Eurobench.com

voda 31 oktober 2014 16:26

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US Steel reports highest segment operating results since Q3 of 2008

United States Steel Corporation announced Q3 2014 net loss of USD 207 million, or USD 1.42 per diluted share, compared to Q3 2013 net loss of USD 1,791 million, or USD 12.38 per diluted share and Q2 2014 net loss of USD 18 million, or USD 0.12 per diluted share.

Adjusted net income for the Q3 of 2014 was USD 325 million, or USD 2.16 per diluted share. This excludes non cash charges for strategic actions of USD 577 million, or USD 3.88 per diluted share, as well as a USD 45 million, or USD 0.30 per diluted share, gain on the sale of real estate assets.

The USD 479 million, or USD 94 per tonne, of Total reportable segment and Other Businesses income from operations for the third quarter of 2014 compares to income from operations of USD 132 million, or USD 26 per tonne, in the Q2 of 2014 and income from operations of USD 113 million, or USD 24 per ton, in the Q3 of 2013.

Other items not allocated to segments in the Q3 of 2014 consisted of pre tax non cash charges for strategic actions totaling USD 649 million and USD 55 million gain on the sale of real estate assets.

As of September 30th 2014, US Steel had USD 1.3 billion of cash and USD 3.0 billion of total liquidity. Cash provided by operating activities was USD 1.2 billion in the first nine months of 2014 primarily due to improved results and working capital management.

Mr Mario Longhi president & CEO of US Steel said that "We experienced a significant improvement in Total reportable segments and Other Businesses income from operations in the Q3, the highest level since the market peak in 2008. Steel market conditions in the US have remained stable and our operations have performed well, particularly our Flat rolled segment, where we returned to more normal operating levels and income from operations increased by over USD 300 million from the second quarter. Our results reflect the significant improvement in our earnings power from our Carnegie Way transformation efforts."

Source – Strategic Research Institute

voda 31 oktober 2014 16:27

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Al Jazeera Steel continues to break new performance records

Global Investment House, the fund manager of the Global Buyout Fund, commented on the outstanding results reported by the fund’s portfolio company Al Jazeera Steel Products Company ‘Al Jazeera Steel’, a company 51% owned by the fund and listed on Muscat Securities Market.

Al Jazeera Steel reported outstanding results in the first 9 month of 2014, generating a net income of USD 12.2 million, 3.1% higher than the entire net income of the year 2013 and 29.2% higher than that of the similar nine month period of 2013. Revenues for the nine month period grew by 8.2%, jumping from USD 175.4 million in 2013 to USD 190.0 million in 2014.

Al Jazeera Steel has a strong balance sheet with an asset base of USD 207.8 million as on 30 September 2014, compared to USD 179.7 million as at the end of 2013, a growth of 15.6%. Shareholders’ equity increased by 5.9% from USD 96.7 million in 2013 to USD 102.4 million as on September 30th 2014.

Although steel markets have been extremely challenging in 2014 with volatile prices and unpredictable trends, the management team was strong enough to confront all these challenges through the efficient management of both purchases and inventory as well as the close monitoring of market dynamics.

Mr Sulaiman Mohammed Al Rubaie, Chairman of Al Jazeera Steel Products Company representing Global Buyout Fund said that “We are proud to have another successful quarter for Al Jazeera Steel and its stakeholders. The company has achieved, for the third consecutive quarter this year, an outstanding performance breaking new annual records with tremendous growth potential backed by a relatively stable demand and a strong order book. These exceptional results could not have been achieved without the expert team of Al Jazeera Steel.”

Mr Al Rubaie stated that “Al Jazeera Steel’s strong balance sheet will support its future growth plans and is expected to positively impact its business operations. We are now considering more growth opportunities with special focus on the Saudi market and are also planning to expand our North American markets. The aim of these growth initiatives is to grow the business at a faster pace as well as to diversify revenue sources, strengthening the overall performance and minimizing operational risks given the currently challenging steel markets.”

Source – Ameinfo

voda 31 oktober 2014 16:29

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Siemens to modernize pickling line for ArcelorMittal Asturias in Aviles

Spanish steel producer ArcelorMittal Asturias has awarded Siemens Metals Technologies an order to completely modernize the pickling line at its Aviles plant.

The aims of the project are to increase the capacity of the pickling line from 1.5 to 1.8 million tonnes per annum and to further improve working safety. The revamp will be performed during short planned downtimes. The modernized line is scheduled to be operational at the end of 2015, and pay back within two years.

