Miners all too often lack a clear purpose and fail to approach investments with the appropriate due diligence, a method that drives shareholder returns lower, according to the chairman of Norilsk Nickel.Average total shareholder returns of the major miners are down 32% over the last five years, Gareth Penny said, noting that there is more to the situation than just a cyclical market. "As a mining...Read More
Brazil's alumina export volumes inched up in January from a year earlier, with higher volumes to North America and Qatar offsetting the lack of shipments to South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.Exports came to 861,336 tonnes last month, from 839,283 tonnes in January 2017, Brazilian foreign trade ministry MDIC said on Wednesday February 7. In December, Brazil had exported 781,366 tonnes...Read More
Brazil's primary aluminium exports increased by 43.89% year on year in January, boosted by shipments to Mexico, according to figures released by national foreign trade ministry MDIC on Wednesday February 7.Exports totaled 23,307 tonnes last month, up from 16,198 tonnes a year earlier, MDIC said. In December, Brazil had exported 19,489 tonnes of unwrought aluminium.Only two primary aluminium p...Read More
A rise in demand from the mining sector has led to a year-on-year improvement in the earnings of Swedish engineering group Sandvik, the company said this week.Increased customer activity was primarily related to mining in the commodities of gold, silver, copper and zinc, while signs of improvement were noted in coal, Sandvik said, with the largest rise in order intake being in Australia.Revenues a...Read More
The merger between ArcelorMittal Brasil and local long steel producer Votorantim Siderurgia is expected to be concluded by April, ArcelorMittal Long Carbon Central & South Americas chief executive officer Jefferson de Paula told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday February 7.The deal will make the combined venture the sector leader in Brazil and will enable it to expand its product portfolio, he added."Th...Read More
Brazilian long steel import volumes increased by 73.10% in January on an annual basis.Imports of non-alloy long steel goods came to 20,886 tonnes, compared with 12,066 tonnes in the first month of 2017, according to figures released by Brazil's foreign...Read More
Brazilian flat steel import volumes fell by 4.71% year-on-year in January, due to reduced inbound shipments of hot-rolled, cold-rolled and galvanized coils.Imports amounted to 121,551 tonnes, against 127,563 tonnes in the corresponding month a year before, according to figures released by the country's foreign trade ministry, MDIC, on Wednesday February 7.China was the largest supplier of flat...Read More
Brazilian exports of steel slab increased in January, while billet shipments declined, according to figures released by the country's foreign trade ministry, MDIC, on Wednesday February 7.Exports of carbon steel slab reached 703,211 tonnes last month, up by 2.55% from January 2017's level of 685,694 tonnes.The United States was the principal buyer of Brazilian slab,...Read More
Domestic prices for heavy steel plate in Europe have been largely unchanged over the past week, but prices are expected to rise with support from a positive trend in the steel coil market, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday February 7.Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for domestic grade-S235JR heavy steel plate in Southern Europe was ?,?550-565 ($681-699) per tonne ex-works on Februar...Read More
Key data from the February 7 pricing session in Europe.Ferro-titanium 70% (max 4.5% Al) $ per kg, delivered duty-paid in Europe Today Previous Change to midpoint of range Midpoint % change 4.80-5.30 5.00-5.50 -0.20 -4% Titanium scrap turnings, unprocessed (max 0.5% Sn) $ per lb, cif European ports ...Read More
The volatile macro environment around the global financial crisis and the explosion of demand growth in China will not been seen again in the coming decade, according to the former chief executive officer of both Rio Tinto and Vedanta Resources. Tom Albanese said the global financial markets literally faced the edge of a cliff in 2009, and nobody knew how the world would come out of the crisis. "E...Read More
The following Metal Bulletin noble alloys and ores prices changed on Wednesday February 7:Noble alloys Molybdenum Europe drummed molybdic oxide, $/lb: $12.10-12.50 per lb from $11.60-12.00...Read More
The following Metal Bulletin minor metals prices changed on Wednesday February 7:Antimony MB free market regulus, $/tonne: $8,400-8,600 per tonne from $8,300-8,500 Cadmium MB free market min 99.95%, cents/lb: 105-115 per lb from 97-105 Cadmium MB free market min...Read More
Manganese ore, chrome ore and ferro-chrome prices will stand firm over the Lunar New Year holiday amid comparatively strong seasonal demand and the appreciation of the South African rand, producers of those commodities predicted at Mining Indaba this week. South African UG2 chrome ore prices have staged the strongest recovery among the three commodities over the past month, up 16.6%, while ch...Read More
Tungsten miner Almonty Industries reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) for the three months ended September 31, 2017, that were the same as in the previous quarter, at C$2.88 million ($2.31 million).This was a significant increase from earnings of C$951,000 recorded in January-March, which was the second quarter of Almonty's financial year, the Canada-ba...Read More
Yilmaden Holding has sent a team of senior representatives to Mining Indaba to secure investment opportunities in markets including cobalt, vanadium and molybdenum. The company, a subsidiary of Turkish industrial conglomerate Yildirim Group, is looking for diversification opportunities in Central Asia, Africa and South America. The group already owns chrome assets in Turkey, Sweden, Russia and Kaz...Read More
Brazilian competition regulator Cade has approved the proposed merger between ArcelorMittal Brasil and long steel producer Votorantim Siderurgia, but with restrictions.The operation was approved by a majority of Cade's administrative court on Wednesday February 7 and is conditional on ArcelorMittal agreeing to sell several assets, as well as taking on commitments about production levels.ArcelorMit...Read More
The Turkish steel mills stayed out of the scrap markets on Wednesday February 7, making no deep-sea bookings, but were still expected by market sources to book more cargoes for March.There were rumors of a European cargo being sold at $340-342 per tonne cfr for HMS 1&2 (80:20), but the supplier denied this."I heard the same rumor but it is not correct," the supplier source said....Read More
The former chief executive officer of Rio Tinto defended himself against fraud allegations made in a civil lawsuit and said he has always operated within the bounds of transparency and strong ethics. During an interview with Metal Bulletin on stage at the annual Mining Indaba in Cape Town, Tom Albanese made his first public statement on allegations that he, a former colleague and Rio Tinto deliber...Read More
China's coke export prices have bottomed out and begun to pick up again in the past fortnight, amid a turnaround in market sentiment and the continued appreciation in the value of the yuan.Metal Bulletin's price assessment for Chinese coke exports with 65% coke strength after reaction (CSR), 12.5% ash, and in physical sizes of 30-90mm, was $350-355 per tonne fob China for the week ended Tuesday Fe...Read More