POSCO to form iron ore and coal JV Colombia

Friday, 16 Sep 2011

POSCO said that it would set up a company in Colombia for iron ore and coal resource development in an effort to secure a stable supply of key materials.

The venture with Blue Pacific of Colombia, an iron ore and oil developer, will be formed late this year at the earliest, the Korean steelmaker said.

But POSCO gave no details.

The steel company also said it has signed a preliminary agreement with Colombian auto parts maker Fanalca to build a steel pipe plant, which could have an annual capacity of 200,000 metric tons.

According to Posco, demand for steel pipe is expected to reach 200,000 tons in 2015, compared with an estimated 30,000 tons in 2013, as the Latin American country begins several oil and natural gas development projects in the next few years.

(Sourced from koreajoongangdaily)

Euro Coal-Prices up $1-4 a tonne on Colombia strike, oil

* Cerrejon in talks to avoid strike this weekend
* Oil up sharply by $1.84/bbl on fast U.S. growth
* Reuters poll shows 5.5 mln T lost in Queensland floods
* March DES ARA trades at $119.50/T, up $1.00

LONDON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Prompt coal prices rose $1.00-4.00 a tonne on Friday on stronger oil prices and market anxiety that a strike may start soon at Colombia's largest coal exporter Cerrejon.
Although coal prices have fallen over $12.00 a tonne from the peaks in early January, the market is still vulnerable to any fresh supply disruptions.
Buyers who face delayed or cancelled cargoes will be able to replace them but are likely to push the market higher in the process.

The market has adjusted to the loss of thermal coal from Australia due to Queensland's floods, because China and India have withdrawn from the spot market.
According to a Reuters poll on Thursday, around 5.5 million tonnes of thermal coal was lost in Queensland and 11.3 million tonnes of coking coal.
"Colombia and the possible strike is the talk of the market today but prices haven't moved up much, yet," one major European trader said.

Oil prices moved up sharply by $1.84 a barrel on better than expected U.S. economic data and this helped pull coal values higher, traders said [O/R].
Late on Thursday workers at Colombia's biggest exporter Cerrejon, voted overwhelmingly for a strike after failing to reach agreement on pay.
Under Colombian law, workers cannot strike in the first two days after the vote or on the last day of a mandatory 10-day period. After that they must vote again on whether to strike.
Cerrejon is still trying to reach a deal with the unions before the strike begins.
Colombian exporters including Cerrejon have ample stockpiles at the ports and would be able to ship from these for weeks without delays or cancellations, industry sources said.
The strike would have to be protracted to have any real impact, they said.
But the strike vote has given a fillip to bullish sentiment.

European utilities would be the hardest-hit by any disruption to Cerrejon's exports but they are still holding back from booking new cargoes, waiting for further falls in coal and freight and for the Rhine to reopen fully to barge traffic after an accident.
TRADES

A March delivery DES ARA cargo traded at $119.50 a tonne, up $1.00.

PRICES

A March loading South African cargo was bid at $118.60 with an offer of $119.00, up $4.00 on the bid.

A March delivery DES ARA cargo was bid at $120.00, up $5.00 on the bid, following the earlier trade at $119.50.
An April delivery DES ARA cargo was bid at $116.50 and offered at $119.00, also up $4.00 on the bid.(Reporting by Jackie Cowhig, courtsey sourced: af.reuters)

20 killed in Colombia mine blast

Jan 27, 2011

BOGOTA: At least 20 miners were killed and six injured in a gas explosion inside a coal mine in Colombia, an official said.

The blast occurred Wednesday at the La Preciosa mine in the northeastern town of Sardinata, Colombia's Ingeominas regulatory agency official, Marisa Fernandez, said.
While four bodies were recovered, 15 workers trapped to death inside the mine and one died on way to a hospital, the official said.
Preliminary investigations indicate the blast was caused by a build-up of methane gas, also blamed for an explosion four years ago at the same mine that left nearly 30 dead.
Colombia's worst mining accident in recent years occurred last June at a coal mine in the northwestern town of Amaga, where 73 workers died after an explosion trapped them in a tunnel. (sourced:TimesofIndia)

Steam coal price may reach USD 150 a tonne

According to Credit Suisse Group AG, power station coal may rise to USD 150 a tonne in the coming weeks, driven by extreme weather conditions, before declining in the year.
Mr Joachim Azria a New York based analyst with Credit Suisse said that “The unexpected cold weather so far this season has taken a toll on global energy inventories and reset energy prices to varying degrees. We expect coal prices to move above USD 150 in coming weeks and possibly higher if there are further significant disruptions to supply.”
Mr Azria said that prices first rose because of a colder than normal winter in the Northern Hemisphere, prompting restocking by countries including China. Further price increases were supported by supply fears because of heavy rains in Indonesia, Australia and Colombia, as well as floods in Queensland state.
According to IHS McCloskey, power station coal at the port of Newcastle in Australia’s New South Wales, the benchmark for Asia, jumped 4.5% to USD 131.80 a tonne in the week ended January 7th 2011.
Sourced from Bloomberg