Eurobench.com

voda 4 maart 2015 16:57

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ArcelorMittal Montreal optimizes scrap recycling operations at Contrecoeur-Feruni

To better serve its internal and external clients and optimize its scrap recycling operations, ArcelorMittal Montreal announced that its existing Contrecoeur scrap recycling and processing center (Contrecoeur-Feruni) becomes the main platform for scrap shredding, processing and sorting on behalf of its Contrecoeur steelworks.

The Company has therefore come to an agreement with American Iron & Metal Company Inc. to sell the Ottawa recycling and processing center and the land and buildings of the La Prairie recycling and processing center.

To deploy Contrecoeur Feruni as the strategic site to support our steelmaking operations, its shredder will be restarted and ten new positions will be created at this location.

Mr Louis Philippe Peloquin, director of communications for ArcelorMittal Montreal said that "After a thorough analysis of the market, we determined that using Contrecoeur Feruni as our main scrap processing platform was the most efficient use of our assets. We remain committed in the scrap metal business as it enables us to manufacture safe, sustainable steel with recycled materials."

Mr Peloquin said that “As one of the largest local recyclers of steel in Quebec with more than 850,000 tonnes reused annually, ArcelorMittal Montreal will continue obtaining its scrap metal from multiple sources. The Ottawa sale is effective today, whereas operations in La Prairie are expected to permanently cease on July 17th 2015. We would like to thank our Ottawa and La Prairie employees for their dedication over the years.”

Source – Strategic Research Institute

voda 4 maart 2015 16:57

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Warning, melting mouse imminent... :-)

voda 5 maart 2015 16:46

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UK Steel issues safety warning on Chinese imports

UK Steel, the trade body for the UK steel industry, has issued a further safety warning about the use of Chinese steel.

Mr Ian Rodgers director of UK Steel said that “For the last few months it has become increasingly clear that some imported steel plates and sections from China are being supplied into the UK market which are not fully compliant with the requirements of the relevant standard.

The EU specification for structural steel explicitly states that it applies only to non alloy steels. To qualify as non alloy a steel must comply with strict limits on the quantity of other metallic elements it contains. This non alloy classification among other things, ensures that the steel is readily weldable without the need to apply any special welding parameters. However instances have been reported of Chinese steel containing elevated levels of elements such as boron and chromium.

Chinese producers add these elements in order to qualify the steel as alloy because alloy steel exports benefit from a tax rebate. However alloy steel plates and sections do not comply with the European standard for structural steel.

More importantly, these alloy additions can significantly affect the steel when being welded. Additions at these levels can cause the steel to crack on welding, a problem which may not show up until 48 hours later. A similar problem can arise with copper alloyed steel. Again, Chinese imports have been discovered with elevated levels of copper.

Mr Rodgers said that “It is imperative that structural steel plates and sections with elevated alloy levels are treated with great care and where possible avoided totally for applications where welding is required, as there is a heightened risk of catastrophic failure. Our advice is that customers should carefully check the alloy content of Chinese structural steel before processing it.”

Source - The Manufacturer

voda 5 maart 2015 16:47

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Glencore chief does not want to force the price down

Mr Ivan Glasenberg chief of Glencore is slashing Australian coal production because we don't want to be the ones forcing the price down with oversupply in a thinly veiled attack on the aggressive iron ore expansion being run by takeover target Rio Tinto.

Mr Glasenberg went to lengths to position himself as a superior marketing manager to his counterpart at Rio Tinto and the other iron ore majors, which continue to pump tonnes into a heavily depressed market and push down prices.

Mr Glasenberg stressed the tonnes Glencore was withholding were profit making, and dismissed the argument used by the iron ore majors that if you withhold supply, your competitors will simply fill the gap.

He said that "What is key is we will cut back because we don't want to be the ones forcing the price down with oversupply after Glencore recorded a 7% fall in full year underlying profit to USD 4.3 billion. Other people in other commodities have used the argument that 'someone else will fill that hole, so if we cut back 15 (million tonnes) we are going to look pretty stupid. But we don't believe that where we cut production, that anyone is going to fill that gap. We know the market.”