Source – Strategic Research Institute

voda 31 oktober 2014 16:29

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ArcelorMittal SA seeks duties on Chinese steel

Bloomberg reported that ArcelorMittal South Africa is seeking duties on steel imports from China as the continent’s largest producer tries to return to profitability after posting three straight years of losses.

Mr Paul O’Flaherty CEO of AMSA said that company has applied for import tariffs on flat steel products and may consider a similar request for long steel items.

He said that “Flat steel, which include hot and cold rolled coils, is used in vehicles, pipes and appliances while long products are used for buildings and large infrastructure projects. The applications have gone in and we’ll see where that goes. In today’s economy, it’s a real challenge to fight a product that is subsidised.”

Mr O’Flaherty, who was appointed July 1 to replace Mr Nonkululeko Nyembezi Heita as the permanent chief executive of AMSA, is seeking to achieve AMSA’s first annual profit since 2010 as the company battles increases in electricity costs that exceed inflation, plant outages and weak demand in its domestic market.

Mr O’Flaherty also said that AMSA is holding talks with the Industrial Development Corporation over the state owned development financier’s plans to build a new steel plant in South Africa with China’s Hebei Iron & Steel.

Source - Bloomberg

voda 31 oktober 2014 16:30

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ArcelorMittal announces new team for North America

ArcelorMittal has announced important organizational moves to enhance performance in North America, where operations represent one quarter of the company’s steel shipments and profits. The efforts are focused on improving operational performance in North America and accelerating the successful integration of AM/NS Calvert.

Mr Lou Schorsch, CEO of ArcelorMittal Americas said that “We are creating a more efficient organization by leveraging the company’s knowledge and expertise, optimizing our North American operations and achieving optimal performance with our improved asset portfolio. The successful integration of AM/NS Calvert requires the company to evaluate every opportunity for improvement, to ensure world-class execution for our customers.”

This strategy involves the establishment of a North American flat-rolled segment to provide operational leadership and coordination to ArcelorMittal’s North America operations, particularly flat operations in the USA, AM/NS Calvert, and ArcelorMittal Dofasco.

This new segment results in the following leadership changes:
1. Mr Jim Baske, currently chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal Dofasco, will serve as chief executive officer, ArcelorMittal North American flat rolled operations. Sean Donnelly, currently chief operating officer of ArcelorMittal Dofasco, will succeed Jim as CEO.

2. Mr Brad Davey, currently chief marketing officer of ArcelorMittal Dofasco, will be the lead commercial person for North American flat-rolled operations.

3. Mr Andy Harshaw will serve as chief executive officer, ArcelorMittal USA, reporting to Jim.

4. Mr Mike Rippey will leave his role as president and chief executive officer, ArcelorMittal USA, to become non-executive chairman of ArcelorMittal USA.

Mr Schorsch said that “On behalf of all employees at ArcelorMittal USA, I would like to thank Mike Rippey for his 30 years of service and the significant contribution he has made to the growth and success of the business. We look forward to continuing to work with Mike in his new role. ArcelorMittal remains committed to maintaining shipments and production levels at our Northern USA and ArcelorMittal Dofasco facilities as we implement a more efficient organizational structure designed to capture the full market opportunity presented by AM/NS Calvert.”

He said that “We are confident that a more integrated, aligned organization can fully unlock the tremendous potential in our North American flat-rolled assets. We are committed to ensuring that these changes do not impact the strong relationships we have with our customers or our hardworking employees and their focus on producing safe, sustainable steel.”

Source – Strategic Research Institute

voda 1 november 2014 16:02

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CISA denies steel dumping accusations

The China Iron and Steel Association announced that steel exports soared 39.3% YoY to 65.34 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2014 as domestic demand remained soft and prices fell. In comparison, China imported 11 million tonnes of steel up 5% YoY.

China exported 8.52 million tonnes of steel products in September, up 9.8% MoM. For the first three quarters, the average steel export price was USD 783 a tonne down USD 74 per tonne compared with the same period of last year.

ECNS reported that the price of steel exported from China is in a reasonable range and the export ratio of the total volume of China's steel production is not high denying criticism that Chinese firms export steel at cheap prices that disrupt global markets.

