back on the stream through a revival package and expansion of facilities.

Mr Elamaram Karim minister of industries for Kerala, while inaugurating the renovated sales depot of the Steel Complex Ltd in the state, announced that Kerala government has prepared a revival package of INR 19 crore, including a INR 8 crore grant from the government and INR 5 crore from the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation and raised at least INR 3.5 crore by transferring 80% of the complex's land at Ernakulam to the corporation. Steel complex had to pay INR 36 crore to the State Bank of India but as a one time settlement, the amount was cut down to INR 8 crore.

Mr Karim also announced that Kerala government will set up a re rolling mill at Feroke this year.

Mr K Sasikumaran MD of Steel Complex Ltd said that once the project is completed, production of special steel would begin on a large scale from the complex to capture the entire South India market and talks were on with Steel Authority of India Ltd to have a tie up with the complex.

South African thermal coal remains stable on Indian demand

It is reported that the Indian demand for South African coal, which traditionally should slow during June as the monsoon season makes it difficult to handle import into India's western ports, may remain unabated due to strong cement demand in India

Some reports even mention that even the west coast based cement makers may resort to coal import on eastern coast.

As a result, the South African coal prices have inched up over last few weeks Traders and producers said that the prices for prompt loading South African coal cargoes have been stable over the past several days at around USD 52.50 a tonne FOB Richards Bay. However two transactions took place on electronic trading platform globalCOAL last week for Panamax sized cargoes at USD 52.25 for Q3 and USD 52.95 for Q4.

STC to post record 2006-07 results

The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd has paid an interim dividend of 20% for 2006-07 on its equity capital to the Government of India. The interim dividend was paid in view of increase in the profit during April 2006 to January 2007 over the corresponding period last year. Dr Arvind Pandalai CMD of STC said STC should close the year with record turnover and profitability.

Dr Pandalai informed that during the period STC has further expanded its overseas steel operations which are now also being undertaken in Bulgaria besides Philippines. These operations have been major growth drivers on export front.

During this period import turnover of about INR 9200 crore has been achieved marking an increase of over 100 % while the total exports have surpassed INR 2000 crore.

CMC takes full control of Polish steel mill CMC Zawiercie

Commercial Metals Company announced that its Polish steel mill CMC Zawiercie SA has purchased all of the shares of CMCZ owned by the Polish Ministry of State Treasury. CMCZ paid in aggregate approximately USD 59.5 million for the shares and intends to redeem the shares. With this purchase and subsequent redemption, CMC now holds approximately 99% of all CMCZ shares outstanding.

Mr Murray McClean President & CEO of Commercial Metals Company said that "This purchase achieves an objective established back when we acquired CMCZ. We appreciate the professional manner in which the Ministry of State Treasury handled the evaluation and negotiation of a fair and reasonable purchase price. We look forward to continuing with our long-term plans to make CMCZ a truly world class steel mill."

The ministry retained the minority interest in CMCZ at the time of privatization of the mill in 1995 and represent approximately 26.8% of the total CMCZ shares outstanding. CMC acquired controlling interest in CMCZ from Impexmetal SA in 2003 and has implemented an aggressive CAPEX to increase production, develop downstream steel fabrication operations and improve environmental protection at the facility.

CMCZ is the 2nd largest steel producer in Poland with annual production of approximately 1.3 million tonnes. Its facilities include two electric arc furnaces, ladle furnaces and casters and principal products are rebar and wire rod produced on two separate rolling mills.

Alabama and Louisiana step up wooing ThyssenKrupp

Subsequent to the visits by representatives of both Alabama and Louisiana, to ThyssenKrupp for bringing its USD 2.9 billion steel mill to their respective state, the wooing has increased with announcement of higher incentive package by Alabama.

It is reported that Alabama approved a USD 400 million industrial incentive package as compared to USD 300 million incentive package approved by the Louisiana Legislature in December

Mr Bob Riley Governor of Alabama called the Legislature into special session in part to approve the same .He said that "The economic growth plan is absolutely essential if Alabama is going to continue competing for new jobs."

On the other hand, Ms Kathleen Blanco governor of Louisiana returned last week from Germany. She said "It's hard to say specifically how we stand against Alabama. We stand neck and neck with them."

Zinifex calls for consolidation in zinc industry

Global zinc major Zinifex sees that zinc price destruction has not yet taken place in the market and has called for further consolidation to take place for the benefit of the whole industry.

