Alcoa's Brazil aluminum smelter latest victim of high costs
(Minews) - Aluminum maker Alcoa Inc said on Monday it will shut its only remaining smelter in Brazil, the latest victim of a toxic mix of weak metal prices and high energy costs.Despite tight regional supplies, the plant, with capacity to produce 74,000 tonnes of aluminum per year, is the third to close ...
India, Kazakhstan negotiating to invest in Iran’s steel sector
(Minews) - India and Kazakhstan are negotiating with Iran to invest in the country’s steel sector.“We have announced readiness to accept Indian investment in the steel sector and they are planned to start activity in the country,” Iran’s ISNA news agency quoted Iran’s deputy ...
Iran's crude steel production up by 8 percent
(Minews) - The volume of crude steel produced in Iran in the first 11 months of the last Iranian calendar year (March 2014 to February 2015) witnessed a growth of 8 percent, according to official reports.A recent report by Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization shows ...
Mining looks on steadier ground than big oil
(Minews) - When the going gets tough, the tough want cash flow. In the resources sector, investors are more likely to find that in mining than in oil and gas.Both industries have struggled as prices of commodities have tumbled. Oil’s recent comeback appears to have run its course. Weak economic ...
Dubai buildings must use green concrete
(Minews) - Hours after switching off lights for Earth Hour, Dubai on Sunday announced its decision to switch to green concrete to make its ever-expanding built-up areas healthier and more sustainable.From April, all new buildings coming up in Dubai will have to use green alternatives for original Portland ...
UN green climate fund can be spent on coal-fired power generation
(Minews) - The UN fund to help developing countries fight climate change can be spent on coal-fired power plants – the most polluting form of electricity generation – under rules agreed at a board meeting.The green climate fund (GCF) refused an explicit ban on fossil fuel projects at the ...
(Minews) - CHEAP energy matters most to poor people, and the coal industry’s hopes have rested on emerging economies burning the black stuff to fuel their modernisation. But growing energy efficiency, rising pollution worries and stiffer competition from other fuels mean that in most countries ...
U.S. aluminum price-fixing lawsuit can go forward
(Minews) - A U.S. judge on Thursday refused to dismiss antitrust litigation accusing a variety of Wall Street banks and commodity merchants of conspiring to drive up aluminum prices by reducing supply.U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest in Manhattan said metals purchasers may pursue claims against ...
India’s diamond polishers lose their sparkle
(Minews) - Entrepreneurs in Surat in the state of Gujarat have in recent years seized business from traditional cutting and polishing centres such as Antwerp and Tel Aviv to become a crucial part of the global market for polished diamonds, which reported sales of $25bn in 2013.Some 14 of every 15 diamonds ...
Southern Copper scraps Tia Maria copper project In Peru
(Minews) - Southern Copper Corp. said it is canceling the $1.4 billion Tia Maria copper mine project in southern Peru due to ongoing protests and a lack of government support.Southern Copper’s director of institutional relations, Julio Morriberon, told RPP radio Friday that the company is pulling ...
China to cut 80 mln T of steel capacity over 2015-17
(Minews) - China will aim to cut as much as 80 million tonnes of excess steel capacity in the next three years to tackle a massive supply glut that has plunged much of the sector into crisis, a government official said on Saturday.Speaking at an industry forum, Luo Tiejun of the raw materials department ...
Barrick to keep operating Zambia Lumwana mine
(Minews) - Canada’s Barrick Gold said Friday it will continue operations at its Lumwana copper mine in Zambia while the government tweaks a new royalty regime announced last year.In December, after the country increased mining royalties on open pits from 6% to 20% starting January 1, Barrick said ...
Vale CEO Murilo Ferreira to lead Petrobras
(Minews) - Brazil has chosen Murilo Ferreira, the chief executive officer of Vale, to head the board of embattled state-run Petroleo Brasileiro SA or Petrobras, according to a filing from the oil company on Friday.Ferreira’s nomination will be voted on April 29 at the next shareholders meeting ...
Rio CEO to visit troubled Mongolia copper mine
(Minews) - Rio Tinto's chief executive will visit its $6.5 billion Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia on Sunday, two people familiar with the visit said, amid signs the country's new prime minister is keen to end disputes that have delayed an expansion project.Sam Walsh will visit the mine, located ...
About 75 pct of China iron ore mining capacity loss-making
(Minews) - Three-quarters of China's domestic iron ore capacity is incurring losses, an industry official said on Friday, as a sustained slump in the price of the steelmaking commodity batters higher cost producers.The price of iron ore has more than halved in the past 12 months amid a supply glut deepened ...
Iran seeks to cast a future in steel
(Minews) - Oil and gas and their derivatives constitute the lifeline of Iran’s economy but the key driver of the country’s growth is the steel industry which is growing by leaps and bounds.Iran plans to quadruple steel production to 55 million tons a year by 2025 in the face of sanctions ...
Glencore shutting down its West Wallsend coal mine in Australia
(Minews) - Mining and commodities giant Glencore will add one more coal mine to its growing list of closures by shutting its West Wallsend underground operation in Australia’s New South Wales early next year due to tough market conditions.“We appreciate the impact this will have on our employees ...
Easier imports rules may bring down gold prices in China
(Minews) - China’s move to allow more companies to import gold into the country from next month will likely bring down the premium over international prices that domestic buyers there have traditionally paid, Albert Cheng, managing director of World Gold Council’s Far East office said Thursday....
Turkey's Sabanci Holding cement unit sees 2015 sales rising 10-15 pct
(Minews) - The cement business of Turkey's Sabanci Holding expects its sales to rise 10-15 percent this year and is looking for acquisition opportunities, its chief executive said.Sabanci's cement group, consisting of cement companies Akcansa and Cimsa, posted a 16 percent increase in sales to 2.5 billion ...
Aluminium firm Rusal says considering more smelter shutdowns
(Minews) - Top global aluminium producer United Company Rusal is looking at shutting down more smelters, Deputy CEO Oleg Mukhamedshin told reporters on Wednesday, in order to keep supply under control.The company has cut its capacity by 800,000 tonnes in the past two years by shutting down smelters,...