Mr Zhang Changfu, vice chairman of the China Iron and Steel Association said that “The average price of steel exports fell by USD 74 per tonne YoY in the first three quarters to USD 783 per tonne but the price is still within a reasonable range and cannot be regarded as dumping. At that price, Chinese steel exporters can still make a profit and the sale price has not fallen below the production cost.”

Mr Zhang Changfu said that "The Chinese government has never encouraged domestic steel companies to export since the industry is a large energy consumer and its priority is to meet domestic demand. As the total volume of China's steel exports is relatively small, it could not disrupt global markets.”

According to the CISA's report, China's steel exports increased by 39.3% in the first three quarters this year to 65 million tonnes which is only around 10% of the total volume of China's steel production. This ratio is relatively low, compared with a level of over 30% in some other countries and regions. The reason for the surge in China's steel exports is that domestic steel prices have dropped significantly, while prices in international markets have fallen by less.

The profit margin for major Chinese steel firms rose by 0.30 percentage points YoY to 0.71% in the first three quarters of the year. China has boosted exports of steel to take advantage of tax exemptions in some Asian countries, triggering accusations that mills in the world's biggest producer are using the rebates to sell surplus steel cheaply.

The CISA estimated that China's full year steel exports will surpass 80 million tons, accounting for about 10% of the national output. In previous years, exports only accounted for about 2% to 3% of total output.

Source – ECNS

voda 1 november 2014 16:03

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Vale posts huge loss on lower iron ore price realization

Brazilian mining giant Vale posted a surprise USD 1.44 billion loss, and its shares tumbled to a 5-1/2-year low as investors worried about the cost of the Brazilian miner's expansion plans and a possible cut to its dividend in a new era of lower iron ore prices.

Financial Numbers for Q3 of 2014

1. Revenues - USD 9.249 billion, decrease of USD 830 million QoQ. Revenues were negatively impacted by US$ 1.351 billion as a result of lower commodity prices and positively impacted by USD 521 million as a result of higher sales volumes. The benefits of the production record in iron ore were not fully captured given the accumulation of 9.3 million tonne of inventories along the supply chain, partially driven by the interruption of the Carajás Railroad (Estrada de Ferro Carajás, EFC) in September. Theportion of the inventory intentionally built in 3Q14 has been sold at more favorable commercial terms during the current quarter.

2. EBITDA reached USD 3.004 billion in 3Q14, slightly lower than in 2Q14 (USD 4.1 billion). This small decline in EBITDA, compared to the previous quarter, is due mainly to the fall in the volume of iron ore sales and in the price of the product in the market.

3. Net loss was USD 1.437 billion against a net income of USD 1.428 billion in the previous quarter, mainly driven by the non-cash impact of foreign exchange and monetary losses on debt and derivatives of USD 2.683 billion from the BRL depreciation against the USD.

CFO, Luciano Siani explained "The company is confident that it has been doing its homework and is delivering both cost and expense reductions, and increased volumes, from our projects in order to continue generating value for our shareholders."

Vale SA reached 85.7 million tonnes of iron ore production, ex Samarco's attributable production, the highest output in Vale’s history, with gains in all production Systems when compared to Q2 2014. The good operational performance was supported by the ramp ups of Plant in Carajas and of Conceicao Itabiritos in the Southeastern System.

In the first nine months of the year, Vale produced 236.2 million tonnes which is also a new production record, against 232.2 million tonnes in 9M08. Over the last twelve-month period ended on September 30th 2014 our iron ore output ex-Samarco’s attributable production reached 317.5 million tonnes.

Carajas production reached its all time high at 32.2 million tonnes, 9.8% and 7.9% higher than in 2Q14 and 3Q13, respectively.

Excluding Samarco’s attributable production of 3.3 million tonnes, Vale’s pellet production reached 11.4 million tonnes in Q3 2014, 15.0% higher than in the Q2 2014 and 17.6% above the same period of last year, reflecting the ramp ups of the Tubarao VIII and Oman pellet plants.

Tubarao VIII and Oman output reached 1.0 million tonnes and 2.3 million tonnes, respectively, in Q3 2014. Production of nickel was 72,100 tonnes in Q3 2014, 16.9% higher than in 2Q14, the best performance for a third quarter since 3Q08 despite planned maintenance at Thompson in 3Q14.

VNC is continuing its ramp up, operating with 2 HPALs as of the beginning of September. In Q3 2014, copper output was 104,800 tonnes, 29.3% and 10.8% higher than in 2Q14 and in 3Q13, respectively, reaching a historical production record.