Mr Glasenberg said that the colourful mining boss setting an example through his management of coal production and marketing is the latest manifestation of his strategy to create uncertainty over Rio Tinto's management tactics. What is important is that we are taking the decision that even though none of those cuts are loss making.

He said that "Even though they are profit making tonnes, we would rather remove it from the market, because we believe those tonnes will affect the market price and affect our balance so much that the loss of profit on the 15 million tonne cut compensates for how it would hurt your 150 million managed tonnes (of total annual global production). That is very important."

Glencore is desperate to become a serious iron ore player and revealed on Tuesday it had USD 645 million writedown on fledgling African iron ore projects last year after putting their development on hold. Iron ore prices have crashed about 50% in the past year to hover at around USD 63 a tonne, as a looming wall of supply from Rio and fellow majors BHP Billiton, Vale and Fortescue Metals Group begins to hit the market. At current prices, Rio and BHP still make huge margins.

Mr Glasenberg is thought to be preparing for a second tilt at Rio Tinto, after being rebuffed last year on a merger offer that would have created a USD 190 billion giant. Under UK takeover laws, Glencore cannot have another crack at obtaining Rio until April.

Source - SMH

voda 5 maart 2015 16:48

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US is the biggest loser in steel trade wars - Nomura analyst

Mr Curt Woodworth analyst of Nomura argued that “The United States is the biggest loser in the steel trade wars. There are two major structural changes underway that should significantly alter the global steep landscape in the coming years: The first being the continued strengthening of the US dollar, while the second change being a curve deflation drive by lower raw material prices and freight rates.”

Mr Woodworth expanded that “The cost curve deflation in Russia and China, coupled with weak domestic demand trends in both nations should result in continued export pressure into the global market. We believe these forces are highly disruptive to the US market, especially for integrated producers, but also EAF players to some degree.”

He said that “We note that both flat rolled and long product import pressure has been a significant headwind for the industry over the past year and Nomura expectations for further USD appreciation into 2016 suggests import pressure will remain high. US integrated produces are most at risk from a margin standpoint, mostly due to lower relative cost reductions and greater volume share loss potential that would pressure unit costs.”

Source - Finance Yahoo

voda 5 maart 2015 16:48

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Grupo Simec announces the start of production of rebar in Brazil

Grupo Simec SAB de CV announced that it will start production of rebar and wire rod in its Brazilian facility this month (March). With an investment of nearly USD 500,000,000. It will have an annual capacity of more than 500,000 tonnes. This investment has been financed with the cash generation of the company.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 5 maart 2015 16:49

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Nippon Steel to shut a blast furnace in Kokura over next 3 years

Japan's Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp said that it will shut a blast furnace and spend JPY 1.35 trillion to upgrade facilities in Japan over the next 3 years in a bid to bolster its competitiveness.

The hefty capital expenditure plan comes after its Nagoya plant in central Japan, built in 1958 and producing 15% of the company's total steel output, has suffered a series of problems including power failures, smoke releases and a fire.

Mr Kosei Shindo, Nippon Steel President, said that "Given the fact that some of our main steel plants have been in use for over 40 years, we've decided to reinforce and revive these facilities."

To help improve safety at these plants, the company plans to nearly double its annual hiring to 1,300 during the 2015-2017 fiscal years, up from 700 a year in the past two years.

It said that Nippon Steel, the world's second-biggest steelmaker by crude steel output, also plans to shut a blast furnace in Kokura, western Japan, at the end of the 2018 fiscal year.

After the Kokura closure by end-March 2019, it will have a total of 12 blast furnaces running in Japan, but its overall crude steel production will remain at around 50 million tonnes a year as other plants will boost output.

Under the new business plan starting in April, Nippon Steel aims to raise its return on equity (ROE) to over 10% in the 2017 fiscal year, up from an estimated 6% to 7% in 2014.

In addition to the JPY 1.35 trillion investment, Nippon Steel plans to spend JPY 300 billion on business expansion, mainly for overseas operations.

The company aims to boost its profit from overseas units by JPY 50 billion a year in the 2017 fiscal year from JPY 15 billion planned for this year.

Source - Reuters

voda 5 maart 2015 16:50

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TATA Steel Scunthorpe recovery work underway on coke ovens

Scunthorpe Telegraph reported that a recovery program is under way on the coke ovens on the TATA Steel works in Scunthorpe. Some of the ovens are more than 80 years old.

