Nonferrous

• Ferrosilicon prices rise on short supply Mar 22, 2013

  A tightness in ferrosilicon supply has led spot prices to increase 1 percent, market participants told AMM.

• Demand weakness bites into moly pricing Mar 22, 2013

  Molybdenum prices have continued to fall on tepid spot interest, forcing sellers to cut prices in order to move material.

• High-carbon FeMn falls after BlueScope tender Mar 22, 2013

  High-carbon ferromanganese prices have dwindled again as a tender for second-quarter material for North Star BlueScope Steel LLC moved to lower levels.

• Wise Metals to lift working capital facility to $345M Mar 22, 2013

  Flat-rolled aluminum producer Wise Metals Group LLC has entered into agreements to increase its working capital facility to $345 million from $270 million.

• Ferbasa’s revenue up in February Mar 22, 2013

  Brazilian ferroalloys producer Ferbasa recorded net sales of 68.38 million reais ($34.24 million) in February after selling higher tonnages of high-carbon ferrochrome.

• Atlantic Copper’s smelter in Spain preps for furnace work Mar 22, 2013

  Spain’s Atlantic Copper SLU this year will treat only 860,000 tonnes of copper concentrates at its Huelva smelter in the southwestern part of the country due to a major refurbishment of the hearth in its flash furnace.

• Strike at Chilean port delays exports of Codelco copper Mar 22, 2013

  A stevedores’ strike at the Port of Angamos in Chile has delayed shipments for copper producer Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (Codelco).

• Fundamentals said still driving lead premiums Mar 22, 2013

  Fundamentals still have a strong role to play in setting physical premiums in the lead market, according to Eric Le Roux, director for metals markets at Société Générale SA.

• China’s refined copper imports fall in Feb. Mar 21, 2013

  China’s refined copper imports dropped in February while exports climbed 47.1 percent, as a negative import arbitrage helped Chinese smelters export metal under toll-processing deals.

• Mount Hope financing options eyed Mar 21, 2013

  General Moly Inc. is considering financing alternatives for its Mount Hope project after negotiations with China Development Bank and Sichuan Hanlong (Group) Co. Ltd. were suspended.

• 500-plus workers axed at BHP's Escondida Mar 21, 2013

  More than 500 contracted workers employed at the BHP Billiton-operated Escondida copper mine have been dismissed following demonstrations that took place earlier this month.

• Dubal replaces deputy chairman Mar 21, 2013

  Dubai Aluminium Co. Ltd. (Dubal) has replaced its deputy chairman, according to a decree from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, United Arab Emirates’ vice president and prime minister, published by state news agency Wam.

• Canadian Zinc narrows net loss in 2012 Mar 21, 2013

  Canadian Zinc Corp. reported a net loss of Canadian $19.9 million ($19.4 million) in 2012, narrowing from a net loss of C$33.4 million a year earlier.

• Globe’s Appelbaum to exit as finance chief Aug. 31 Mar 21, 2013

  Globe Specialty Metals Inc. chief financial officer Malcolm Appelbaum will leave the company Aug. 31.

• Vale lays off 30 employees at Sudbury Mar 20, 2013

  Vale SA has laid off 30 support and service workers from its Sudbury, Ontario, operations as it looks to trim costs amid "volatile market conditions and operating cost challenges."

• Midwest P1020 aluminum premiums steady Mar 20, 2013

  Spot Midwest aluminum premiums were stable this week, with traders and consumers reporting steady P1020 business due to scrap tightness and lower exchange prices.

• Hanlong, Moly Mines exec detained in China: reports Mar 20, 2013

  Junior miner Moly Mines Ltd. said it is "seeking clarification" from major shareholder Sichuan Hanlong (Group) Co. Ltd. on whether it will be affected by the reported detention by Chinese authorities of Hanlong chief executive officer and Moly Mines director Liu Han.

• Avanti’s Kitsault moly mine gets government approval Mar 20, 2013

  Avanti Mining Inc. plans to start construction on its Kitsault molybdenum mine in British Columbia later this year after the project received environmental certification from the provincial government despite objections from a First Nations organization.

• Rio Tinto Alcan mulls post-Sebree future in US Mar 20, 2013

  Rio Tinto Alcan hopes to maintain a presence in the United States even if it sells its Sebree, Ky., smelter, although exactly how the aluminum producer might achieve that goal remains a matter of debate.

• Glencore entered into deals with Iranian entities: Century Mar 20, 2013

  Affiliates of Glencore International Plc, Century Aluminum Co.’s largest shareholder, were involved in transactions made with entities that are fully or partly controlled by the Iranian government, according to a Century filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

• Novelis promotes Smith to oversee Oswego complex Mar 20, 2013

  Novelis Inc. has tapped company veteran Chris Smith as the new plant manager of its Oswego, N.Y., aluminum complex.

• Copper consumers mull contract renegotiations Mar 19, 2013

  Low copper cathode spot premiums have encouraged consumers to consider renegotiating their 2013 contracts, sources said.

• BHP Billiton ordered to reveal Africa smelters’ energy costs Mar 19, 2013

  South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed BHP Billiton Plc’s challenge of a South Gauteng High Court ruling that the miner must disclose what it is paying for electricity supplied to its Hillside aluminum smelter in Richards Bay, South Africa, and its Mozal smelter in Mozambique.

• Tungsten miner Malaga mulls asset sale Mar 19, 2013

  Malaga Inc. is considering selling all of its assets after having kept its flagship Pasto Bueno Mine in Peru on care and maintenance for nearly five months.