Salobo copper production totaled 25,900 tonnes in 3Q14, a new record for that operation driven by the ramp up of Salobo II. Total coal output in Q3 2014 reached 2.3 million tonnes, 5.9% higher than in Q2 3014, mostly due to the stronger performance of Carborough Downs, Moatize and Isaac Plains.

In Q3 2014, Moatize produced 1.296 million tonnes of which 0.828 million tonnes of met coal and 0.468 Mt of thermal coal. Met and thermal coal output increased by 16.1% and 2.4%, respectively, when compared to 2Q14. As we have anticipated the coal mix improved during the 3Q14 with the opening of new mine faces.

Total production of phosphate rock reached 2.2 million tonnes, a record output for a third quarter, representing a production increase of 1.7% and 2.6% when compared to Q2 2014 and Q3 2013, respectively.

Source – Strategic Research institute

voda 1 november 2014 16:04

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CSC cuts prices for December shipment by more than 3pct

Taiwan’s China Steel Corporation held the domestic pricing meeting for December 2014 delivery and announced the following statement:

On global economic perspective of view, due to the approaching of US’s QE ending, the strong economic growth momentum and the easing of the expectations of interest raise by FED because of the slowdown of global recovery and hard appreciation of US dollars, the short term outlook in the US is still optimistic.

In the Eurozone, with plummeting economic indicators and consumer confidence, escalating risk of deflation and historical low interest rate, it is expected that the ECB could apply QE policy proactively to avoid further recession.

In China, the export and import are both recovered by the policy of mini-stimulus package, easing the doubt of economic hard landing temporarily. However, the credit bubble and overcapacity issue still bring significant downward pressure on steel market. By the stagnation of Eurozone and deceleration in the emerging markets, IMF has lowered its forecast for world economic growth rates for both 2014 and 2015.

As to Taiwan, even facing the external environment variables, Taiwan’s export still increased by seasons, and private investment as well as consumption grow moderately. Institutions and researches revised the GDP forecast upward, the overall status shows prudently optimistic.

Slowing growth of global economy leads to a decrease of steel demand in Q4, the traditional demand seasons. By the high inventory level and quiet market, steel price in US has turned down after a period of upward trend. However, the economy factors still stay positive and support the demand of steel products.

Although the summer vacation was over, stagnation in the Eurozone leads to a soft price in steel market. Recent price drop of iron ore and stiff competition in Asian market due to oversupply of Chinese mills drag the steel price further.

According to WSA’s forecast, the world steel demand will grow by another 2%, reaching 1,593 million tonnes next year. With the expanding of Chinese government’s stimulus policy and infrastructure investment, we expect that the steel market will reach steady state and space for price slashing will be limited.

Facing the risk of global politics and economics with international steel price correction, Taiwan’s domestic downstream customers are conservative and remain hesitant to place orders. In order to reflect current market situation and maintain customers’ competitiveness to defend against low-priced imports, CSC has decided to decrease domestic steel prices by an average of 3.27%, or TWD 646 per MT for December sales.

It should be noted that some foreign steel mills export significant quantities of steel plates with extremely low prices to Taiwan which have been impacting our domestic market seriously for a long period of time. In order to defend our steel industry and keep business environment healthy, CSC will file an anti-dumping petition for steel plates soon.

Source – Strategic Research Institute

voda 1 november 2014 16:05

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China's listed steel companies see improved profits in Q3

China's listed steel companies are seeing signs of an improvement in their Q3 performance.

According to Wind data, altogether 10 listed steel companies released third-quarter results as of Monday, with a combined net profit of CNY 2.274 billion. Nine of them made profits and Ansteel alone achieved a net profit of up to CNY 0.922 billion in the June to September period, accounting for 40.5% of the total amount posted by the 10 companies. Only Lingyuan Steel reported a loss of CNY 0.258 billion.

An analyst said that "There were signs of an improvement in steel mills’ profits, but the recovery was somewhat contributed from sustained falls in iron ore prices. The reduced costs in raw materials have boosted mills' profitability, but their overall performance, as a matter of fact, failed to meet expectations as steel prices have been not strong. It's because the steelmaker has learnt from past experience and made adjustments in line with market change after suffering huge losses in past years."