The work comes ahead of a report by the Environment Agency which is expected to demand improvements to cut down on coke oven emissions. But TATA bosses insisted the work was budgeted, ongoing maintenance.

A company spokesman said that the recovery programme is designed to maintain the best possible coke production volume to meet the demands of our iron production targets.

Source - Scunthorpe Telegraph

voda 5 maart 2015 16:50

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Nigeria can export steel in five years - Zuma CEO

All Africa reported that given the same encouragement accorded the cement industry that has turned Nigeria from being a net importer of cement about five years ago to an exporter today, the country can move from the status of a net importer of steel to an exporter in the next five years. Besides electricity, steel is about the most essential product to make Nigeria an industrialised nation since most of the other requirements are in place.

Dr Innocent Ezuma chairman and CEO of Eta Zuma Group (West Africa) Limited said that his company, Jos Steel Rolling Mill, now Zuma Steel, was in a position to produce 420,000 tonnes of steel per annum in the first phase and 720,000 in the second, if it is granted a five year duty waiver and a grant from the national steel development fund to meet its financial outlay.

Mr Ezuma said that about USD 300 million would be required to revive his sub sector of the steel sector and put it in a good stead to meet the steel needs of the country and possibly export just as Dangote Cement not only drives the nation’s cement output but can now export some.

He said that “Just as it happened in the cement industry where government policies empowered Dangote that converted Nigeria from a net importer of cement to an exporter now, from a net importer of steel, Nigeria can become a net exporter in the next five to 10 years.”

According to him, the USD 300 million however excludes the cost required by his company to construct the 60 kilometre double guage rail from Otukpo in Benue State to Ankpa in Kogi State where the company has a mine. He therefore prayed the minister to grant Zuma Group access to the steel development fund in addition to the duty waiver.

Mr Ezuma stated that about NGN 180 billion was lost by the country through the felling of trees ostensibly for firewood, saying briquettes manufactured by his company could save that amount of money.

Source - All Africa

voda 5 maart 2015 16:51

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Nippon Steel sees upgrades as vital to compete

Japan's Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal plans to spend an additional JPY 100 billion a year on domestic equipment and step up hiring to further boost operational efficiency and take on rising Asian peers.

Running ahead of schedule;
Earnings have rebounded sharply since the 2012 merger of Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Industries. After the merger, the steelmaker laid out a medium term business plan ending in fiscal 2015. But having made steady progress, it will fortify domestic operations by switching to a new three year plan a year early, covering fiscal 2015 to fiscal 2017.

Mr Kosei Shindo President of Nippon Steel said that "While the integration is going smoothly and we largely met our goals under the current plan, we've developed [the new plan] from the standpoint of further enhancing our domestic production capabilities."

Nippon Steel was spending roughly JPY 350 billion a year to maintain and upgrade production equipment. But some of its coke ovens, which heat and harden coal to produce coke, have passed their 40th year mark and seen their productivity decline. The steelmaker plans to increase spending to renews such facilities through fiscal 2017.

The company also intends to nearly double hiring from fiscal 2014 levels, in part because employees hired en masse through the 1970s are reaching retirement age. It will bring on around 1,300 staffers yearly over the next three years, up from roughly 700 now.

As emerging-market economies grow and automakers expand overseas production, Nippon Steel has been building manufacturing facilities in Asia and North America. But it intends to keep exporting intermediate materials for high grade steel products from Japanese steel mills. Domestic crude steel production capacity will be kept around 50 million tonnes.

Widening margins;
The company sees pretax profit accounting for 7.3% of sales in fiscal 2014, a considerable improvement from 1.7% for fiscal 2012. The depreciation of the previously strong yen is playing a role, as is the more than expected reduction of excess assets held by the two predecessor companies.

The new medium-term plan calls for lifting the pretax profit to sales ratio to at least 10% by fiscal 2017 through productivity improvements from renewing equipment, among other factors.

Nippon Steel's profit margin compares favorably with those of its global rivals. JFE Holdings, Japan's No. 2 steelmaker, expects pretax profit to reach 5.7% of sales for fiscal 2014. Europe's ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel manufacturer, reported an operating profit margin of 3.8% for the fiscal year ended December 31 while that of South Korea's POSCO stood in the 5% range.

