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voda 7 augustus 2014 16:47

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NMDC eying abandoned land by ArcelorMittal to set up steel plant in Odisha - Report

Business Standard reported that NMDC Limited, which has evinced interest to set up a mega steel plant project in Odisha, has proposed to use the government land earmarked for abandoned ArcelorMittal project for construction of its proposed steel plant.

Sources said that the mining company is in talks with Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco), the land acquiring agency of state government, to avail the land and other clearances.

A source involved with the negotiation process said that “The two parties have agreed to use the government land identified for ArcelorMittal. Talks are still going on about role of Idco in the proposed JV for the steel plant and it is expected that a MoU will be signed within a month or so after sorting out certain issues.”

However, it has been proposed that the Odisha government will hold stake in the steel plant in lieu of the land provided by it.

Idco has 2,847.50 acres of government land in Keonjhar earmarked for the scrapped proposal of ArcelorMittal. NMDC is interested to use the area for its proposed plant because of Malangtoli iron ore deposit, owned by PSU Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC), is situated in the same district.

The Centre had allocated Malangtoli mines in favour of OMC in 1992 after NMDC failed to explore the reserve, with estimated deposit of nearly 150 million tonne iron ore.

Source – Business Standard

voda 8 augustus 2014 15:38

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Global steel demand turnaround to give HEG a growth spark

Economic Times reported that HEG is probably at an inflection point. The manufacturer of graphite electrodes, a material used in electric arc steel furnaces, is set to benefit from a gradual turnaround in global steel demand.

Mr R Rastogi CFO of HEG said that "In the H1 of 2014, electric arc furnace production has gone up by more than 8% (globally) while total steel output has gone up by only 2.5%. As a result, HEG's June 2014 operating profit nearly increased 140% YoY. The primary reason for this is China, which accounts for more than half the global steel production and consumption. The share of EAF in Chinese steel production is just 9.5% it is more than 50% in developed economies but is increasing at a rapid pace due to rising inventory of scrap iron.

At present, 30% of steel globally is manufactured using electric arc furnace method and the rest in basic oxygen furnace. But steel manufacturing is increasingly moving to the electric furnace method. EAF's share in crude steel making is likely to grow exponentially to eventually overtake BOF.

Source – Economic Times

voda 8 augustus 2014 15:39

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Iron ore levels firm up on strengthening futures in China

Last few days has witnessed glimmer of hope emerging in iron ore market with Chinese steel futures picking up.

Shanghai rebar futures climbed to their highest in three weeks on Thursday and have rebounded more than 2 percent from July's lows on hopes China's efforts to spur economic activity via measures including quickening infrastructure spending will boost steel consumption. The most traded rebar for delivery in January on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was up 0.4% at CNY 3,117 per tonne by midday after hitting CNY 3,125 earlier, its highest since July 17.

Iron ore levels have inched by USD 1 per tonne touching USD 96 per tonne and are expected to oscillate in a band of USD 95 per tonne to USD 100 per tonne in the short term with Chinese steel consumption likely to pick up.

Presently supplies of immediate cargoes remain brisk with some Chinese mills preferring to buy from iron ore stockpiles USD 2-3 a tonne cheaper versus fresh sea-borne cargoes, he said. Stocks of imported iron ore at China's ports fell for a second straight week to 111.55 million tonnes on Aug. 1.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 8 augustus 2014 15:41

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Railway construction boom to boost steel sector in China

People Daily reported that China's railway construction boom will help boost the struggling steel, cement, glass and other heavy industries to put the country's economic growth on a firmer footing in the second half of this year. Earlier economic indicators suggested that China's 2014 first-half growth had slipped below the annual target of 7.5%, which pushed the government to take more decisive measures to manage a healthy growth pace.

China aims to extend the total length of track being constructed to more than 7,000 kilometers this year, up 25% from the actual construction completed in 2013.

China Railway Corporation, the country's railway operator, raised the 2014 railway fixed assets investment budget from CNY 720 billion to CNY 800 billion in May, a clear attempt to kick start its slowing economy. The investment will be used in the construction of 48 new railway projects in the second half of this year.

Mr Zhao Jian, a professor of railway development at Beijing Jiaotong University, said that accelerating railway construction will certainly help China increase the effective demand for steel, cement and other heavy industries, while absorbing overcapacity.

Mr Zhao said that "In comparison with other economic stimulus packages, railway construction investment is a practical way of supporting the job market and has an immediate effect to support the country's growth. It will also push forward urbanizationand reduce regional inequality."

