Steel plants to soon get iron ore mining licenses

August 31st, 2009 SHIMLA - Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh Monday said the National Mining Development Corporation (NMDC) will sign Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with steel companies to sell limestone mined in Himachal Pradesh. "The NMDC will soon sign MoUs with end-users, especially steel plants, as the limestone to be extracted in the Arki region is a vital raw material for making steel," Singh told IANS.

August 12th, 2009 BHILAI - Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) is set to bag a 2,028-hectare block in the Rowghat iron ore mine deposits in Chhattisgarh to feed its flagship unit, the Bhilai Steel Plant, as it has obtained the final clearance from the environment and forest ministry. "Bhilai Steel has obtained the final clearance from the ministry early this month for the Rowghat project," an official told IANS Wednesday, adding that company had been seeking the deposit since 1983.

July 29th, 2009 BHP Billiton cuts ore prices for some customersSYDNEY — BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's biggest mining company, said Wednesday it has agreed to sell 23 percent of its contracted iron ore at a one-third discount to last year's prices. The Melbourne-based company said in a statement that another 30 percent of its iron ore will be sold based on a mix of quarterly negotiated pricing, spot market and index-based pricing.

July 7th, 2009 German iron, steel output falls 45 percentFRANKFURT — German iron and steel output for June fell sharply as the world recession continued to cut into demand for the country's machinery and car exports, the Federal Statistical Office reported Tuesday. The Wiesbaden-based office said Germany's producers made 1.44 million metric tons (1.59 US tons) of iron for the month, a 45 percent decline over the same month last year, while they made 2.5 million metric tons (2.76 US tons) of steel, a 41 percent decline.

June 16th, 2009 RAIPUR - State-run steel manufacturing unit Bhilai Steel Plant has set a target of 5.8 million tonnes of hot metal production for 2009-10, it was announced here Tuesday. The Bhilai unit, the largest steel producing plant of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), is planning to produce 5.8 million tonnes of hot metal, 5.53 million tones of crude steel and 4.77 million tones of saleable steel during the current fiscal, an official statement said.

June 11th, 2009 MUMBAI - Any hike in steel prices is unjustifiable as the cost of iron ore and coking coal have come down since last year, Steel Secretary P.K. Rastogi said here Thursday.

June 11th, 2009 PANAJI - Goa's biggest family-owned mining company, the Dempo group, has sold all its mining assets to Sesa Goa Limited, a majority-owned subsidy of the London-listed Vedanta Resources, for Rs.1,750 crore (Rs.17.50 billion/$368 million) in an all-cash deal. Addressing the media in Panaji late Thursday evening, chairman and managing director of the Dempo group, Srinivas Dempo, said that the 19 iron ore mines in Goa controlled by the V.S.

June 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh Wednesday pushed for divestment of stake in companies under his ministry and said he would take up the issue of adequate supplies of feedstock for steel units with the states concerned. "If the policy of disinvestment is approved, we have some companies on our mind, Singh told reporters while presenting his ministry's agenda for the next 100 days.

June 10th, 2009 Report: Iron ore shipments down on Great LakesCLEVELAND — Iron ore shipments on the Great Lakes are down substantially because of the low demand for steel, a report from a trade association of cargo ships said Tuesday. The Lake Carriers' Association said iron ore shipments in May totaled only 3 million tons, a decrease of nearly 60 percent compared to a year ago.

June 9th, 2009 EU steel makers seek probe into BHP-Rio dealBRUSSELS — European steel makers called Tuesday for European Union antitrust regulators to probe a joint mining project between the world's No. 2 and No. 3 iron ore miners BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto PLC.

June 5th, 2009 Landslide in Chinese mining region buries 59BEIJING — At least 59 people were buried by a landslide Friday in the southwestern Chinese iron mining region of Chongqing, safety officials said. Those buried included 50 miners and nine residents of remote Tiekuang, or "iron mine," township, said an official with the Chongqing work safety supervision bureau, who would give only his surname, Dong, because he was not authorized to speak to media.

March 24th, 2009 PANAJI - The Goa government will phase out 14 operational mining leases located near the catchment area of the Selaulim dam, which supplies water to nearly 500,000 people, Chief Minister Digambar Kamat said here Monday. 'All these 14 mining leases will be phased out in the next two or three years because of their proximity to the reservoir,' Kamat told the state assembly.

February 24th, 2009 PANAJI - Goa's Rs.60-billion (Rs.6,000-crore) low-grade iron ore exports are expected to fall 50 percent this fiscal, an industry leader said here Monday. While exports this year have shown a marginal drop in terms of volumes, the actual revenue earned has shrunk considerably, Shivanand Salgaocar, president of the Mineral Ore Foundation (MOF), told reporters.

February 12th, 2009 KOLKATA - Steel major Tata Steel will not focus on any acquisition 'for the time being', a top company official said here Friday. 'We will go slow on acquisition plans.

January 10th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Orissa Sunday said it has again recommended South Korean steel major Posco, which is building a steel plant in the state, for Khandadhar iron ore mines despite opposition from other companies and locals. 'We have recommended the name of Posco for prospective licence of Khandadhar mines,' state steel and mines secretary A.M.R.