But the loose supply demand balance for steel, especially in Asia, is an increasingly serious issue. With China's Baosteel Group and other big Asian steelmakers having improved their technological capabilities, Nippon Steel could be in for a fight even in high grade steel for automotive and other applications an area where competition had been light.

Source - Nikkei

voda 5 maart 2015 16:53

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Armco Metals update on trading business in the Q1 of 2015

Armco Metals Holdings Inc, a distributor of imported metal ores and a steel recycler in China, provides its trading business update for the Q1 of 2015. In 2015 so far in the trading business section, its Henan Armco & Metawise Trading Company Limited subsidiary has received sales orders amounted to approximately USD 44 million for several kinds of wood products and its Armco Metals International Limited subsidiary entered into a sales contract valued approximately USD 3.6 million for certain steel product in late January.

The orders in the total amount of approximately USD 47.6 million were received for its trading business alone and the company has received prepayment of approximately USD 10 million for the orders which some of them have been executed in the Q1 so far.

As disclosed previously, the company's trading business team have been working diligently to add wood products to its trading business line by capitalizing on its over a decade experience and expertise in trading business and product sourcing as well as its excellent sales force. After extensive market and industry research and feasibility study, wood product was added to its trading business line in 2014.

In 2015 Armco Metals continues to expand its trading business for the wood products. Under the terms of the wood contract described above, Henan Armco would sell several kinds of wood to its client in China with total contract value of approximately USD 44 million. The shipment of the cargo under the contract is to be made between February and June as per the contracts.

As to the contract for certain steel product, Armco International would resell the cargo purchased in China to a client in Vietnam and the contract would be fully executed in March. The orders received and executed reflect a good start for its trading business for 2015 partially as a result of implementing its platform model strategy described in its previous SEC filing. In addition to its trading business, Armco metals also made some progresses in its recycling business in 2015 by continuing to implement and develop its platform model.

Mr Kexuan Yao chairman and CEO of Armco Metals said that "We are excited about a good fresh start in our trading business as well as recycling business in 2015 .We have witnessed quick and significant increases in our wood trading business which the product was only added to our product line in September of 2014. This again demonstrated our capability and core competitive in development of new business and the ability to respond with agility to rapid changes within the marketplace.”

He said that “In additional to the wood business, our business development team also has made significant progresses on the exporting for steel product to overseas which is also a new business line for our trading business and just started in 2014. Management also attributed the good start in 2015 to the implementing our platform strategy in both our trading and recycling business. With the good start, management is confident that we will continue to make progress in our business development and in our recycling business with the platform strategy in 2015."

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 5 maart 2015 16:54

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Japan iron ore prices falling have a downside

Nikkei reported that Japanese importers welcome lower iron ore prices, which help improve steelmakers' profitability. But profit margins could gradually fall, given that steel prices have recently been declining.

The price of iron ore for Japan in April to June has been set at USD 62 per tonne down 11% from the previous quarter. Prices have declined almost 50% from the USD 122 set in the January to March quarter of 2014. The figure went down for the fifth straight quarter and is at its lowest level since 2010, when the quarterly price setting system was implemented.

Spot prices of iron ore produced in Australia for Chinese buyers are used to set fees in Japan. Japanese prices are applied to long term contracts when Japanese major steelmakers, such as Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal, buy iron ore from Anglo Australian Rio Tinto and other resource producers.

Overall trend
China accounts for half of the world's crude steel production. Steel demand in China declined from a year earlier in 2014, due to slowing growth. China's imports of iron ore are also likely to stop growing. Recently, import volume fell from a year earlier in January; they also posted a decline in November. There was no deal on iron ore even for inventory buildup purposes before the Chinese New Year holiday kicked off, said an official at a Japanese trading house.

Major resource companies, however, intend to increase production. Anglo Australian mining company BHP Billiton announced that it will at the same time reduce costs of AUD 4 billion by the end of 2017. They aim to eventually dominate the market by forcing prices down and pushing small and midsize resource companies out of the market.