Mr Wang Mengshu, an academic at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that the new round of expansion should cover every provincial capital in the country, bringing with it vast economic benefits, especially in western China.

China has 100,000 kilometer of railway, to serve a population of 1.37 billion; yet the United States has 272,000 kilometer of track for a population of 300 million people.

Source – People Daily

voda 8 augustus 2014 15:43

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Tugboat engineers cancel strike at Australia's top iron ore port

Reuters reported that Tugboat engineers at Australia's biggest iron ore port have called off a strike that was due to hit exports from August 9th 2014 as the union missed a deadline for filing notice of the industrial action.

The union representing the tugboat engineers at Port Hedland, the Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers, filed notice to tugboat operator Teekay Shipping on Tuesday for planned four hour work stoppages on August 9, 11 and 13.

Source – Reuters

voda 8 augustus 2014 15:45

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125 million tonne high cost iron ore miners to shut shop - Rio Tinto

Argus reported that UK Australian mining firm Rio Tinto forecasts about 125 million tonne of high cost iron ore output exiting the market this year, as low grade producers from China and less traditional suppliers curtail production.

The company claimed it was the lowest cost iron ore producer in Western Australia's Pilbara region with unit cash costs of AUD 20.40 per tonne excluding royalties and freight, in the first half. This gave it an average realised iron ore price of AUD 99 per wet metric tonne.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 8 augustus 2014 15:47

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Mexican crude steel production increases in H1 of 2014

The Mexican steel industry reported an increase of 9.5% in crude steel production in the H1 of 2014 compared to the same period last year, which reached and production levels prior to the start of the crisis in the global market.

The National Chamber of Iron and Steel Industry (Canacero) said that domestic crude steel production reached 9.65 million tonnes up 835,000 tonnes from the same period of 2013.

Meanwhile, in response to reports that the production of liquid steel in June stood at 1.55 million tonnes, 16% more than the same month of 2013, the agency argued that the increase is a result of increased utilization of production capacity and maturation of new investments by companies, primarily to generate higher value added steels and more responsive to demand from sectors such as automotive and petroleum, among others.

In the January to June period, domestic steel consumption grew 14.7% over the same period in 2013, from 11.43 million tonnes to 13.11 million tonnes.

Source -Visit www.steelorbis.com for more

voda 8 augustus 2014 15:48

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Japanese crude steel output expected to increase in Q3

Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry estimated that Japanese crude steel output will be at 28.42 million tonnes in the Q3 of 2014 up by 2.8% from the last quarter.

METI estimated the crude steel output will be more 1.6% than the expected demand of 27.96 million tonnes. It also increases by 2.5% from the same period of last year.

On the other hand, Japanese steel mills are going to produce steel products around 19.49 million tonnes with 12.51 million tonnes for domestic market and 6.98 million tonnes for steel exports.

Source - www.yieh.com

voda 8 augustus 2014 15:50

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Australia Port Hedland iron ore exports to China up by 4.8pct in July

Reuters reported that Australian exports of iron ore to China from Port Hedland, which handles a quarter of the world's seaborne steelmaking material, rebounded in July to hit a record high in a sign of still robust demand.

According to the Port Hedland Port Authority, shipments to China over July rose 4.8% MoM to 30.57 million tonnes from 29.18 million tonnes in June. That was up no less than 50% on July last year.

Rising output and shipments to China, the main destination for sea-traded iron ore, comes amid a market correction that has seen the price of the ingredient drop by nearly a third so far this year.

According to Steel Index, Benchmark iron ore for immediate delivery to China .IO62-CNI=SI stands at USD 95.90 per tonne.

BHP Billiton, with the ability to mine more than 220 million tonnes of iron ore a year, is Port Hedland's main user. Future expansion work could see BHP's iron ore capacity climb to 270 million tonnes.

Fortescue Metals Group also uses the port to ship up to 155 million tonnes annually. Overall shipments of iron ore from Port Hedland climbed to a record 36.08 million tonnes in July from 33.6 million tonnes in June with sales to Japan up by almost a million tonnes.

Source – Reuters

voda 8 augustus 2014 15:57

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ArcelorMittal says India set to become 2nd largest steel producer

PTI quoted steel giant ArcelorMittal as saying that India's economic prospects have improved and is likely to see major reforms as the coalition era has ended with the new government's majority in the Lok Sabha.

