Philippines offer transshipment options for Brazilian ore to Vale

Saturday, 28 Jan 2012

Lacking port entry permits into China, Vale had to come up with other options to unload it's massive 400,000 tonnes ore carrying ships.

Enter the 280,815 DWT Ore Fabrica, previously known as the crude oil tanker, Front Duchess. This vessel was converted by China State Shipbuilding Corporation from the crude oil tanker pictured above, to a specially designed platform based in the Philippines that will allow the transshipment of iron ore from these giant ore carriers, to smaller vessels for follow on transport to China, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.

The first of these transshipment loads will commence in early February with the arrival of the Vale Brazil and Vale China in Subic Bay.

Citing safety concerns after the VLOC Vale Beijing experienced structural issues in Brazil, China has yet to approve port entry permits. Safety concerns aside however, politics and family connections appear to play an important role in this developing drama as the 388,000 DWT Berge Everest was allowed to unload her Brazilian cargo of ore in Dalian recently.

The Berge Everest, despite being on long term charter to Vale, is owned by Berge Bulk an offshoot of Singapore based BW Maritime that is controlled by the Sohmen family, the descendants of the late mainland born shipping magnate Pao Yue kong.

(sourced Gcaptain.com)

Usiminas expands iron ore reserves with three acquisitions

Tuesday, 29 November 2011

In a regulatory filing Monday, Belo Horizonte, Brazil-based flat rolled steelmaker Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA (Usiminas) said that it will acquire Brazilian iron ore producer Mineracao Ouro Negro SA for US$367 million. Mineracao owns approximately 200 million tons of iron ore reserves.

Additionally, Usiminas' subsidiary Mineracao Usiminas SA has completed negotiations for the acquisition of iron ore miner Mineracao J. Mendes Ltda, SOMISA--Siderurgica Oeste de Minas Gerais Ltda and Global Mineracao Ltda with an additional payment of US$100 million. The acquisition agreement previously began in February 2008.

Mineracao Usiminas SA has also signed an agreement with Ferrous Resources do Brasil SA for the companies to jointly explore Ferrous' Santanese mine in Southeast Brazil.

Tags: iron ore , hrc , crc , galvanized , coated , raw mat , flats , Brazil , South America , investments , M&A , steelmaking , mining

Sourced:SteelOrbis

Ternium bidding for major stake in Usiminas

Thursday, 17 November 2011

Brazilian magazine Exame reported Wednesday that Latin American steelmaker Ternium has offered to pay 40 reais (US$22.6) per share to current stakeholders Camargo Correa and Grupo Votorantim to acquire their combined 26 percent stake in Brazilian flat rolled steelmaker Usiminas.

Ternium's reported offer price is an approximately 70 percent premium of the current value of Usiminas' shares as of Wednesday evening. Exame's reports also indicate that Camargo and Grupo Votorantim have already voiced their willingness to sell their stakes at Ternium's offer price.

Tags: coated , hrc , crc , galvanized , Luxembourg , Brazil , flats , European Union , Europe , South America , steelmaking , M&A

Sourced:SteelOrbis

Brazil's CSA sees steel output up 67 pct by 2012

Sept 20, 2011

* CSA to ramp up output despite economic crisis
* Company suspends capacity expansion plans

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - ThyssenKrupp's $6.5 billion Rio de Janeiro slab mill will raise output by 67 percent to 5 million tonnes per year by 2012, a company official said on Monday.

CSA ThyssenKrupp, a joint venture with Brazilian mining giant Vale , is ramping up production despite a slowdown in the United States and Europe and turmoil in global capital markets, Financial Vice President Rodrigo Tostes said in an interview.

"We are in a ramp-up phase and next year we will reach peak production," Tostes said in an interview. "Our advantage is that we have captive clients with long-term contracts. We are going to follow through with our plans" despite the current economic crisis, he said.

He added that the company no longer has plans to expand its production capacity, as had been suggested earlier.

Tostes said CSA recently reached output of 3 million tonnes of steel products, and expects average output to remain at that level until the end of the year.

Some 40 percent of its products are sold to Europe, while the remainder goes to the United States.

Brazilian steelmakers dependent on local market demand have been struggling with greater competition from cheap Chinese imports.

(sourced Reuters)

ArcelorMittal slashes workforce at Brazil mill

Thursday, 08 September 2011

Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo reported Wednesday that ArcelorMittal has dismissed 45 workers from its longs mill ArcelorMittal Acos Longos in Juiz de Fora in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, essentially cutting 5 percent of the workforce.

Reduced demand for domestically-produced steel in Brazil driven by high foreign steel imports has been cited as the main reason for the cutback.

The workforce reduction in Brazil follows the temporary shut down the blast furnace at its plant in Eisenhüttenstadt, Germany, due to recently slow demand.

