NTPC wants coal assets in South Africa - Mining Weekly

Saturday, 13 Aug 2011

Mining Weekly citing an unnamed NTPC official reported that NTPC Ltd wants to acquire coal assets in South Africa and conclude long term supply agreements with local miners.

Mining Weekly without saying where it got the information reported that NTPC is considering entering into supply contracts that would start at levels of 4 million tonnes a year, ramping up to 16 million tonnes.

(sourced Bloomberg)

Indonesia's Bayan signs 100 mln tonne coal deal with Indian firm

Fri Jul8, 2011

JAKARTA, July 8 (Reuters) - Indonesian coal miner Bayan Resources Tbk has signed a deal with India's Universal Crescent Power Private Ltd to supply 100 million tonnes of coal over 15 years from 2015, the firm's chief financial officer said on Friday.

"It's an index linked contract based on the Newcastle index (and) is fully compliant with the minimum pricing regulation," Alastair McLeod told Reuters. "It's not a fixed price contract, and so it will vary every month on delivery of the contract."

In late May, Bayan, Indonesia's eighth-largest coal producer, said it was aiming to more than double its annual output to as much as 25 million tonnes by 2013 to meet rising demand from consumers such as India.

The company produced 11.9 million tonnes of coal last year and expects output to rise to between 14.5 million and 15.5 million tonnes in 2011.

"It is a further expansion that will be required," McLeod said of the India agreement.

"We have already got some debt facilities in place although they're pretty much fully utilized," adding that the company is looking to raise additional debt in the latter part of this year or beginning of the next year to fund the expansion.

Bayan is 20 percent-owned by Korea Electric Power Corp and has open-pit mines located in East Kalimantan.

The firm exports most of its coal to countries and regions that include Europe, Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea.

India, Asia's third-largest economy, is the biggest market for Bayan by volume, accounting for about 30 percent of all exports.

By 0353 GMT, shares of Bayan were little changed near a record high of 23,950 rupiah.

Anshan acquires major stake in UK service center USS

Saturday, 26 Feb 2011

Chinese steel producer Anshan Iron and Steel Corporation through Ansteel Holdings Ltd is finalizing their agreement to purchase two thirds of the share capital of UK steel service center USS Ltd. The balance of shares is to be retained by former owners, the Weaver family who will continue to run the company. USS specializes in coil slitting for the construction industry.

Ansteel Holdings Ltd like Ansteel Spain SL is a joint venture company between Anshan and Stemcor.

Based in Halesowen in the West Midlands, USS can slit coils weighing up to 25 tonnes, thickness ranging from 0.33mm to 3.50mm and width ranging from 400mm to 1,525mm. The majority of material slit is galvanized coil mainly direct for end users with some slitting undertaken on behalf of third parties. Typical customers are UK based section rollers serving the construction industry.

Mr Zhang Xiaogang President of Anshan Iron and Steel Corporation said "Anshan is keen to expand its footprint in Europe and is particularly interested in value-adding services that complement the product range. Last year we purchased a 78% stake in Italian steel processor Viganò and now we are making a similar investment in the UK with USS. The Weaver family has extensive experience in the steel service centre business and will be a valuable addition to Ansteel European business."

Mr Julian Verden Group Managing Director at Stemcor the world largest independent steel trader said "We are delighted to enter into this second European joint venture with Anshan, building on the success of Ansteel Spain SL in the Iberian market. In addition to their existing construction and general industrial steel products, Anshan focus on producing high end value added flat products such as metallic coated, color coated and silicon steel."

Mr Anthony Weaver Managing Director of USS said "We are very excited to be working more closely with our new partners, whom we have dealt with for many years. Looking forward we feel that their investment will enhance our customer service and expand our product offering."