Cleveland-Cliffs Inc and Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. announced that each company’s Board of Directors has approved a definitive merger agreement under which Cleveland-Cliffs will acquire all outstanding shares of Alpha in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $10 billion.
Under the terms of the agreement, for each share of Alpha common stock, Alpha [...]

AUSTRALIAN iron ore producers, arguing for a freight premium to be included in this year’s contract prices with reluctant Chinese steelmakers, are expected to shrug off the emergence of a new iron ore exchange market created by Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse.
The exchange gives smaller Chinese steel producers a chance to hedge their costs in [...]

The union government on Thursday decided to call a meeting of country’s iron ore producers next week to discuss problems faced by the sector.
Speaking to reporters here, Commerce Secretary G.K. Pillai said: “We have called a meeting of the iron ore producers on 1st April. We will persuade them to reduce prices and any hike [...]

Against a backdrop of rising iron ore prices, Brazilian steel producers should maintain high profit margins relative to their global peers during 2008, according to Fitch Ratings. Brazilian steel companies enjoy important competitive advantages, including modern production facilities, close proximity to sources of iron ore and a highly concentrated domestic market, which limits competition based [...]

CHINA continues to chip away at the Australian iron ore duopoly, with two Chinese steel producers signing separate offtake contracts with the BHP Billiton offshoot and steel manufacturer, OneSteel.
Taking advantage of high steel prices and a reconfigured mill at Whyalla, OneSteel has signed 10-year hematite supply deals with Shanzi Haixin Iron & Steel Group for [...]

The iron ore business is going gangbusters.
Cleveland-Cliffs on Thursday reported revenues of two billion dollars in 2006. That’s a 15 percent increase over 2005 and the highest revenue in company history.
CCI produced fewer iron ore pellets last year, but was able to charge a higher price. Demand is especially strong from Asian steel producers.

Baosteel Group, China’s largest steelmaker, and a rival, Wuhan Iron & Steel Group, are seeking to invest in iron ore projects in Australia to secure supplies to meet rising demand.
“We are looking closely at potential iron ore projects,” Zhang Yong, Baosteel’s Australian investment manager, said in an interview before a mining conference that started Tuesday [...]

Merrill Lynch analysts declared Wednesday that nickel still “has the best fundamentals of the industrial metals” and that “nickel companies should deliver excellent results during the reporting season.”
Research Analysts Daniel Hynes and Vicky Binns wrote that “we remain bullish on the longer term prospects for nickel,” despite their predictions that the “nickel price will be [...]

Goldman Sachs has significantly hiked its average price forecasts for nickel and zinc for this year and next to reflect tight supplies, the U.S.-based investment bank said in a research report.
The bank revised up its average nickel price forecast to $23,874 a tonne for this year against a previous forecast of $18,940. The 2007 forecast [...]

Roca Mines Inc. (TSX VENTURE:ROK; “Roca” or the “Company”) announces that it has signed an offtake agreement with U.K.-based Derek Raphael & Company Ltd. (”DRC”) for molybdenum concentrates produced at the Company’s MAX Molybdenum Mine at Trout Lake, British Columbia. DRC’s North American representative is W. G. Cook Ltd.
DRC was founded in 1974 and has [...]