ArcelorMittal said that India is poised to become the second largest global steel producer, and mergers and acquisitions in in country's steel sector are likely to "remain active".

The company said that "Economic prospects have improved in India as the incoming government has won a Parliamentary majority in the Lower House, which breaks the long run of coalition governments, and is expected to allow for significant economic reforms."

It said that the growth prospects in the country are bright.

It added that the country has become the world's third largest steel consumer after China and the United States and is expected to become soon the world's second largest steel producer worldwide

It further added that the merger and acquisition activities are expected to remain active in the Indian steel and mining industry though at a lower pace considering the current economic slowdown.

It may be noted that ArcelorMittal's proposed INR 50,000 crore project in Jharkhand is stuck for over 8 years now for want of regulatory clearances and land acquisition. It had scrapped INR 50,000 crore project in Odisha last year on account of problems in land acquisition and securing ore linkages. The company had recently said that it continued to pursue greenfield projects in Jharkhand and Karnataka.

Source – PTI

voda 8 augustus 2014 19:10

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ArcelorMittal haalt personeel uit Liberia vanwege ebola

AMSTERDAM (Dow Jones)--ArcelorMittal (MT.AE) haalt personeel terug uit Liberia vanwege de uitbraak van het ebola-virus in het Afrikaanse land. Dit heeft de staalmaker vrijdag bekendgemaakt.

ArcelorMittal werkt in Liberia aan een uitbreidingsproject om de verschepingen van ijzererts vanuit zijn Yekepa en Buchanan fabrieken te verhogen naar 15 miljoen ton per jaar, van de huidige 5 miljoen ton.

"We bestuderen momenteel de mogelijke impact op het tijdsschema van het [uitbreidings]project", meldde het bedrijf vrijdag in een verklaring. Daarbij werd benadrukt dat ArcelorMittal 'volledig toegewijd blijft aan Liberia' en dat het ijzererts blijft verschepen uit het land.

Door Marleen Groen; Dow Jones Nieuwsdienst; +31 20 5715 200; marleen.groen@wsj.com

voda 9 augustus 2014 16:00

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Iron ore imports zooms in July on cheap buying by Chinese mills

Iron ore imports soared to the third highest on record to 82.52 million tonnes, with steel mills in China continuing to produce at high rates. Iron ore imports jumped nearly 11 percent in July from the previous month. Low price levels in the band of USD 93-95 per tonne coupled with improved margins of steel mills spurred them to consume more iron ore.

The weak prices have helped weed out some high-cost domestic production thereby increasing the import share with Australian producers, notching up 61% of the total imports in June and 56% in H1.

Some level of production rationalization taking place with production declining by 2.2 percent over the July 21-31 period and port inventory remaining astronomical at 112 million tonnes the price might not look up soon however buying of iron ore is unlikely to relent immediately. The inventory pile up has shown reduction in the last 2 months as more short buying is preferred it is USD 2-3 per tonne cheap.

In the given situation iron ore import might relent temporarily but will maintain uptrend by average.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 9 augustus 2014 16:03

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Olympic Steel announces financial result for ended June 2014

Olympic Steel Inc announced financial results for the Q2 and six months ended June 30th 2014.

Net sales for the Q2 of 2014 increased USD 55.2 million, or 16.7%, to USD 386.0 million. This represents the highest net sales recorded during any quarter in the Company's history. The record revenue was driven by higher sales volume and reflects increased market share.

Q2 and H1 earnings in 2014 were negatively impacted by USD 0.4 million of pre tax LIFO expense, related to the Company's tubular and pipe products segment. Last year's results had a contrary benefit related to pre tax LIFO income totaling USD 0.4 million in the quarter and USD 2.3 million in the H1. The net impact of both years' adjustments adversely affected reported comparisons in 2014 by USD 0.04 per diluted share in the quarter and by USD 0.15 per diluted share in the six month period.

Including the detrimental effect from the LIFO adjustments, reported net income increased 38% to USD 3.5 million or USD 0.32 per diluted share, versus net income of USD 2.5 million, or USD 0.23 per diluted share, in 2013's comparable quarter.

Mr Michael D Siegal chairman and CEO of Olympic Steel Inc said that "Sales volume of flat products increased 10% sequentially, from the Q1 and by 17% compared with last year's Q2. This resulted from successfully executing on our strategy of aggressively growing sales volume to improve capacity utilization and gain market share."