Ansteel realized operating revenue of CNY 19 billion in the Q3, a modest drop of 1.19% from the same period last year. However, the net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies soared 449.21% YoY to CNY 0.346 billion during the period and that for the first three quarters increased to CNY 0.923 billion a gain of 20.65% from the corresponding period of 2013.

A spokesman of Ansteel explained that there are three reasons for this:
1) It seized the chance to increase purchases of raw materials when prices moved down;
2) It strengthened efforts to adjust product mix; 3) It reinforced operation management and greatly cut processing costs and expenses.

Some industry insiders also opined that falling iron ore prices actually gives some impetus to China’s steel industry, which is in the trough, but any reliance on it is not a long term solution.

Source - www.steelhome.cn/en
China steel information centre and industry database

voda 1 november 2014 16:08

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ArcelorMittal Spain supplies steel plates for floating hotel in Gulf of Mexico

ArcelorMittal’s heavy plate mill in Gijon (Asturias, Spain) will supply more than 5,000 tonnes of steel plates to help build a floating hotel for 700 people. The huge residential complex is being built by the Spanish shipyard Navantia for the Mexican oil company Pemex, which will use the floating hotel to provide accommodation for workers on offshore oil rigs operating in the Gulf of Mexico. The flotel is expected to be delivered by mid 2016.

To make the employees’ long periods at sea more comfortable, the complex will include leisure areas, a conference room, a gym, a healthcare area with sick bay and consulting rooms, kitchen and dining room facilities for everyone on board, as well as offices, changing rooms and workshops. The flotel will also have two large 20m high cranes with the capacity to hoist up to 20 tonnes.

The vessel will be equipped with a telescopic gangway to allow the employees to safely and easily pass from the flotel to the offshore operating facilities. For transport to shore, it will include a heli deck. The 7,000 tonne vessel will be 131.2 meters long and 27 meters wide. For Navantia, construction will take more than 1 million man hours and more than 150,000 hours of engineering, ensuring a guaranteed two year workload for the shipyard.

Navantia, a Spanish state owned shipyard belonging to SEPI (a state owned holding company attached to the Ministry of Finance and Public Administrations), is globally recognised for its excellence in design, construction, repair and transformation of high tech military and civil vessels.

ArcelorMittal Asturias’ heavy plate mill is the only facility of its kind in Spain. The mill is supplied with steel slabs with a maximum thickness of 28 centimeters, produced at the company’s steel shop in Avilés. After being reheated to 1,000 ºC, the slabs are rolled in successive rolling passes in the four-high mill stand, into steel plates that are up to 22 meters long, 3.3 meters wide and with a minimum thickness of 5 millimeters.

Source – Strategic Research Institute

voda 1 november 2014 16:09

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US Steel update outlook

Mr Longhi served as an Executive Vice President of United States Steel said that "Our Carnegie Way progress so far has exceeded our expectations in this multi year journey. We expect to continue to see increasing benefits from our Carnegie Way transformation which focuses on building stockholder value. We expect Q4 segment income from operations to decrease compared to the third quarter primarily due to significantly lower results for our Flat rolled segment. Results for our European and Tubular segments are expected to improve slightly compared to the Q3."

Q4 results for our Flat-rolled segment are expected to decrease significantly compared to the Q3 but are expected to exceed USD 100 million. Overall, repairs and maintenance costs are expected to increase by approximately USD 150 million as compared to the Q3 due primarily to a reline of a blast furnace at Mon Valley Works and planned blast furnace maintenance projects at Granite City and Great Lakes, which will result in lower operating levels. Shipments, which no longer include US Steel Canada, are expected to decline by as much as 10% from the 3.2 million net tonnes shipped by our US plants in the Q3 and average realized prices are also expected to decrease from the Q3 as a result of weaker spot market conditions and lower shipments to end users around the holiday season.

We expect Q4 results for our European segment to increase slightly compared to the Q3 primarily due to higher shipments and lower facility repairs and maintenance costs as scheduled maintenance was completed in the Q3. A shift in product mix is expected to result in lower average realized euro based prices.

Q4 results for our Tubular segment are expected to increase slightly compared to the Q3. We expect average realized prices to increase compared to the Q3 due to continued improved pricing, including the positive impact of the OCTG case decision, and an improved mix as a result of a reduction in our exposure to welded line pipe. Shipments are projected to decrease slightly due to the indefinite idling of the McKeesport and Bellville facilities.