Since around February, iron ore spot prices have leveled off at around $60 to AUD 70 per tonne. Some speculate that small and midsize mining companies are cutting production because of deteriorating profitability.

Source - Nikkei

voda 5 maart 2015 16:55

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Port Hedland has busiest month shipping iron as supply rises

Bloomberg reported that Australia’s Port Hedland shipped the most iron ore on a daily basis last month as suppliers increased output through the world’s largest bulk export terminal.

According to Bloomberg calculations based on port authority data, a total of 1.27 million tonnes were shipped each day in February. That surpassed the previous high of 1.21 million tonnes a day in September. Daily shipments of the raw material to China averaged 1.08 million tonnes last month, ahead of the previous record of 1.033 million tonnes in August.

Low cost iron ore producers in Australia including BHP Billiton Limited and Fortescue Metals Group Limited which route their cargoes through Port Hedland, are boosting shipments, seeking to squeeze out less competitive rivals. Prices sank 47% in 2014 and extended their decline this year as the jump in supplies spurred a glut just as China’s economy slowed. The port serves Australia’s ore rich Pilbara region.

Mr Ralph Leszczynski, Singapore based head of research at Banchero Costa & Company said that “Australia has really been winning market share. Australian supplies are still growing, while high cost mines in China and elsewhere are closing.

The data showed that shipments to China through the port totaled 30.25 million tonnes in February compared with 30.15 million tonnes in January, and 21.3 million a year earlier. Total exports were 35.7 million tonnes in February compared with 36.8 million in January and 27.8 million a year earlier.

Morgan Stanley said that the global glut will surge to 437 million tonnes in 2018 from 184 million tonnes this year. China’s imports will rise to about 964 million tonnes by 2018. Last year, the top steelmaker imported 932.51 million tonnes.

Source - Bloomberg

voda 5 maart 2015 16:55

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Port Hedland tugboat deal unravels as BHP pushes contractors to cut costs

Sydney Morning Herald reported that Port Hedland tugboat workers may give up some of the concessions they won just four months ago, amid fears tugboat operator Teekay may not have its contract to operate in the nation's biggest iron ore port renewed by BHP Billiton later this year.

Despite striking a new four-year workplace agreement in November, Teekay and the tugboat unions are back in negotiations over workplace conditions in a bid to help the company retain its contract beyond its expiry around September.

Teekay has written to unions informing them of an urgent need to reduce costs ahead of the expiry, with sources suggesting the tugboat operator may be the latest contractor to feel the force of BHP's drive to reduce contracting costs.

BHP has recently invited Teekay and rival tugboat operators to tender for the contract, and sources have suggested BHP has given an outline of the terms under which it would ideally like to award the next contract.
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There is a belief that BHP will favour bidders whose workforce is employed on an 'even time roster' such as where workers are rostered on for four weeks, then have 4 weeks off.

The tugboat workers were living under such an 'even time' roster prior to November's workplace deal, which gave them an extra 4 weeks of annual leave.

BHP has been pushing its entire contractor base for savings over the past 3 years in a bid to offset the impact of falling commodity prices and has shown a willingness to change contractors in pursuit of savings and better results, as seen by the installation of mining contractor HSE on Queensland coal mines in place of Thiess and Leightons.

BHP sent a clear message to Teekay and the tug workers in December when it introduced a second tugboat contractor, Rivtow, to run 4 tugs at Port Hedland.

Teekay declined to comment on the sudden resumption of negotiations with the tugboat unions, while BHP confirmed Teekay's contract would expire later this year.

A spokesman for BHP said that "BHP Billiton has contracted Teekay Marine to provide towage services in the Port Hedland Port for more than ten years. BHP Billiton's contract with Teekay will expire this year and in anticipation of this, a competitive tender process is currently being conducted. Teekay Marine was invited to tender as part of this process."

BHP would not comment publicly on whether it had indicated the workplace terms it would like to see under the next contract.

Port Hedland is the epicentre of Australia's iron ore export industry, and the tugboats are crucial to the operation of the port because the ships carrying the iron ore to Asia cannot enter or leave port without the assistance of tugs.

Mr Robert Coombs, Australian Maritime Officers Union spokesman, who represents one of the three classes of workers on the tugs, said that tug workers may be willing to give up the extra annual leave if Teekay were successful in the tender.