Mr Greig Gailey CEO of Zinifex while speaking at the American Zinc Association's annual conference in Palm Springs California recently said that while consolidation was necessary among producers and consumers, the correct level of integration between smelters and miners was nil. He said "We have a strong ongoing relationship between producers and smelters and have entered life of mine contracts but at arm's length and at market prices

Mr Gaily believes that further consolidation would improve financial performance. He said "We have not yet seen price destruction in the industry. Sentiment is driving the price and when this controls the price consumers don't know when to buy and producers don't know when to develop new projects.

Mr Gailey had earlier noted that consolidation in the zinc industry is not great and is still more to come and this will be good for both consumers and producers and may take the peak and the trough out of the industry."

Quite recently, Zinifex and Umicore announced that they would both spin off their zinc smelting & refining operations and combine them into one new company with a combined annual output of some 1.2 million tonne and would be the outright global leader ahead of Korea Zinc currently with some 900,000 million tonne of annual production.

MEPS sees base price cut due to high nickel surcharge in EU & US

MEPS reported that the record average nickel price in February 2007 at above USD 41,000 per tonne will result in substantially higher alloy surcharges for austenitic grades of steel in the near term. MEPS said that the surcharge in US for 304 series cold rolled SS will top USD 3,700 per tonne in April and that as a different method of calculating the surcharge applies in the EU, this month's nickel price will we estimate push it to over USD 3,500 per tonne in May for the same product.

MEPS added that it is highly likely that the mills in these two areas will not be able to pass on the full alloy surcharge to their customers without considerably discounting the basis prices as sentiment in both regions has changed in recent weeks due to the threat from low priced imports.

MEPS said that substantial oversupply has developed and customer orders on the local mills are drying up with delivery lead times being relatively short and that the buyers are unlikely to accept current basis figures plus the increased alloy surcharge for austenitic grades for future orders as competitively priced imports are available.

MEPS informed that the Italian market is already awash with low priced imported material mainly from the Far East, which is likely to filter into other parts of the EU. It said that availability across the region is now much easier adding that We sense that, with excess in the market and customers having reasonably high stock levels, they smell blood and will be demanding lower basis prices for new orders.

BaoSteel Nippon Arcelor's Shanghai JV to double output Report

Japanese Nikkei, without citing sources, reported that Nippon Steel Corp plans to double joint production of automotive steel sheet in China with Baosteel Group Corp and global steelmaker Arcelor Mittal by 2009. The top officials of the three firms are expected to meet at the end of March to reach an agreement.

The expansion at the 50:38:22 Shanghai JV of Baosteel - NSC - Arcelor Automotive Steel Sheet Co to 1.6 million tonnes is likely to cost JPY 50 billion

Mr Akio Mimura president of Nippon however said "We are considering various options. A production capacity increase is one option. The expansion in China's auto market is beyond expectation. But we have not decided anything."

Mr Chen Ying CFO of Baoshan Iron & Steel Co on the other hand said "I haven't heard of any plans to double the output.

BNA, which began full scale operations in the autumn of 2005, now makes about 800,000 tons a year of galvanized steel sheet for automobiles.

TMK's trading update for 2006

Russian pipe major TMK recently provided the following trading update in advance of the publication of its preliminary results for the 2006. TMK said that overall trading for 2006 has been in line with expectations and revenues are expected to be approximately 3.3 billion USD. TMK added that it has experienced a material improvement in margins in 2006.

TMK release adds that EBITDA margin for the full year whilst not quite reflecting the same as for the first half of 2006 will represent a substantial increase in margin over the full year 2005.

TMK's plants shipped more than 3 million tonnes of tubular goods representing around a 3% increase over 2005

(In million tonnes)

TMK increased its share of sales outside Russia. While the overall growth of shipment volumes in 2006 was over 3% shipments outside Russia increased by more than 8%. The region where shipment volumes grew most was the United States where the increase was more than 90%. Shipments to the Middle East and Gulf States increased by approximately 7%.

TMK believes that the price increase in 2006 closed the gap between Russian and export prices for scrap and it does not expect any significant price increase in 2007 and beyond. Rises in prices for other raw materials were not more than 15% in 2006. TMK has balanced the rise in the price of raw materials by increasing its prices for tubular goods.

TMK expects that the impact of fundamental indicators defining the demand for tubular goods will continue in 2007 and that prices for iron raw materials will stabilizes close to the existing levels. And believes that the expected rise in prices for gas and electricity will not render any significant impact on TMK's indicators as the costs of these within the companys overall production costs is not significant.

AHMSA to increase steel making and plate capacity

The Mexican steel producer AHMSA announced that it awarded a major contract worth EUR 210 million to the Siemens Group Industrial Solutions & Services for the expansion of their meltshop and plate production facilities at Monclova in the Coahuila state of Mexico. The project completion is scheduled for mid 2009.