Tags: longs , Germany , Brazil , Europe , South America , ArcelorMittal , production , steelmaking , European Union

Usiminas may bid for port facilities in Rio de Janeiro

Monday, 29 Aug 2011

Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA the Brazilian steelmaker aiming to quadruple its iron ore production, stands to gain the most from an auction for a USD 1 billion port terminal to be built in Rio de Janeiro state.

The state government will take bids later this year for a lease on the so-called Area do Meio, an area equal to about 30 soccer fields, from companies that want to ship the ore, Brazil’s top export.

Usiminas, as the company is known, has confirmed it will participate and has the most ambitious plans to boost ore output of any publicly traded company that doesn’t have a dedicated iron-ore port built or under construction.

Other bidders may include Cia Siderurgica Nacional SA, the third biggest Brazilian steelmaker by output and MMX Mineracao & Metalicos SA, the iron ore producer controlled by Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista.

(sourced from Bloomberg)

Brazil's CSN ups stake in rival steelmaker Usiminas

Aug19, 2011 |By Reuters

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's CSN (CSNA3.SA: Quote)(SID.N: Quote) boosted its stake in Usiminas (USIM3.SA: Quote)(USIM5.SA: Quote) in a further step toward changing the rival steelmaker's ownership structure.

Sao Paulo-based CSN raised its holdings of Usiminas' common stock to 11.29 percent, and to 15.15 percent of preferred stock, the company said in a regulatory filing late on Friday.

Brazil steelmaker Gerdau to sell stock - filing

Mon Mar 21, 2011 1:32pm GMT

SAO PAULO, March 21 (Reuters) - Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau (GGBR4.SA: Quote) said it will issue stock in a primary and secondary share offering, according to a filing on Monday.

The primary stock sale will be worth between 3.8 billion reais ($2.3 billion) and 4.2 billion reais, according to the statement. ($1=1.662 reais)

(Reporting by Luciana Lopez, editing by Gerald E. McCormick, sourced:Reuters)

Net income for Gerdau S.A. rises 144 percent in 2010

Friday, 04 March 2011

Brazil-based Gerdau S.A. announced Thursday a net income of R$420 million (US$254.7 million) in Q4 2010, and R$2.5 billion (US$1.5 billion) for the whole of 2010, an increase of 144 percent from the R$1 billion (US$600 million) net income the company recorded in 2009.

In Q4 2010 Gerdau shipped 4.5 million metric tons (mt) of steel, and a total of 17.4 million mt in 2010, a 24 percent increase compared to 2009 shipments due to improvement in the world auto industries, as well as the expanding construction and manufacturing industries in Brazil.

Coking coal imports in Brazil could nearly double by 2020

Friday, 04 March 2011

According to Brazil's Energy Research Institute, due to rising steel production in Brazil, the country's metallurgical coal imports are expected to increase from 12-13 million metric tons annually to 21 million metric tons annually by 2020.

Brazil is expected to surpass Italy as the seventh largest economy this year, and grow further in the coming years. Steelmaking operations in the country continue to increase on a yearly basis, thus necessitating additional coke imports. Most of Brazil's coke imports come from Australia and United States, with lesser amounts coming from Colombia.

Tags: coking coal , raw mat , USA , Australia , Brazil , Oceania , North America , South America , imp/exp statistics , steelmaking , trading , North Africa

ENRC to Spend USD 7 billion on Kazakh and Brazilian iron ore growth

Thursday, 03 Mar 2011 |bloomberg|

Eurasian Natural Resources Corp a ferroalloy producer plans to invest USD 6.8 billion to increase iron-ore output in Kazakhstan and Brazil as prices for the steelmaking ingredient climb.

ENRC, based in London, aims to become a leading global iron ore miner with annual output of 70 million tonnes by 2016, Mr Felix Vulis CEO of ENRC at a BMO Capital Markets conference in Hollywood, Florida said that the company currently mines iron ore only in Kazakhstan, where its annual production is 17 million saleable tonnes.

Mining companies are boosting investment in reserves of iron ore and coal, both used to make steel, as Asian demand drives up prices. The price of iron ore imports to China, the world’s largest consumer of the raw material, jumped 70% last year, while European benchmark coal rose 38% in London, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

ENRC’s investment program includes USD 2.1 billion to expand iron ore operations in Kazakhstan, where the company plans to increase output to 23 million tonnes by 2015.