Source – Strategic Research Institute

voda 1 november 2014 16:10

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Iran steel growth 1st in world

Iran Daily reported that Iran has registered the world's highest crude steel production growth rate during March 21 to September 22.

Mr Bahram Sobhani head of the board of directors of Iranian Steel Producers Association put Iran's steel output in this period at 8.3 million tonnes which indicates a 7% growth YoY.

Mr Sobhani said that the average international steel production growth in the same period amounted to 3%. In the same period, Iran imported 134,000 tonnes of steel ingots down by 74% compared with last year's 515,384 tonnes. The country produced 8.6 million tonnes of steel products in this period. Production of round bars and steel sheets also increased by 3%.

Mr Sobhani put total steel imports in the same period at 1.7 million tonnes up by 33% compared to last year's 1.27 million tonnes. During March 21 to September 22, crude steel export amounted to 1.1 million tons, showing a 40% growth compared with last year's 785,714 tonnes."

The ISPA chief called on the government to set steel import tariffs to support domestic producers, unless they face serious problems in the near future.

He noted that the main danger threatening domestic steel production is the dumping of steel by Chinese exporters. Chinese exporters have greatly reduced the price of their products, which make it impossible for domestic steel producers to compete with them.

Source - Iran Daily

voda 1 november 2014 16:12

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BIR expresses concerns over steel volumes coming from China

At the Bureau of International Recycling, Autumn Convention held on 27 to 28 October in Paris, concerns have emerged regarding a matter which only a few market players have considered with due attention so far, ie, the volumes of steel offers coming from China.

Mr Ruggero Alocci, vice president of BIR Ferrous Board said that “The steel volumes coming from China are further depressing the international steel markets and in particular the European steel market which are already struggling because of the overcapacity problem.

He said that furthermore the iron ore prices decreases have further favored the Chinese producers, who, amid the slowdown in domestic steel consumption, are able to offer steel to the export markets at competitive prices.

Meanwhile, decreases are forecast for international scrap prices in the short term, though market players are convinced that prices are very close to reaching bottom levels.

Source -Visit www.steelorbis.com for more

voda 1 november 2014 16:13

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Clashes at German Embassy in Rome over ThyssenKrupp plans to cut jobs

FNA reported that Riot police clashed with steelworkers at the German embassy in Rome after a protest over a German metal giant’s decision to sack over 537 workers at its newly purchased Italian plant.

Several hundred activists, including workers from the Acciai Speciali Terni plant in Terni, in the Umbria region, marched through the streets of Rome to oppose ThyssenKrupp's lay-off plan, which is aimed at cutting costs by EUR 100 million a year.

Police and the organizers differ in their accounts of what exactly triggered the violence shortly after a delegation of workers met an embassy official.

Mr Maurizio Landini, head of the metalworkers' Fiom union, said that "As soon as we started our march, we were charged without provocation. I too received blows from police. Some of us ended up in the hospital. It's not ending here."

Police denied charging the protesters and said they had to use force when the demonstrators tried to storm through their cordon and occupy the Termini train station.

Three people were taken to hospital in the wake of the clash, according to police. Organizers of the action said as many as five of them, both workers and union officials, were injured.

The confrontation happened just days after a massive protest rally in Italy organized by several trade unions. The rally against Prime Minister Mr Matteo Renzi's job sector reforms, which would make firing workers easier for employers, drew as many as 1 million people.

With job security remaining a painful issue in the country, which is suffering the worst unemployment rates since 1970, the sympathies of other unions are with the steel workers in the Wednesday clash.

Ms Susanna Camusso, head of the CGIL, Italy's largest trade union said that "The government should give answers not bludgeon workers. Half the country is going from bad to worse and if people protest they are charged at by the police."

Source - FNA

voda 1 november 2014 16:14

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Construction ramps up with 2015 production in sight - Essar Steel

The ghosts of Butler Taconite, left behind when the taconite plant closed on June 10, 1985, are being exorcised just outside of Nashwauk. And in the next several months they will really be scattering.

The needed funding has been secured and construction of the India based Essar Steel Minnesota USD 1.8 billion project has resumed and will ramp up at a frenetic pace over the next few months.

Mr Mitch Brunfelt, assistant general counsel and director of government and public relations for Essar Steel Minnesota said that “We want to get a lot of work done in the next 30 to 60 days before winter settles in. Then we can get some shelter for work in the winter months.”

