Archive for February, 2007

China finds 65 new mineral deposit sites in 2006

Wednesday, February 28th, 2007

China found 65 new mineral deposit sites last year, and has seen "breakthroughs" in copper ore prospecting, along with findings in bauxite, iron, lead and zinc ores, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Government surveys added 850,000 metric tons of copper ore reserves in the Qulong area of the Tibet Autonomous ...

POSCO looks at Vietnam mill project

Wednesday, February 28th, 2007

POSCO, the world's third-largest steelmaker, said Friday it was considering a proposal from the Vietnamese government to construct a steel mill in the Southeast Asian country. "We are currently undertaking a feasibility study of the Vietnam project so we cannot talk about any details yet," POSCO Chief Executive Lee Ku-taek told ...

Padaeng seeking new zinc deposits

Wednesday, February 28th, 2007

Padaeng Industry Plc, the country's sole zinc miner, is looking for new deposits in Thailand and elsewhere in Southeast Asia as its mine in Mae Sot, Tak province, approaches the end of its lifespan. "The local mines still have a life of around six to nine years, so the company is ...

Terra Nostra expects sustained copper demand in China

Wednesday, February 28th, 2007

China's trade deficit in copper is growing and is expected to sustain copper demand in 2007, analysts with Deutsche Bank indicated in a recent commodities report. China imported 111,159 metric tonnes (MT) of copper last December 2006, the highest monthly level of last year, increasing 40.68% from November 2006 and 41.28% ...

Brazil: Iron ore exports hit 19.1Mt in Jan

Wednesday, February 28th, 2007

Shipments abroad of Brazilian iron ore totaled 19.1Mt worth US$967mn last month compared to 16.4Mt worth US$694mn in same-month 2006, industry trade group Sinferbase said in its latest report. Pellet exports amounted to 4.2Mt last month, up from 2.8Mt year-over-year. Iron ore sales within Brazil reached 3.3Mt in January compared to 3.1Mt ...

Logan Aluminum to shake up recycling landscape with new plant

Tuesday, February 27th, 2007

Market views are mixed on whether an estimated 150 million lb/year of scrap recycling capacity to be added at Logan Aluminum is needed to meet overall US recycling demand, or whether it will leave some processors scrambling for business to run their furnaces. As reported by Platts last week, the ARCO ...

Platinum futures surge to record high on Tocom

Tuesday, February 27th, 2007

Platinum futures traded in Tokyo raced to a record high Monday and show no signs of slowing thanks to firmness in gold and a potential tightening of supply. The newly listed benchmark platinum contract for delivery in February 2008 jumped to Y4,782 a gram, beating the previous record high of Y4,734 ...

Mechel spends $14 mln on upgrades at Romanian plant

Tuesday, February 27th, 2007

The Mechel (RTS: MTLR) group invested about $14 million in overhauling a continuous billet casting machine and infrastructure at its Mechel Targoviste SA plant in Romania. The launch of the upgraded machine will enable the plant to reduce materials consumption ratios, thereby substantially reducing production costs, the Russian steelmaker said in ...

Zambia’s mining minister OKs African Eagle, Phelps Dodge JV deal

Tuesday, February 27th, 2007

Copper miner African Eagle Resources said Monday that the Zambian Minister of Mines and Mineral Development had given his consent to the earn-in agreement between African Eagle and Phelps Dodge Mining (Zambia), signed on August 3, 2006. African Eagle said under the terms of the earn-in agreement, AFE was spending at ...

Copper and gold prices ‘to stay high’

Tuesday, February 27th, 2007

Newcrest Mining's chief executive Ian Smith says copper and gold prices will remain strong over the next 18 months. The spot gold price is currently trading around $US685.50 an ounce while copper is fetching about $US6,000 per tonne ($US2.70 per pound) on the London Metals Exchange. "I think that the dip that ...