Tags :investment in iron ore and coal reserves, raw material, steel mills

Usiminas sees $209 mln annual energy savings-CEO

Wed Feb 23, 2011 2:26pm GMT

SAO PAULO Feb 23 (Reuters) - Brazilian steelmaker Usiminas (USIM3.SA: Quote)(USIM5.SA: Quote) could save as much as 350 million reais ($209 million) a year through energy self-sufficiency efforts, including consolidation efforts, Chief Executive Wilson Brumer said on Wednesday. ($1=1.675 reais)
(Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Alberto Alerigi Jr., editing by Gerald E. McCormick,sourced:Thomson Reuters)

Usiminas sees room for cut in Brazil discounts

Wed Feb 23, 2011 2:51pm GMT

SAO PAULO Feb 23 (Reuters) -

Usiminas (USIM3.SA: Quote)(USIM5.SA: Quote), Brazil's largest maker of flat steel, sees room for a decline in price discounts for some products in the domestic market of as much as 10 percent, Sales and Business Vice President Sergio Leite said on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Alberto Alerigi Jr., editing by Gerald E. McCormick,sourced:Thomson Reuters)

Flat-rolled steel inventories in Brazil down 3.8 percent

Wednesday, 23 February 2011

According to the Brazilian Steel Distributors' Institute (INDA) and the Brazilian Steel Institute (IABr), flat-rolled steel inventories in Brazil totaled 1.157 million metric tons in January, a 3.8 percent decrease from December due to fewer imports into the country.

Flat steel imports fell 42 percent year-on-year last month, to 130,000 metric tons, from the 225,000 metric tons in January 2009. Month-on-hand inventories were about 3.4 months, down 0.9 months from month-on-hand inventories in December.

(sourced:steelorbis)
Tags: hrc , crc , galvanized , coated , flats , Brazil , South America , distribution , steelmaking , trading

Brazil saw increases in crude steel production and steel export levels in January

Monday, 21 February 2011

According to a Friday statement from the Brazilian Steel Institute (IABr), Brazilian steelmakers produced 2.8 million metric tons of crude steel in January, an increase of 3.8 percent year-on-year, and 16.2 percent month-on-month.

Product-specific results showed that flat rolled steel output totaled 2.1 million tons, reflecting an increase of 0.4 percent from January 2010, and a 15.4 percent increase from December 2010, when many Brazilian mills reduced output in response to a rise in steel import levels and difficulty securing coal supplies.

In fact, January steel imports were 10.6 percent lower year-on-year, at 343,600 tons, due to rising international steel prices. However, export levels increased to 1.1 million tons, a 60 percent increase from January 2010. As for sales, domestic steel products sales increased 4.5 percent year-on-year in January, to 1.7 million tons, which also reflected an 11.4 percent increase from the prior month.

(sourced:steelorbis)
Tags: hrc , crude steel , crc , raw mat , flats , Brazil , South America , steelmaking , production , imp/exp statistics , Hot Rolled Coil , Cold Rolled Coil

Usiminas shareholders stave off potential takeover with new long-term accord

Monday, 21 February 2011

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil-based steelmaker Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA (Usiminas), announced Friday that in order to prevent a potential takeover bid by industry rival Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN), its controlling shareholders, led by Nippon Steel Corp., have set up a new long-term accord "to demonstrate the stability" of the company's current shareholding structure.

CSN recently purchased stakes in Usiminas, which prompted the action. According to a statement from Usiminas, the company will be governed until 2031 by controlling shareholders, including: Nippon Steel Corp.; Nippon Usiminas Co., Ltd.; Mitsubishi Corp. do Brasil S.A.; Metal One Corp.; Votorantim Industrial S.A.; Camargo Correa S.A.; Construcoes e Comercio Camargo Correa S.A.; and Camargo Correa Investimentos em Infra-estrutura S.A. Combined, the controlling companies hold 53.7 percent of Usiminas' voting capital. After 2031, the new accord will be renewable in five-year periods. The previous accord was due to expire in 2016.

"The aim is to demonstrate to other stakeholders in the company and to the market the stability of the control group and, consequently, assure the company's continuing growth and development," said Ronald Seckelmann, Vice President of finances and investor relations for Usiminas.
(sourced:steelorbis)

Tags: Brazil , South America , M&A, Nippon Steel corp, CSN, Nippon Usiminas Co.,Mitsubishi Corp., do Brasil S.A.,Metal One Corp., Votorantim Industrial S.A., Camargo Correa S.A., Construcoes e Comercio Camargo Correa S.A., Camargo Correa Investimentos em Infra-estrutura S.A.

January Brazil Steel Output Up 3.8% To 2.8 Million Tons From Year Ago -IABr

Friday,18 February 2011 08:17pm

RIO DE JANEIRO -(Dow Jones)- Brazilian steelmakers produced 2.8 million metric tons of crude steel in January, 3.8% higher than in the same month of 2010, the Brazilian Steel Institute, or IABr, said in a statement Friday. January's output was 16.2% higher than in December, IABr said.

Rolled products steel output rose 0.4% from a year ago to 2.1 million tons. This was 15.4% higher than in December, when some Brazilian steel mills reduced output due to coal supply difficulties and high steel import levels.

Domestic steel product sales rose to 1.7 million tons in January, up 4.5% from the same 2010 period and 11.4% over December levels, IABr said.

Steel products imports fell to 343,600 tons in January, 10.6% lower than in January 2010, as international steel prices rose, boosting the cost of imported products.

Export volumes meanwhile grew to 1.1 million tons, 60% higher than a year ago, IABr said.
(sourced:Dow Jones)