He said that "The best conditions are not worth anything if you don't have a workplace. If Teekay wins the contract we may have to consider a variation to the workplace deal struck in November."

The Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers, which represents a different class of tug workers, has indicated it is willing to negotiate with Teekay and would potentially be willing to part with the extra annual leave entitlements won last year.

The union said in a letter to Teekay this week that "We stand prepared to engage in discussions aimed at retaining your current business case in Port Hedland."

Source - Sydney Morning Herald

[verwijderd] 6 maart 2015 14:53

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MARKETWATCH
As the ECB starts to buy large quantities of government bonds, long-term bond yields are likely to stay at very low levels. That means yield-hungry investors will start looking for investments with a higher payoff, and that should lead them to stocks with solid dividends as a way of generating income, the SocGen analysts said.

They pointed to eight stocks from their “premium list” that they forecast will pay a dividend yield above 3.5% (which is higher than almost any European sovereign bond at the moment) in 2015: Royal Dutch Shell RDSB, -0.11% RDS.B, -0.78% Rio Tinto RIO, -1.47% RIO, -1.96% RIO, -1.24% ArcelorMittal MT, +3.04% Axa CS, +0.57% Crédit Agricole ACA, +1.21% Aviva AV., -0.37% Enel ENEL, +0.14% and Intesa Sanpaolo ISP, +0.95%

voda 6 maart 2015 15:11

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'EU: heffingen op Chinees roestvrijstaal'

VRIJDAG 6 MAART 2015, 14:57 uur | 32 keer gelezen

BRUSSEL (AFN) - De Europese Commissie gaat later deze maand importheffingen opleggen op roestvrijstaal uit China en Taiwan. Dat meldden ingewijden aan persbureau Reuters.

Volgens de bronnen gaat het om een heffing van circa 25 procent op Chinees roestvrijstaal en ongeveer 12 procent op importen uit Taiwan. De maatregel volgt op een klacht van de Europese staalbranchevereniging Eurofer die in mei vorig jaar werd ingediend.

China en Taiwan zouden schuldig zijn aan het dumpen van goedkoop roestvrijstaal op de Europese markt. Ook zouden Chinese producenten illegale staatssteun ontvangen.

De beurskoers van het in Amsterdam genoteerde Europese roestvrijstaalbedrijf Aperam ging vrijdagmiddag meer dan 10 procent omhoog.

voda 6 maart 2015 15:54

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Karnataka's iron ore supply likely to improve in 2015-16

Business Standard reported that the availability of iron ore is likely to improve in the next financial year in Karnataka as another 8 to 10 mines on lease are set to start production.

The Karnataka government recently extended the leases of 8 expired ones according to the provisions of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment (MMDRA) Ordinance issued on January 12th.

However, these 8 mines, once they start production, will add 2.5 million tonnes of ore to the market in Karnataka.

At present, 23 mines in the private sector and two mining leases of the public sector mining major NMDC are producing around 20 million tonne ore annually. Of this, 15 mines are in A-category, with a combined production of 5.05 million tonne, and eight in B-category, with a combined capacity of 4.65 million tonne per annum. NMDC produces around 9 million tonne from two of its mines, while another 2 million tonne will come from Karnataka government-owned Mysore Minerals Limited.

Mr Basant Poddar, vice-president, Federation of Indian Mineral Industries, said that “There is a direction from the ministry of mines dated February 5, to all states to expedite extension of mining leases as per the Ordinance, latest by February 28. The Karnataka government has extended the leases of eight companies recently and they will start production in a month or two.”

Mr Poddar said that the state government has extended leases of eight mines under Section 8A (6) of MMDRA Ordinance for a period of five years. The Section 8A (6) states that the period of lease granted before the date of commencement of the MMDRA Ordinance, 2015, where mineral is used for other than captive purpose, shall be extended and be deemed to have been extended up to a period ending March 31st 2020.

Currently, steel industries in and around Karnataka require around 35 million tonne ore annually, while the availability is just about 20 million tonne. JSW Steel, which is the largest producer of steel in the state, is importing around 10 million tonne ore to feed their steel plant, which requires around 18 million tonne annually.