For the H1 of 2014, net sales increased 10% to USD 733.0 million, compared with USD 668.9 million in the first half of the prior year. Reported net income in the H1 including the adverse LIFO adjustments, was USD 6.3 million, or USD 0.57 per diluted share, compared with USD 7.7 million, or USD 0.69 per diluted share, during the H1 2013. Excluding the aforementioned LIFO adjustments from both year's results, net earnings increased during 2014's H1 compared with the same period in 2013.

Mr Siegal said that "The Q2 ended on a high note, with June being our best month in the H1. Entering this year's H2 customer demand and metal prices have remained at elevated levels throughout July. In addition, further consolidation of steel producers, combined with recent trade case rulings imposing additional duties on certain steel imports, signifies an improving steel market moving forward."

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 9 augustus 2014 16:15

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Export prices of large sized H-beams collapse by rise of Korea and Taiwan

As the Korean Government has commenced an antidumping investigation on steel H-beams imported from China, it is concerned about Chinese products to flow back to Japan and other Asian countries but according to a source, there is almost no influence in the Southeast Asian region for the time being although export of them is increasing slightly to Japan.

Export quantity of H-beams for Korea by Chinese mills seems not to have decreased even after the start of the AD investigation. Rather, they have secured quantity by cutting their prices seeing so active. For September shipment, a Chinese mill's offer price of small and medium sized H-beams is said to be USD 500 CFR. Laiwu Iron & Steel seems to have offered such price.

That company is said to have been mounting an export offensive aggressively not only to Korea but also to the Southeast Asian region. Compared with its price for August shipment, such price is cheaper by USD 30 and is to have entered the level of USD 400 on FOB basis.

In Korea, Hyundai Steel and Dongkuk raised their domestic prices of H-beams by KRW 20,000 each for shipments of July and August totaling KRW 40,000. However, such price increase resulted in failure for July shipment and it is said that it is subtle for such price increase to be penetrated for August shipment as well.

As Chinese mills' export quantity to Korea has not decreased, their products have not flowed back to the Southeast Asian region, so any influence of the AD issue cannot be found for the time being.

In the Southeast Asian region, Middle Eastern mills are active competing with Chinese products. Their prices are said to be USD 550 CFR or so. Korean and Taiwanese mills cannot compete with Chinese and Middle Eastern mills as far as small and middle sized products are concerned and accordingly, they are recently shifting to export of large-sized H-beams.

In Korea, Hyundai Steel and so on are able to produce large-sized H-beams but had not almost appeared for export in the past. The Japanese mills had had the monopoly on such products and had kept USD 800 CFR until June.

However, a Taiwanese mill succeeded in production of large-sized H-beams and has launched into the export market. As 3 countries are competing each other, prices collapsed by USD 40 all at once and have become the level of USD 760 CFR. If competition gets tough further, it is predicted for prices to fall furthermore.

Source - The TEX Report

voda 9 augustus 2014 16:16

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Drilling industry use more imported steel pipe

Recent state data suggests that Marcellus shale natural gas drillers may be using far more imported steel pipe than previously thought but the industry is questioning that figure.

As per report, Department of Environmental Protection records show that over the last two years 77% of the shale wells drilled in Pennsylvania were built with foreign steel, while 12% used American steel and 11% were mixed.

US Steel Corporation said that a glut of foreign tube steel has put about 260 people out of work at a plant near Pittsburgh and another in Belleville, Texas.

The Marcellus Shale Coalition, an industry group, said that a brief survey found that more than 90% of the steel pipe its members use is American made.

Source - Associated Press

voda 9 augustus 2014 16:18

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Rio Tinto will hang back from north Simandou iron tender

Reuters reported that Rio Tinto indicated it would not take part in a tender for the mining rights for the northern half of the disputed Guinea iron ore deposit Simandou saying the government would prefer other companies to invest.

The global miner already owns a stake in the southern part of the project, the biggest and highest quality untapped iron ore deposit known.

Mining concessions for the northern half are now up for grabs after the government took them from the previous holders: Brazilian miner Vale and BSG Resources, the mining branch of Israeli billionaire Mr Beny Steinmetz's group.

Potential investors may be deterred, however, by falling iron ore prices and by a threat from BSGR that it will sue any investor in its former license.

Mr Sam Walsh CEO of Rio Tinto said that "I don't think that the government actually wants us to participate. I think the government is looking to have a bit of diversity in terms of who would build that project. And that's fine, we understand that."