With this project, AHMSA will increase their crude steel production by approximately 1.2 million tonne per annum, which will also allow the output of plates and coils to be increased to 1 million tonne and HMSA will be able to increase their current production of plates from 0.5 million tonne per annum to a total of 1 million tonne per annum.

The scope includes design, engineering and supply of a 150 ton electric arc furnace capable of producing 1.2 million tonnes per annum steel, a 150 ton ladle furnace, an alloy & additive system, dedusting facilities, a single strand, dynamic soft reduction slab caster capable of casting 2,438 mm wide slabs, the conversion and modernization of the existing plate mill into a Steckel mill, automation systems and electrical & water supply systems. The contract for the meltshop extension will be carried out by Siemens VAI Metals Technologies GmbH & Co of Linz in Austria and Siemens VAI Metals Technologies UK Limited will supply the Steckel mill.

AHMSA is a leading integrated iron and steel producer in Mexico and the only producer of plates in the country. The company produced more than 3 million tons of steel in 2006, the bulk of which was flat steel products comprising hot rolled coils, cold rolled coils, tinplate, tin free steel and wide plates.

Indonesia rejects export request from 7 tin smelters

Hoovers has reported that seven Indonesian small scale tin smelters that had applied for permission to export haven't been granted licenses as the documentation accompanying their applications was incomplete. However Mr Maulida director general for foreign trade ministry said that the small scale smelters would definitely be granted licenses if they submit complete documentation demonstrating that they meet all new requirements.

Last year Indonesian police closed dozens of small scale smelters that together produce about half of Indonesia's annual tin output on allegations they were purchasing tin ore illegally, damaging the environment and evading taxes. The seven smelters that sought export permission were among those closed by the police.

Indonesian trade Ministry then set new regulations governing tin exports in January and said the smelters must apply for licenses to be able to resume exports. Under the new regulations, tin ingots for export must be of 99.85% minimum purity. Tin producers must also be able to demonstrate that tin ore has been mined from within a mining concession and that royalties have been paid on revenue earned from tin exports.

Mr Thobrani Alwi President Director said that PT Timah is the only company to have received a new export license so far. It was granted a license on February 23 and is continuing to export tin. PT Timah will produce around 48,000 metric tons of tin this year. PT Koba normally produces around half that amount each year, but is currently running at about 20% capacity while its operations are under police investigation.

Indonesia produces around 120,000 to 140,000 tons of tin each year which is about one third of the world's tin output.

Scientist calls for no more coal fired power plants in US

It is reported that one of the worlds top climate scientists recently called for an end to building new coal fired power plants in the US because of their huge role in spewing out greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Mr James Hansen a NASA scientist told media that There should be a moratorium on building any more coal fired power plants.

He said its the No 1 solution to global warming and that so far no coal fired plants can capture carbon dioxide emissions so they are not released into the atmosphere. He said While burning oil and natural gas also release carbon dioxide, they will run out and theres more coal to burn and pollute the Earth, so its more of a threat.

Coal provides about half of the United States electricity. According to a study last month by the US Department of Energy at least 159 coal fired power plants are scheduled to be built in US generating enough power for about 96 million homes.

China to become net exporter of zinc again

Platts, citing CHR Metals reported that Chinese zinc demand in 2007 is set to rise by almost double digit figures, similar to growth figures seen in 2006.

Ms Claire Hassall an analyst with CHR Metals, while speaking on the sidelines of the American Zinc Association annual conference in Palm Springs told Platts last week that China's ability to export zinc in the short term would also increase on the back of domestic stockpiles. She said "The zinc demand figures for 2006 are in the region of 9.2% growth, although it is very difficult to put an exact figure on it. For 2007, I would think we're looking at 9.5% growth. I would expect the 2008 number to be around the same."

She said "Zinc demand in 2006 rose by 9.5% to 3.15 million tonne with refined output up 15% to 3.19 million tonne. Mine production rose by 12.5% to 2.87 million tonne. Concentrate imports to China also rose in 2006, by a staggering 47% to 400,000 tonne contained in zinc. Imports of ore in concentrate in the first half amounted to 284,000 tonne, while in the second half, imports rose to 554,000tonne.

Ms Hassall noted that China would be in a position to become a net exporter of zinc again. She said "I expect China to increase its refined zinc output. Outside China, the zinc smelting capacity is not sufficient to treat all the new concentrate coming onto the market. China is likely to increase imports of concentrate, perhaps dramatically. This means that it will be able to export zinc, in fact it is happening already."

