Nonferrous

• Boeing exec presses for end to 'inefficiencies' Sep 28, 2005

  The titanium requirements for Boeing Co.'s commercial transport programs are expected to reach at least 30 million pounds annually within five years as the world's largest aircraft builder looks for its new 787 to reach full production.

• Upsetting market, Chinese lead premiums rise Sep 28, 2005

  Lead premiums in the Far East have strengthened amid market tightness, bucking industry expectations that Chinese lead premiums would ease and, therefore, attract more lead to the tight U.S. marketplace.

• Alcoa confirms talks with Iceland on second aluminum smelter plan Sep 28, 2005

  Alcoa Inc. continues to discuss with Icelandic authorities the possibility of building a second aluminum smelter on the island.

• Chinese aluminum exports fall sharply Sep 27, 2005

  China's aluminum exports fell sharply in August amid indications that changes to the country's export tax regime are starting to have an effect.

• CVRD formalizes $671-million offer to acquire Canadian miner Canico Sep 27, 2005

  Brazil's Cia. Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) has formalized its offer of Canadian $17.50 ($14.86) per share for junior miner Canico Resource Corp., Vancouver, British Columbia, which is developing a major nickel laterite project in northern Brazil.

• Teck Cominco, union eye new round of talks Sep 27, 2005

  Contract talks at Teck Cominco Ltd.'s operations in Trail, British Columbia, could resume "in the near future," a labor official said Tuesday.

• Manganese rises as mills gear up for 4th qtr. Sep 27, 2005

  Manganese alloy prices have firmed up as demand from steel mills rises ahead of the fourth quarter and stocks tighten.

• Placer backs off Cerro Casale project in Chile Sep 27, 2005

  Canadian miner Placer Dome Inc. said Tuesday that it won't proceed with the development of the Cerro Casale project in Chile-which has been called one of the world's largest undeveloped copper and gold deposits-because it isn't financially viable.

• DNSC offers four stockpile metals Sep 27, 2005

  The U.S. Defense National Stockpile Center (DNSC) on Tuesday solicited bids for four metals under its basic ordering agreement (BOA) format.

• Mueller, Cerro lifting brass rod Sep 27, 2005

  In separate announcements, Mueller Brass Co., Port Huron, Mich., and Cerro Metal Products Co., Bellefonte, Pa., said Tuesday they would each boost the selling price of alloy brass rod to reflect a 5-cent increase in metal value to $1.54 a pound.

• Nymex division seat sells for record $2.8M Sep 26, 2005

  A seat on the Nymex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange sold for a record $2.8 million Friday, surpassing its previous record of $2.75 million on Aug. 17.

• Alcoa pursues remaining stake in Russian plant Sep 26, 2005

  Alcoa Inc. said Monday it is still working to acquire the remaining stake in a Russian aluminum facility that it did not snap up from OAO Russian Aluminium in January.

• Refco's chief operating officer stepping down Sep 26, 2005

  Refco Inc.'s chief operating officer is stepping down to pursue other interests. The New York-based futures broker said Monday that William M. Sexton, who also is executive vice president of Refco Inc. and Refco Group Ltd. LLC, will leave the company in mid-October.

• Ormet workers to remain on job Sep 26, 2005

  Workers at Ormet Corp.'s Burnside, La., alumina refinery will continue working under the conditions of their previous labor contract, which expired Sunday.

• Zinc price surges to eight-year high on LME Sep 26, 2005

  Zinc surged to an eight-year high on the London Metal Exchange Monday, hitting an intraday high of $1,452 a tonne before ending the final kerb at $1,448 a tonne, basis three months, up $37 from Friday's final kerb close.

• Hayes adding low-pressure cast aluminum truck wheels to lineup Sep 26, 2005

  Wheel manufacturer Hayes Lemmerz International Inc., Northville, Mich., said its international and North American wheel groups are planning to add low-pressure cast aluminum wheels for commercial truck and trailer customers to their product lines.

• Chile's Enami in talks to sell 10% interest in Quebrada Blanca Mine Sep 26, 2005

  High copper prices have led Chile's state minerals company, Empresa Nacional de Minería (Enami), to change tactics. The Santiago-based company has entered into direct negotiations with Hurtado-Cruzat group for the sale of its 10-percent stake in the Quebrada Blanca copper mine.

• Comex copper futures climb to fresh record on fund buying Sep 26, 2005

  Copper futures on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rallied to a fresh all-time high Monday as investment funds and local speculators continued to plow into the red metal.

• Alumar refinery's extra output set for export Sep 26, 2005

  The extra 2.1 million tonnes of alumina production from Alcoa Inc.'s Alumínio do Maranhão (Alumar) refinery in São Luis, Brazil, will be geared to the export market, Franklin Feder, president of Alcoa Latin America, confirmed.

• Sherwin expects 3-day shutdown Sep 23, 2005

  The Sherwin Alumina Co. plant near Gregory, Texas, was expected to be back up and running by Sunday morning after shutting down Thursday in preparation for Hurricane Rita.

• Alcoa warns prices, costs will hit profits Sep 23, 2005

  Alcoa Inc.'s stock price slid markedly Friday after it warned the previous evening that lower aluminum prices and higher input costs, particularly for energy and raw materials, would have a negative impact on its third-quarter results.

• Nymex doubted firmness of ex-chairman's offer Sep 23, 2005

  The board of the New York Mercantile Exchange had doubts about how "firm" the 11th-hour bid by the exchange's former chairman, Michel Marks, was, according to a senior executive at the exchange.

• Inco to open new office for Asia/Pacific operations Sep 23, 2005

  In an effort to reorganize, Inco Ltd. said Friday it would divide the company into two distinct units-Asia/Pacific and North America/Europe-and open an office in Australia as an administrative base for its Asia/Pacific operations.

• Sabine declares force majeure on gas deliveries Sep 23, 2005

  Sabine Pipeline LLC, which operates the Henry Hub facility in Erath, La., shut down its pipeline in preparation for Hurricane Rita's landfall and issued a force majeure declaration effective Thursday.