On a recent brilliant autumn day, the sparkling sunshine beaming down on workers at the Essar construction site was most fitting. After all, the project had been in a 26-month limbo, with a dark fiscal cloud hovering over it. A bond deal to finance a major portion of the venture had been scapped. Work was sporadic, at best. So, too, were payments to vendors. That all changed on October 1 when the company announced a major milestone the big bucks had been secured for the big project.

Mr Madhu Vuppuluri, president and CEO of Essar said that “This truly is a momentous occasion for our company and for the Iron Range as we now have in place the necessary financing to complete this historic project which will be a tremendous economic engine to the benefit of the Iron Range and its residents for the next several decades.”

Brunfelt said that vendors have been made whole. All payments owed have been made, except for a few where the details are being finalized. The financial package provides USD 800 million needed to complete the project. It comes from equity contributions of sponsor Essar Global Fund Limited and debt financing. About USD 1 billion has already been put into the venture.

Engineering for the project is nearly 100% complete; procurement orders are about 90% released; and construction is about half done. And the rich ore body is just waiting to be extracted up to 150 feet deep on a 4,160 acre tract that has already been pre stripped of overburden. The entire Essar Steel Minnesota site is 19,200 acres.

Source – Virginiamn

voda 1 november 2014 16:16

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France's iron ore imports jumped 26pct in Aug 2014

Scrap Monster reported that the iron ore imports by France during the month of August this year were up 25.8% over the imports recorded during the same month a year ago. This is as per the latest estimate figures released by Eurostat.

The country’s iron ore imports during the month totaled 1.557 million tonnes. The iron ore imports had totaled 1.238 million tonnes during August last year.

The largest import source of iron ore by France during August ’14 was Canada. The total imports from Canada amounted to 771,510 tonnes. The second largest exporter of iron ore to France was Brazil. The total imports by France from the country totaled 450,205 tonnes during August this year. In third place was Sweden (167,699 tonnes), followed by Liberia (98,523 tonnes) and Luxembourg (67,687 tonnes).

The cumulative iron ore imports by France during the eight month period from January to August this year totaled 11.619 million tonnes, 19% higher when compared with the imports of 9.760 million tonnes during the corresponding eight month period in 2013.

The largest exporter of iron ore to France during January to August this year was Brazil. The imports from Brazil totaled 5.144 million tonnes. In second place was Canada with 4.199 million tonnes, followed by Liberia (799,279 tonnes) and Mauritania (476,707 tonnes).

Source - Scrap Monster

voda 1 november 2014 16:17

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Analysts at Morningstar sees iron ore to hit USD 70 per tonne

Analysts at research house Morningstar have become the latest to significantly lower their iron ore forecasts, predicting there's more pain to come for local miners.

Having had a previous long term forecast of USD 90 per tonne, Morningstar has now sees the metal at USD 75 per tonne. In 2017, the firm's analysts expect the steel making ingredient to fall to USD 70 per tonne before recovering to USD 75 per tonne by 2020, thanks to Chinese miners easing their production.

Mr Mathew Hodge, Morningstar's head of basic materials and energy, said “Steel demand forecasts in China, while moderate, still overestimate future consumption. We believe Chinese steel demand has peaked and is likely to decline as excess real estate supply is absorbed and the economy rebalances away from investment toward consumption."

Mr Hodge said that "We expect Chinese steel production to reach 800 million tonnes in 2014 and 740 million tonnes in 2020 a 7% decline.”

Investment bank Goldman Sachs has long held the view that iron ore will fall to an average of USD 80 per tonne next year. Mr Christian Lele analyst of Goldman Sachs said that "We think that property markets represent a broader risk for the Chinese economy. We think the economy, with the medium and longer term plans that they've got to transition their economy from fixed asset to consumption are ambitious. We don't think it will be a smooth transition, if one is able to be achieved at all."

Source – SMH

voda 1 november 2014 16:17

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ArcelorMittal signed a MoU with Liberian Government Hospital

The world's steel giant, ArcelorMittal have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Liberian Government Hospital in Grand Bassa County for the donation of drugs for a three-month period. The MOU takes effect immediately.

ArcelorMittal is the world's leading integrated steel and mining company, with a presence in more than 60 countries, including Liberia.

Dr Joseph L. Kekula, The Grand Bassa County Health Officer, thanked the company management for the partnership in its fight against Ebola.

