Metallurgy news

• China paves the way for Vale mega-ships China has amended the rules for ships to allow Vale to ship iron ore to the docks of ports on the mainland, paving the way from Brazilian mines in its giant ships. Vale's mega ships, the world's largest transporting ore, have been barred from China since January 2012 due to regulations that barred... 12.02.2015  11:05

• Indonesia imposed 28 percent import duties on I-beams Indonesia's Ministry of Commerce said the country has imposed import duties on I-beams starting January 21 this year. The duties will continue for a three-year period until January 20th, 2018. The country's government is keen to protect domestic industry from cheap imports of beams, especially from... 12.02.2015  10:10

• Aluminum slag can replace cement in concrete Research conducted at the University of Qatar suggests a partial substitution of aluminum slag in concrete for cement. The project, initiated by the Center for Advanced Materials (CAM), could give new life to the huge volumes of aluminum slag that are currently in landfills. The use of aluminum... 11.02.2015  16:06

• Copper imports and aluminum exports from China in January 2015 According to preliminary data from the General Administration of Customs, Chinese imports of rough copper and copper semi-finished products amounted to 410 thousand tons in January 2015, which is 22.7 percent lower compared to January last year. In addition, the high price of copper scrap has led... 11.02.2015  09:27

• Rio Tinto Announces More Savings Across All Sites Andrew Harding, head of the management team at Rio Tinto, recently announced that a series of cost-cutting measures will be implemented across all upstream and related activities in order to maintain their business edge in the market. The program provides for several such actions at all... 11.02.2015  08:57

• Exports of rare earth metals from China reached 28,000 tons in 2014 China exported 28,000 tonnes of rare earth metals in 2014, up 27.3 percent year on year, but export prices fell. The average export price for rare earth products was 83,000 yuan ($ 13,491) per ton, down 47.8 percent from 2013. China is responsible for more than 90 percent of the world's rare... 10.02.2015  12:17

• Vallourec Star Announces Shutdown of Ohio Steel Mill The Vallourec steel mill in Youngstown, Ohio will be dormant in February. According to the company, the decision to idle for three weeks was prompted by a difficult situation in the oil and gas markets. Vallourec is a world leader in pipe manufacturing, primarily serving the energy markets.... 10.02.2015  11:29

• Zinc expects a shortage and a rise in prices - Nyrstar Nyrstar NV, the world's largest zinc producer, expects the metal's price to rise after after the 500,000 tonne Century mine in Australia will close later this year. “We are entering a period in which the concentrate and metals markets are projected to be in short supply,” said Eigner, chief exe... 10.02.2015  10:20

• Copper scrap prices continued to rise Copper scrap prices saw a sharp rise in February, as evidenced by data from the China Metal Exchange, the largest producer of copper and copper alloy products. Copper wires and pipes saw significant price increases, increasing CNY 100 per tonne. Insulated copper wire has risen in price by 50... 09.02.2015  16:01

• Ukraine has reduced the output of metal in January 2015 In January, Ukrainian metallurgical companies produced 1.87 million tonnes of carbon steel, down 25.2 percent year on year. Pig iron production fell by 26.4 percent to 1.72 million tons, while rolled metal production fell 25.1 percent to 1.71 million tons on an annualized basis. At the same... 09.02.2015  15:49