Nonferrous

• Higher shipments, prices put RTI back in black Oct 31, 2005

  Paced by a nearly 60-percent jump in shipments and higher prices, RTI International Metals Inc. chalked up a financial turnaround in the third quarter.

• Massive scrub fire in New Zealand leaves aluminum smelter on edge Oct 28, 2005

  A big scrub fire near Bluff, New Zealand, threatened to leave the 330,000-tonne-per-year New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Ltd. (NZAS) without power, according to local media reports.

• Chinese import prices for alumina climb to $570/T on strong demand Oct 28, 2005

  Chinese prices for imported alumina have risen to $540 to $570 per tonne c.i.f. as demand continues strong, market participants said.

• Zinc set to rise, lead fall in '06 Mitsui Bussan Oct 28, 2005

  Zinc is unlikely to exceed $1,550 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange for any prolonged period despite forecasts for a third deficit year in 2006, according to a recent report by Mitsui Bussan Commodities Ltd., London.

• Xstrata sees China use driving copper higher Oct 28, 2005

  Xstrata Plc, Zug, Switzerland, expects high copper prices to continue as the big diversified miner looks to build production, it said in a presentation to analysts.

• Revere to add natural gas charge Oct 28, 2005

  Revere Copper Products Inc., the latest metals company to implement an energy surcharge to combat rising natural gas prices, said it will add a 3-cent-a-pound fee to new orders effective Nov. 1. The surcharge will apply to all customers serviced by its New Bedford, Mass., and Rome, N.Y., divisions.

• PMX tacks on 2¢/lb. for energy Oct 28, 2005

  PMX Industries Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, plans to implement a 2-cent-per-pound energy surcharge on all shipments effective Nov. 1.

• PD's earnings receive a boost from strong copper, moly tags Oct 27, 2005

  Strong copper and molybdenum prices helped Phelps Dodge Corp., Phoenix, post third-quarter net income of $366.1 million, up 25 percent from $292.9 million in the same period last year, on sales that rose 27.8 percent to a record $2.36 billion.

• Refco sued by 2 Rogers commodities funds Oct 26, 2005

  Embattled New York-based futures brokerage Refco Inc. is being sued by two commodities funds backed by Jim Rogers, a fund entrepreneur, for "wrongfully and fraudulently" handling $362 million of their assets.

• Mueller implements energy adder Oct 26, 2005

  Mueller Industries Inc. plans to implement an energy surcharge on all shipments beginning Nov. 1.

• Inco deal won't kill Falconbridge's Koniambo nickel project Pannell Oct 26, 2005

  Inco Ltd.'s pending acquisition of Falconbridge Ltd. will not compel it to abandon development of the long-brewing Koniambo ferronickel project in New Caledonia, Derek Pannell, Falconbridge's president and chief executive officer, said this week.

• Century slips deeper into the red in third quarter on weaker sales Oct 26, 2005

  An after-tax charge of $36.4 million, weaker sales and escalating energy costs pushed Century Aluminum Co. further into the red in the third quarter.

• Inco hit by nickel's fall, but sees rebound near Oct 26, 2005

  Inco Ltd.'s net income took a 56.3-percent hit in the third quarter compared with a year earlier as a result of lower nickel prices and reduced demand from its biggest customers-stainless steel mills.

• Teck posts record income despite Trail woes Oct 25, 2005

  Higher prices for copper and zinc contributed to Teck Cominco Ltd.'s record net income of Canadian $405 million ($344 million) in the third quarter, more than triple the C$120 million reported in the same period last year.

• US defense agency offers stockpile cobalt Oct 25, 2005

  The U.S. Defense National Stockpile Center (DNSC), a unit of the Defense Logistics Agency, on Tuesday offered one lot of surplus cobalt with a purity of more than 99.4 percent.

• Teck Cominco makes management changes Oct 25, 2005

  Teck Cominco Ltd., Vancouver, British Columbia, announced that Roger Brain, senior vice president for marketing and refining, will retire Nov. 30 after 30 years with the company, while Jon Collins, vice president for exploration business development, will retire Oct. 30 after 40 years' service.

• Falconbridge earnings soar 81% as sales, realized prices increase Oct 25, 2005

  Falconbridge Ltd., Toronto, Tuesday reported third-quarter net income of $214 million, an 81.4-percent jump from the same period last year, on the back of higher realized prices for copper, nickel, zinc and aluminum. Sales were up 17.8 percent to $2 billion in the same comparison.

• Escondida to press for lower annual TC/RCs Oct 25, 2005

  Chilean copper producer Minera Escondida Ltda. is expected to push for lower copper treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) in 2006 following reports that it had settled a new contract with a Polish smelter owned by KGHM Polska Miedz SA at about $88 a tonne/8.8 cents a pound.

• Brush Wellman lifts alloy products Oct 25, 2005

  Brush Wellman Inc.'s Alloy Products Group said Tuesday that it plans to increase prices worldwide on premium performance alloy products by 8 to 10 percent effective with orders placed on or after Nov. 1.

• Escondida Norte's copper production starts Oct 24, 2005

  Copper production has started at the Escondida Norte expansion of the BHP Billiton-controlled Minera Escondida Ltda. mine in Chile.

• Bidding war for Refco intensifies as Man Group throws hat in ring Oct 24, 2005

  The bidding war for Refco Inc. has intensified as hedge fund firm Man Group added its name to the list of companies interested in buying the commodities and futures broker.

• Ocean Partners appoints Pillay finance chief, hints at expansion Oct 24, 2005

  Ocean Partners Holdings Ltd., Stamford, Conn., has named Siva Pillay chief financial officer.

• Jubilee upbeat despite nickel's recent labors Oct 24, 2005

  Western Australian nickel miner Jubilee Mines NL said Monday it is on target to exceed last year's output of 11,000 tonnes of nickel concentrate.

• CBH suspends mining at Endeavor Oct 24, 2005

  CBH Resources Ltd. of Australia has suspended some operations at its Endeavor lead and zinc mine in New South Wales following "an uncontrolled fall of waste ground," the company said Monday.