Mittal Steel's Dabrowa Gnicza commissions new caster

Mittal Steel Polands Dabrowa Gnicza works, formerly known as Huta Katowice, has commissioned a 2 strand continuous slab caster. The Dabrowa Gnicza works is moving into flat steel production as part of a comprehensive modernization concept and is therefore replacing the existing ingot casting facilities. The caster was supplied on a turnkey basis by SMS Demag.

The planned annual production of the facility is 3 million tonnes. It is designed for slabs with thicknesses of 220 mm and 250 mm with option of 300 mm in the future in widths ranging from 1,000 mm to 2,190 mm. The slab width can be adjusted during casting. The ladle turret has a maximum load bearing capacity of 2 x 500 tonnes and the maximum ladle content is 330 tonnes.

The caster features mold level control and resonance oscillation to ensure that the slabs have a high surface quality. Enhanced internal quality of the slabs is achieved through dynamic segment adjustment.

USW ratifies labor contracts with Allegheny Technologies

Members of the United Steelworkers union announced that it has signed a new 4 year contracts with Allegheny Technologies for workers at its Allegheny Ludlum plants and its titanium operations in Albany Ore.

As per report the contracts which take effect July 1st 2007 cover 3,100 workers was approved 1,646 to 857 in Pittsburgh. The contracts also cover workers in Oregon and New York. The current contracts expire June 30th 2007.

According to the union, the contracts include pay raises, a USD 3,500 signing bonus, cash payments to retired union members and improvements to the current pension plan. Hourly maintenance and production workers will receive hourly wage increases of 75 cents in the first year and 60 cents in each of the following years. Also, a trust fund was created to protect existing and future retiree health care benefits to be paid for by profit-sharing payments of up to USD 20 million during the life of the contracts.

Mr Tom Conway vice president of USW International said that "We're pleased with the results of the voting. It positions us to go forward in a good market."

Allegheny Ludlum operates 13 plants that make titanium, stainless steel and other specialty metals, including nine in Pennsylvania and one each in Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts and Ohio.

Sumitomo Metals to launch high strength galva annealed steel

Sumitomo Metal Industries announced that it will accelerate the development for commercial use of dent resistance high tensile galva annealed steel sheet with 390 Mega Pascal and 440 Mega Pascal strengths.

Sumitomo Metal plans to market the sheet as door and outer panel material when automakers try to improve the crash safety and to reduce weight at same time.

Power generation expansion to increase South Africas coal demand

Engineering news reported that coal rich South Africa may face a coal crisis in future, if some of the projects underway slip on timelines due to major increase in domestic requirement of coal by thermal power plant expansions. Mr AndrWilkens CEO of African Rainbow Minerals said that There is enormous growth planned in the power generation sector which will place additional demand on coal supply.

Mr Xavier Prevost chief mineral economist of department of minerals and energy, coal and hydrocarbons said that there are about 20 new local coal projects some of them small in the pipeline and that if something derails these projects the local market could be faced with a major shortage.

South African mines typically export their best quality coal after beneficiating it before shipping it abroad while low quality much less expensive coal is sent to power stations as exporting of coal fetches a better price than coal supplied to the local market.

About 90% of South Africas electricity is produced by coal fired power stations. Current capacity is at 42,000 MW with another 1,200 MW needed every year to accommodate growth in electricity demand of about 3% taking into account moderate economic growth and not the 6% targeted by the national government.

Arcelor Mittal Galati to further reduce work force

According to a report by Rompres, Arcelor Mittal Galati is planning to reduce 1,000 workers this year. Under the voluntarily retirement scheme, the workers may receive severance of RON 14,000, RON 16,000 or RON 18,000 plus the equivalent of their last salary over 6, 9 or 12 months plus unemployment benefits. The scheme will become effective in two steps, probably in May and October.

This is the seventh layoff campaign since the steel works was privatized in 2001 and with this scheme Arcelor Mittal Galati would be left with only 14,000 employees, which is less than half the number recorded upon privatization.

Padaeng seeking new zinc deposits in SEA

Bangkok Post reported that Thai Padaeng Industry Plc is looking for new deposits in Thailand and elsewhere in Southeast Asia as its mine at Mae Sot in Tak province approaches the end of its lifespan. Mr Bernard Tonnon MD of Padaeng Industry Plc said that "The local mines still have a life of around six to nine years, so the company is focusing on various exploration options in Southeast Asia."

Ms Woratip Rerkphiboon treasury manager of Padaeng said that the company was seeking an extension of its lease for the Mae Sot mine, which is due to expire in October and that it is now in the final stage of conducting an environmental impact assessment. She said that "We're confident that there will be no problem about the mining lease renewal. Although there could be some delay of the renewal process, the company's operation will not be affected because we have a raw material procurement plan to provide zinc during the delay."