He said that “According to the provisions of the Ordinance, all mining leases, which have expired in the recent years in Karnataka are eligible for deemed extension of their leases for a period of five years. And, the auction of existing mines in both A and B categories can happen only beyond 2020 in the state.”

He however, said that the government is free to notify fresh mining areas and allot them through the auction process. As regards to 51 mining leases in C category the state government is awaiting final approval from the Supreme Court for allotment through e-auctions.

Source – Business Standard

voda 6 maart 2015 15:57

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India planning to auction minerals like iron ore and bauxite

It is reported that the government of India is planning to auction minerals such as iron ore, bauxite and manganese.

Mr Vishnu Deo Sai, Minister of State for Mines and Steel, replied to a query in Rajyasabha "An Ordinance was promulgated on January 12th 2015 to amend Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 providing for auction of mineral concessions."

Mr Sai said that changes were being brought in the legal framework to streamline mineral production, including production of iron ore and to introduce "transparent procedure for grant of mineral concession through auction."

It also aims at "removal of discretionary provisions like renewal of mining, increase in tenure of mining leases to 50 years and transition provisions to ensure that mining operations do not come to a standstill".

On March 3rd, a bill seeking to introduce the system of auction of mines to enhance transparency and augment mineral production was passed in Lok Sabha, with the government terming it a "revolutionary" step.

The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015, which will replace an ordinance promulgated in January, was passed amid vociferous protests by members from TMC, BJD and RSP.

Source – Commodity Online

voda 6 maart 2015 16:05

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Mining law ensures iron ore mine auction cannot take off in Odisha

Business Standard reported that with the Union government getting Lok Sabha clearance for the Mines and Minerals (Development And Regulation) Amendment (MMDRA) Bill, it is becoming clearer that Odisha will not be able to auction any of its 56 operating iron and manganese ore mines in the near future.

The Supreme Court, in its order dated May 16th 2014, had cancelled 26 of these mining leases, saying these "leases cannot be allowed to be operated" until the state government passes orders under the MMDRA Act, 1957. These 26 mines were being operated under "second and subsequent renewals" even as the state government had not taken any decision to such effect.

The SC granted Odisha 6 months to resolve the issue during which the state was allowed resumption of operations in eight mines.

In all, 38 mines are currently operational. For the remaining 18 mines, the state government asked for more time following which the SC, on February 27th, gave it two more months to sort out the issue. But under the mining Ordinance, promulgated by the Centre in January, 18 mines also become eligible for extension. The Ordinance has been placed in Parliament in the form of a Bill for approval "The legality of the extensions to these 18 mines is not yet clear," said a mining expert on the condition of anonymity.

Odisha had planned to earn revenue through auctioning the 18 mines

Source - Business Standard

voda 6 maart 2015 16:07

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Pollution clampdown and low growth target in China douse iron ore levels to below 60 mark

It is an ominous sign ahead of the crucial pickup of construction season in China, prices of benchmark iron ore slid below USD 60 on Thursday, levels last seen in 2009 during the depths of the financial crisis, as Chinese premier raised concerns about economic growth clouding any ray of hope of recovery of steel demand and prices

Physical iron ore market had another day of morose with price plummeting across all grades by 3-4%. Benchmark iron ore for immediate delivery to the port of Tianjin in China was trading at USD 59.30 a tonne, down 4.5 per cent from its previous close of USD 62.10 a tonne.

Dalian iron ore futures also fell 4 percent on Thursday to their lowest level since November. The most-traded May iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange dropped 4% to close at its downside limit of CNY 460 (USD 73) per tonne, its lowest since November 26.

The development followed the release of new forecasts from Beijing that tipped China's growth to slip to 7% in 2015. On the day of 12th National People’s Congress began in Beijing dampening spirits with the new emerging realities of slow growing economy. The economic growth target was set at 7% for 2015 lowest in last 24 years.

Moreover as the Chinese authorities toughened stand on controlling pollution by shutting down steel mills it became clear that steel production has peaked in China and so has the demand thereby less demand for raw material.

As a result some traders started to offer their cargoes at Chinese ports at lower prices as the downside is likely to continue

After a steady retreat toward the $US60 a tonne mark over the past few weeks, iron ore has crumbled below the key level in overnight trade.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

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