He noted that the county had earlier partnered with the Company from the beginning of the Ebola outbreak in March and this gesture represents that on-going partnership. ArcelorMittal Liberia met with us back in early April at the onset of the first Ebola outbreak, at which time the idea to build the country's first isolation unit, outside the Capitol Monrovia came about.

Dr Kerkula expressed his appreciation for the donation, saying that "We have been operating at full capacity with every department in the hospital open and running. The donation, will help make the hospital more efficient in dealing with other common sicknesses in the midst of the Ebola crisis. We cannot afford to neglect these sicknesses as they also pose a significant threat to the lives of our people."

He said that there were only two ambulances parked in the Government Hospital's yard which Arcelormittal Liberia was also requested to repair to ensure we were prepared should the Ebola situation in the country worsen.

Dr Kerkula narrated that the County Health Team and the Superintendent of the County, Madam Etweda Cooper, held a meeting with the Arcelormittal Management, including its CEO, Mr Antonio Carlos Maria, in September. At this meeting, the county proposed additional assistance for the hospital to support its patients.

Mr Carlos Maria CEO of Arcelormittal said that "We are here to support you in this fight. So please always let us know where there are gaps and we will do our best to close those gaps."

Mr Carlos Maria said that the County requested that the Company handle the purchasing of the drugs, which were estimated at USD 17,500 per month. We agreed and the company has procured the drugs with the understanding that after three months the situation would be assessed regarding the way forward.

Source – All Africa

voda 2 november 2014 15:18

0

Ship breaking scrap market resists decline on short supply

Ship breaking scrap has always been shadow of the HMS scrap market. However its sourcing being different from the traditional scrap market gives it different set of fundamentals. Its linkage with the health of global shipping sector and freight market has different tenor and dynamics.

This has been proved no better than in the current debacle in global scrap prices not getting reflected exactly in this sector. Severe mauling of international scrap levels by nearly USD 60-70 per tonne in the last 2 months. Ship breaking scrap levels have remained stagnant at USD 450 per LDT

The reason for this stability has been short supply of vessels for breaking. Shipping industry has undergone large cleansing over the past 2 years with freight market in tatters. There was continuous supply of vessels for breaking around the globe with many relatively new vessels being sacrificed. Off late though the market has bottomed out with global freight rates picking up. New tonnages in the market vessel supply are curtailed leading to relative buoyancy in this market.

Demand for new units for breaking is evident with yard capacity operating at over 50% and local steel plate prices (despite previous extreme volatility) appear to have finally settled of late. Moreover with the INR trading at INR 61 to USD made imports tad costlier leading to buyer reluctance.

China factor has been largely responsible for the havoc in scrap market as semi-finished billets and even finished rebar and WRC were available at very low conversion ratio justifying switching over from scrap to billets and rebar. However these factors did not impact ship breaking industry.

The same factor has not worked in the ship breaking industry. Plate levels remaining low has been another factor off late for this trend

voda 2 november 2014 15:19

0

Indian iron ore giant NMDC net profit up by 19pct in Q2 of 2014

Business Line reported that NMDC has registered a net profit of INR 1,567 crore for the Q2 ended September 30th 2014 as against INR 1,318 crore for the corresponding quarter last year, registering a growth of 19%.

The profit for the H1 this year was INR 3482 crore, up 20% over INR 2891 crore for the same period last year.

The sales income for the Q2 war INR 3,105 crore against INR 2,480 crore for the same period last year, registering a growth of 25%. And for the H1, the sales was at INR 6,582 crore against INR 5,351 crore same period last year, registering a growth of 23%.

Mr Narendra Kothari CMD NMDC said that the company is on right path to achieve production and sales of iron ore of more than 32 million tonnes for this year. NMDC is determined to achieve production of more than 50 million tonnes by 2018-19 to meet the growing demand of the steel industry.

NMDC said that it achieved highest production and sales in any first half of a financial year since inception.

The Board declared interim dividend of 300%.

During the Q2, NMDC iron ore production touched 64.46 lakh tonnes registering a growth of 9% over 59.40 lakh tonnes.

In the H1, production was up 12% at 143.89 lakh tonnes (128.61 lakh tonnes).

Source – Business Line

Vertraagd	6 mrt 2025 17:37
Koers	32,170
Verschil	+2,000 (+6,63%)
Hoog	32,180
Laag	30,780
Volume	8.534.283
Volume gemiddeld	2.979.892
Volume gisteren	9.002.030

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