Stainless Steel News and Nickel Prices, LME Nickel Price, Stainless Steel News – Molybdenum – World Metal Pricing and Market Conditions

  Update – Tropical Cyclone Gene, which was threatening New Caledonia late last week, has turned away from the island.

  THE surprise raid on Rio Tinto by China’s Chinalco and US-based Alcoa has done three things: put Rio firmly into play as BHP Billiton has until Wednesday to “put up” a bid or “shut up” for six months; put renewed confidence in the mining sector; and put just about every listed resource company on takeover alert. – more

  Only two days after Chinalco spent an unprecedented 7.2 billion (HK$111.7 billion) for a 12 percent stake in miner Rio Tinto’s London-listed shares, the mainland mining group has reportedly now gained access to a US$120 billion (HK$936 billion) war chest to mount a full takeover bid if necessary. – more (the Chinese are trying very hard to block two of the biggest mining mergers in history from happening)

  China’s traditional New Year celebration, Spring Festival, began today. The Lunar New Year and beginning of calendar year 4705 (Year of the Rat) takes place on the 7th, and the 15 day festival will mean China, for all practical purposes, is closed for business until the 18th. The Shanghai Futures Exchange closes on Wednesday, February 6th and re-opens on Wednesday, February 13th.

  China’s worst snowstorms in decades will reduce steel production by 1.5 million metric tons because of power shortages, according to Mysteel.com. – more

   Fastener price forecast – both steel and stainless are expected to increase due to continued increases in raw materials and freight.

  Scotiabank Commodity Price Index – pdf here

  MetalsWatch! January 2008 – more

  Phoenix is one of six Home Depot test markets for a St. Louis company’s liquid stainless steel product. Also getting attention from industry press and home improvement shows, the product was created by Thomas’ Kitchen Art Inc., a three-generation St. Louis company now led by the founder’s grandson Floyd Thomas.- more

  Stainless Steel Flatware Vs Silverware – Silverware or stainless steel flatware? What to choose, what to use? The answer is never simple, but its good to know a few facts before you dive in – more

  Courtesy CorridorNet – “The China-Africa Development Fund (CADF) is to invest an undisclosed sum in Zimbabwe to establish a ferrochrome plant. The money will come from a $90m fund for CADF that is to be used to help Chinese business enter African markets. Sinosteel Corp is to establish the new facility.”

  (if you have been watching LME inventories grow and wonder why) courtesy Dow Jones – “MMC Norilsk Nickel produced 295,209 tonnes of nickel in 2007, 21% more than the 244,000 tonnes produced in 2006, the company said in a statement. It expects to produce 300,000-305,000 tonnes in 2008.”…..”MMC Norilsk Nickel is considering buying back up to $5 billion worth of its shares, which would be a record for the Russian market, the Vedomosti newspaper quoted unnamed sources as saying. In order to finance the deal, the mining giant could sell its energy assets, the paper said. A source close to one of Norilsk’s co-owners told the paper that Norilsk planned to put the re-purchased shares not on its own balance sheet but on the books of a foreign subsidiary.”

  The European Commission on Friday opened a new anti-dumping investigation into certain steel products from China, the second of its kind in recent months. – more

  Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc Market Report – pdf here

  Reliance Money Commodities Insight – pdf here

  India Base Metals Fundamentals of the Week – here

  AIIS December 2007 Import Press Release – “Imports declined again in December, to 1.98 million tons, based on preliminary reporting. “Imports plummeted in December by 15% from November’s low level and by 34.3% compared to December 2006,” reported David Phelps, president, AIIS. For the year the decline from record 2006 levels was 26.6%.” – more

  We need to keep an eye on the base metals because January has been quite a bullish month for base metals. Almost all analysts, we have been speaking, had written off base metals for the first half of 2008. But the performance has quite been on the positive side. – more