Source - Reuters

voda 9 augustus 2014 16:18

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ArcelorMittal locks out workers at Quebec plant in labour dispute

The Canadian Press reported that employees of ArcelorMittal Montreal have been locked out by the global steel giant after they rejected the company’s last contract offer.

The company said that it was forced to take the action. 52% of 262 workers present voted against the contract Wednesday night, saying they objected in particular to proposed changes to the company pension plan.

The employees, who work in Contrecoeur, northeast of Montreal, also insisted the wage increases being offered were insufficient. The company locked them out shortly afterward.

ArcelorMittal said that it offered employees a 13% wage increase over 5 years. Acceptance of the offer would have raised the average annual salary to USD 68,000.

Mr Guy Gaudette Union spokesman said that he was surprised by the lockout because the two sides had been involved in a recent negotiating blitz with a mediator. The union had also not exercised its strike mandate.

Mr Gaudette said that ArcelorMittal wanted to move from a fully funded pension plan to a defined contribution plan for younger workers and future employees. While the company would take care of the contributions in both cases, the pension amount for employees in the new plan would depend on its performance over the years.

He said that would make it more difficult for young workers to plan for retirement. The company also deplored acts of vandalism it said took place after the lockout started.

Source - The Canadian Press

[verwijderd] 10 augustus 2014 09:04

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marketrealist.com/2014/08/why-has-arc...

voda 10 augustus 2014 15:55

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Arcelor: uitbreiding Liberia stil om ebola

ZONDAG 10 AUGUSTUS 2014, 12:55 uur | 157 keer gelezen

LUXEMBURG (AFN/BLOOMBERG) - Staalconcern ArcelorMittal heeft de werkzaamheden rond de uitbreiding van zijn ijzerertsmijn in Liberia gestaakt vanwege het ebolavirus. Dat maakte 's werelds grootste staalproducent bekend.
De aannemers van het uitbreidingsproject hebben besloten dat het te gevaarlijk is geworden en het personeel wordt weggehaald uit Liberia, aldus het bedrijf. De mijn ligt aan de grens van Liberia met Guinee en produceert nu circa 5 miljoen ton ijzererts per jaar. ArcelorMittal wil de capaciteit vergroten tot 15 miljoen ton aan het einde van 2015. IJzererts is de grondstof voor staal.

De mijnbouwactiviteiten bij de Nimba-mijn gaan wel gewoon door. ArcelorMittal heeft verschillende voorzorgsmaatregelen genomen om het personeel te beschermen tegen ebola. Zo worden bij alle faciliteiten in Liberia speciale scanners ingezet om symptomen van het virus te detecteren en wordt het personeel ingelicht over ebola.

Situatie

ArcelorMittal zei nog wel gecommitteerd te zijn aan Liberia en het uitbreidingsproject zo snel mogelijk weer op te starten, zodra de situatie dat toestaat.

In de regio zijn ook andere mijnbouwers actief. Zo hebben de bedrijven London Mining en African Minerals mijnen in Sierra Leone. Zij hebben aangegeven hun activiteiten nog gewoon door te zullen zetten, al zijn wel voorzorgsmaatregelen getroffen tegen ebola.

voda 10 augustus 2014 16:08

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China Iron ore lost 1pct on Dalian Commodity Exchange

China Iron ore for January delivery on the Dalian Commodity Exchange lost 1% to end at CNY 675 per tonne after falling as low as CNY 669. It touched a two week high of CNY 692 yuan on Tuesday.

According to data compiled by Steel Index, iron ore for immediate delivery to China .IO62-CNI=SI gained 10 cents to USD 96 a tonne on Thursday, a level last seen on July 21.

Mr Cao Bo an analyst at Jinrui Futures in Shenzhen said that "I think the price will go down to 650 yuan in three months. Iron ore supply is abundant, both domestic ore and imported ore, especially imported ore. China imported 82.52 million tonnes of iron ore in July, up 10.7% from the previous month and the third highest on record.

Mr Lau from UOB Kay Hian said that "We had expected imports to slow down because port inventory remains high. But I think the price decline in June triggered some increase in bookings for seaborne cargoes and steel producers took that opportunity to stock up on some high quality iron ore.”

Iron ore fell to a 21 month low of USD 89 per tonne in June. While prices have since recovered, they have remained below USD 100 since that level was breached in May.

Adding pressure to spot prices, tugboat engineers at Australia's biggest iron ore port have called off a strike that was due to hit exports from Aug. 9, as the union missed a deadline for filing notice of the industrial action.

Source – Reuters

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