Ms Woratip also said the company was doing drilling and prospecting in other provinces in Thailand, particularly in the North. It also seeks opportunities to explore mining prospects in various countries in the region. She added that the company held a license from the Lao government and had been prospecting in an 800 square kilometer area of Kasi district in Laos since late last year. It could be a few years before the company knows whether the area is commercially viable.

Padaeng expects to maintain its sales volume this year equal as that of last year at 94,823 tonnes unless demand picks up.

Dniprospetsstal's 2006 earnings surge 6 folds

Ukraine's biggest producer of special steels Dniprospetsstal closed 2006 with net profit up by almost 6 fold to UAH 195.9 million. Its retained earnings stood at UAH 186.36 million at the end of 2006 as compared to a loss of UAH 13.353 million in 2005.

Dniprospetsstal shareholders will hold their annual general meeting on March 14th 2007 when they will review results for 2004-2006 consider distribution of profits and dividend payments for 2004-2006 and amend the company charter.

Dniprospetsstal is Ukraine's major producer of sections and bars and forged products made from special steels including stainless, ball bearing, corrosion resistant, high speed, instrument steels and nickel based heat resistant alloys. Its finished production grew 4.3% YoY to 312,000 tonnes in 2006.

Minara's 2006 profits surge 7 folds

Australias 2nd largest nickel producer Minara Resources Ltd announced that its profits for 2006 were boosted more than seven fold owing to higher nickel and cobalt prices. Its net profit for 2006 surged to AUD 339 million from AUD 43 million in 2005. Its 2006 sales more than doubled to AUD 752 million.

Minara said that its profit was also underpinned by improved plant performance, particularly in the second half of the year.

ThyssenKrupp Nirosta supplying duplex steel for oil exploration

ThyssenKrupp Nirosta is supplying various duplex steels for pipelines for offshore oil and gas exploration, especially where the conditions are extreme, and is poised to meet the increasing requirements as world energy demand continues to rise which is forcing energy suppliers to developing new oil and gas sources at ever greater ocean depths.

Oil and natural gas are transported via fixed and flexible pipelines which run along the ocean floor and are connected with platforms and tankers. Attempts are currently being made to drill at ocean depths of up to 3,000 meters. Waves and currents, saltwater and external pressure place extreme demands on the pipe material. From the inside, the connections can be attacked by the oil or natural gas.

Dr Georg Uhlig product manager at ThyssenKrupp Nirosta at a trade press workshop of ThyssenKrupp Stainless AG in Essen steels said that Only duplex steel provides this combination of properties. Given high energy requirements we believe that demand will continue to grow.

Another new addition to the ThyssenKrupp Nirosta range is so called lean duplex steel. Thanks to its lower nickel content it is less expensive than standard stainless materials containing molybdenum while offering similar corrosion resistance. Depending on application it can be a good alternative to the established duplex steels and high alloyed stainless steels. It resists corrosion from seawater and chemicals and with its high strength opens up opportunities to reduce wall thickness.

Xstrata seeking legal advises in PMA dispute

It is reported that Xstrata, which is locked in a legal dispute with Precious Metals Australia over the future of the Windimurra vanadium mine, is seeking legal advice following revelations in the Western Australia Corruption and Crime Commission recently.

Mr James Rickards Xstrata spokesman said the company has paid close attention to the CCC proceedings and is seeking legal advice to the USD 17.5 million settlements paid to part owner of the mine PMA which had employed Mr Grill to act as a lobbyist.

Mr Rickards said that he believes the official inquiry into the closure of Windimurra was compromised as a result of the leaking of the draft report. He says the parliamentary report should be discredited in light of the CCC evidence. He said I think it's quite clear from this week's evidence that the final report that was put together was influenced significantly by external forces and it is therefore should be completely discredited.

Kobe Steel announces share repurchase plan

Japanese steel major Kobe Steel Ltd. announced last week that its board of directors has authorized the repurchase of up to JPY 50 billion or 120 million shares of its common stock during the period from March 2nd 2007 to April 18th 2007 representing approximately 3.85% of its outstanding shares.

Canadian FNX targets higher nickel production in 2007

Canadian junior FNX Mining announced that it is targeting nickel production this year of CAD 12.7 million up from CAD 8.11 million (3,680 tonnes) in 2006.

The company said most of that increase will come from the Levack mine which in December hoisted its first nickel ore since being closed by Inco in the late 1990s. Commercial production is expected to be achieved early this year.

FNX is also working on the rehabilitation of the Podolsky mine with pre-production planned for the Q4 this year leading to a decision to commence commercial production.