News archive for April, 2008

Russia’s Mechel buys over 95% of shares in Britain’s Oriel

April 17th, 2008
Russia’s Mechel buys over 95% of shares in Britain’s Oriel

Mechel, a leading Russian mining and metals company, said on Thursday it had acquired 95.69% of shares in the UK-based Oriel Resources Plc, which owns assets in Russia and Kazakhstan.
Mechel made a $1.498 billion purchase offer to Oriel, a London-based chrome and nickel mining and processing company valued at around $1.2 billion, in late March. [...]

Russia OGK-3 wins rights to 34 mln-tonne coal field

April 17th, 2008
Russia OGK-3 wins rights to 34 mln-tonne coal field

The deposit, in the Republic of Buryatia in Russia, makes up one section of the larger Okino-Klyuchevsky coal field, which has 200 million tonnes of reserves and is about 120 km (75 miles) - MOSCOW, April 16 - Russian electricity producer OGK-3 has won a tender to develop a coal field with reserves of 33.8 [...]

Global Carbon & Graphite Market to Exceed $8.1 Billion by 2012, According to New Report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc

April 17th, 2008
Global Carbon & Graphite Market to Exceed $8.1 Billion by 2012, According to New Report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc

Competition in the carbon and graphite products market is intense, particularly with regard to price, quality and service. Producers of graphite have regained their pricing power on account of global consolidation by numerous graphite electrode producers. Carbon products find application in areas including steel and aluminum production, glass making, aerospace industry, nuclear power, and electronics [...]

Higher iron prices lift Ferrexpo

April 17th, 2008
Higher iron prices lift Ferrexpo

Shares in Ferrexpo rose sharply Thursday after the Ukraine-based miner said it had secured 90% year-on-year average price rises for more than half of its expected 2008 iron ore pellet sales.
Analysts had been predicting an 87% rise. The new prices apply from 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009.
“These settlements are in line with the [...]

Beijing pushing for iron ore assets

April 17th, 2008
Beijing pushing for iron ore assets

Beijing is poised to take greater control of China’s push to secure Australian iron ore assets, amid speculation that Chinese entities are considering a $22 billion-plus share raid on BHP. China’s top planning agency says its state-owned enterprises needed greater “macro-guidance” to reduce risks and competition, given the spiralling value of iron ore assets, The [...]

Steelmaker boosts prices, cites energy, iron ore costs

April 17th, 2008
Steelmaker boosts prices, cites energy, iron ore costs

A recent surge in steel prices continued Wednesday with ArcelorMittal saying it will increase prices by $250 a ton on some steel shipments — a move that will benefit steel companies such as U.S. Steel Corp., analysts said.
Strong global demand has increased prices for hot-rolled coiled steel from $529 a ton in October to $845 [...]

Rio Tinto says first quarter iron ore sales at record high

April 17th, 2008
Rio Tinto says first quarter iron ore sales at record high

The world’s third largest miner Rio Tinto Wednesday said iron ore sales were at a record level in the first quarter despite lower production from Western Australia.
The miner also said aluminium output had reached an all-time high in the three months to March 2008, reflecting the first full quarter contribution from Canada’s Alcan Inc which [...]

Japan Gas Sector Seeking To Offer Indonesia Coal-To-Gas Tech

April 17th, 2008
Japan Gas Sector Seeking To Offer Indonesia Coal-To-Gas Tech

Japanese gas utilities want to provide Indonesia with technology that would allow it to produce gas from coal, in exchange for a stable supply of liquefied natural gas to Japan, a senior industry official said Thursday.
“Coal-to-gas technology has been there for a decade or so,” said Kunihiro Mori, managing director of the Japan Gas Association. [...]

Activists dump coal to oppose approval of dirty Iloilo power plant

April 17th, 2008
Activists dump coal to oppose approval of dirty Iloilo power plant

Greenpeace activists dumped 200 kilos of coal at the entrance of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Thursday and unfurled a banner with the message “Atienza, don’t be a climate criminal.”
The activists are demanding that Secretary Lito Atienza immediately reject all plans to construct a dangerous coal-fired power plant in Iloilo City.
Instead [...]

Research says more oil in area

April 17th, 2008
Research says more oil in area

The U.S. Geological Survey has released an assessment of the Bakken Formation, which stretches across 25,000 square miles from northeastern Montana across northwestern North Dakota and up into the southern region of Saskatchewan.
The last USGS study, completed in 1995, estimated the Bakken Formation had 150 million barrels of undiscovered technically recoverable oil. Thirteen years later, [...]