  At the following day of the passage on the territory of Murilo Ferreira, the chairman of Vale Inco, Phil of the Roof, the general manager of Goro Nickel, took stock of L’past year. He benefitted from it to confirm the starting of L’machines South at the end of 2008. – translated article here

  Courtesy Forbes – “The worst winter weather China has seen in five decades should continue this week, the China Meteorological Administration told a news conference Wednesday, explaining that the current chaos was caused mainly by sleet forming as a result of an enduring pattern of warm and cold air currents clashing over south China…..In Guizhou, heavy snow has damaged power networks, halting production for almost all the province’s 700,000-800,000 metric tons of aluminum capacity. To maintain the electricity supply to households and for essential services, power companies in most provinces had cut supply to energy-intensive industries, leaving about 10% of the country’s smelting capacity left idle. The metalworking plants are unlikely to resume production before mid-February.” – (more) Hundreds of Chinese coal mines that usually close for Lunar New Year will work through the holiday this week to ease shortages, but small mines that were closed as too dangerous will not be allowed to reopen, the government said Saturday. – (more)

  It is reported that BHP Billiton has gained ground after it sealed a long term deal with Baosteel which may allow a departure from the traditional benchmark price system. – more

  Major Indian steel producers announced an 8 per cent hike in steel prices on Friday pointing towards a period of higher prices. – more Rising input costs of raw materials like iron ore and coking coal have compelled steel Companies to increase prices for the second consecutive month in the current calendar year. – more India will review next week a decision of steel makers to raise prices, a minister said on Saturday, even as he sought to cut in import duties on raw materials in the budget later this month to help firms lower costs. – more

  The New People’s Army will continue to attack mining firms operating in different parts of the country despite the security being provided by the military, Communist Party of the Philippines spokesman Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal declared Saturday. – more

  The Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals has postponed its final decision on an appeal regarding chromite mining in Coos County for up to three weeks. – more

  Manufacturing in China, the world’s fastest-growing major economy, cooled in January as growth in shipments overseas slowed. – more

  National Mining Association Mining Week – pdf here

  Copyright/courtesy RBC – “Norilsk Nickel Mining and Metallurgical Company may resolve to buy back its shares to thwart a takeover by UC RUSAL, analysts polled by RBC tend to believe. However, Norilsk Nickel itself has made no official comment so far on media reports alleging its buyback plans. Such a move would indicate Vladimir Potanin’s reluctance to sell its stake to RUSAL, as he would like to derive maximum benefit from the deal, some experts say. However, if Norilsk Nickel chooses to buy shares on behalf of a subsidiary, and the shares are entitled to vote, this would complicate the already intricate ownership structure, and the merger of Norilsk Nickel and RUSAL on the whole, as in this case RUSAL would have to buy such stake as well.”

  Canadian mining companies are still enjoying historically high metal prices, but rising costs, some recent price easing and unfavorable exchange rates mean the upcoming earnings season could be a tough one. – more

  The Philippines’s largest power producer, state-run National Power Corp. (Napocor), has failed for a second time to secure a fresh coal supply for three power plants due to high prices, the state-run group said on Friday. – more

  An impromptu helicopter pit stop on a remote Wyoming mountaintop may prove to have been a multimillion-dollar “potty break” for a renowned figure in the Canadian mining industry, according to a U.S. forestry official. – more

  Iron ore producer Mount Gibson Iron Ltd is investigating whether various Chinese parties that have taken a substantial stake in the company are associated. – more

  The Office of the Ombudsman has approved the filing of corruption charges against Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes and an official of the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB) in connection with alleged anomalies that attended the Palawan local government’s granting of permits to small-scale mining entities. – more

  The Nova Scotia government has failed to ensure that newly approved mining operations won’t cause serious environmental damage, several groups charged yesterday as the province sanctioned a disputed gold venture. – more

  On his deathbed, Marco Polo is said to have despaired that he had not told half of what he saw “because no one would have believed me”. – more