Nonferrous

• Specialty Blanks sets fuel charge Sep 16, 2005

  Ormet Corp. subsidiary Specialty Blanks Inc., Terre Haute, Ind., has introduced a fuel surcharge. The blanking and annealing company said the charge would be effective immediately but it did not disclose a specific figure.

• LME pushing New Orleans port to allow warehouse inspection Sep 16, 2005

  The London Metal Exchange is talking with port authorities in New Orleans in an attempt to arrange an inspection of its warehouses in the flood-affected area.

• Freeport office suffers only minor damage Sep 16, 2005

  Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., New Orleans, said it incurred only minor damage to its headquarters in the devastation that Hurricane Katrina left in its wake.

• Century costs jump on storm, electricity woes Sep 16, 2005

  Century Aluminum Co. said an electricity supplier to its Mount Holly, S.C., reduction plant had imposed surcharges because of higher power costs and outages. As a result, Century's electricity costs are expected to rise $3 million in the third quarter.

• Inco sees plans take shape as first concentrate made at Voisey's Bay Sep 16, 2005

  Inco Ltd.'s long-awaited Voisey's Bay project has produced its first concentrate, the Toronto-based company said.

• Norilsk pushing contract sales to pinch traders Sep 16, 2005

  Next year's cobalt market will look very different as MMC Norilsk Nickel, Moscow, clamps down on cobalt sales to traders and moves to boost its share of contract business.

• Talks continue, but steadfast stance leaves restructuring in doubt Sep 16, 2005

  Hopes of an end to 12 weeks of industrial action at troubled copper producer Asarco Inc. were dealt a bitter blow last week when union officials representing 1,500 striking workers rejected the company's latest contract offer.

• Call for replacements has workers up in arms Sep 16, 2005

  Tensions between Asarco Inc. and the United Steelworkers union were inflamed last week when the Tucson, Ariz.,-based company said it would start employing replacement hourly workers to increase production across the company's operations, which have been crippled by a strike by 1,500 workers.

• Alcoa increases plate products Sep 15, 2005

  Alcoa Mill Products, a unit of Alcoa Inc., Pittsburgh, has increased its prices on a broad range of aluminum plate products effective with all new orders entered on or after Sept. 14 and all shipments from Oct. 3 onwards.

• Replacements slated to fill production gap Sep 14, 2005

  Asarco Inc. will start employing replacement hourly workers to increase production across its operations, which have been crippled by an 11-week strike by 1,500 workers.

• Europe rejects call by aluminum users to end or reduce 6% duty Sep 14, 2005

  The European Commission has rejected proposals by European aluminum consumers to suspend or reduce the 6-percent duty on imports of primary aluminum.

• Lead premiums firm as Teck strike drags on Sep 14, 2005

  U.S. lead premiums are holding firm as continuing strike action at Teck Cominco Ltd.'s operations in Trail, British Columbia, keeps consumer stock levels tight.

• Rusal's dual-ended shipping woes fail to halt metals flow Sep 13, 2005

  Exporters of aluminum from Russia continue to face problems at both ends of the distribution chain as they deal with a labor disruption in the port of St. Petersburg, Russia, and problems in New Orleans, where much of the metal is typically shipped.

• Time running out for potential Ormet suitors Sep 13, 2005

  The deadline for suitors to express their interest in Ormet Corp. is "fast approaching," a spokeswoman for the company said Tuesday.

• Union leaders turn down latest back-to-work offer from Asarco Sep 13, 2005

  Union leaders representing 1,500 striking workers at troubled U.S. copper producer Asarco Inc. have rejected the latest company offer aimed at ending a two-month stalemate over contract negotiations.

• Acerinox exec seeks return to producer pricing Sep 13, 2005

  A top executive of Spanish stainless steelmaker Acerinox SA wants to return to producer pricing for nickel so his company no longer has to rely on London Metal Exchange prices.

• Chinese import prices for alumina top $500/T Sep 13, 2005

  Chinese prices for imported alumina have risen 8 percent since August due to low stocks and increased demand from the nation's growing number of aluminum smelters.

• Scott Brass denies EPA pollution allegations Sep 12, 2005

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has accused Cranston, R.I.,-based Scott Brass Inc. of breaching clean-air laws at the company's brass ingot production plant in New Carlisle, Ind.

• Eramet slates output boost, new nickel mine Sep 12, 2005

  French nickel and manganese producer Eramet SA, Paris, plans to increase ferronickel smelting capacity at its Doniambo smelter by 25 percent and build a new nickel mine at its Tiébaghi site in northern New Caledonia.

• US zinc premiums unfazed by Katrina, strike Sep 12, 2005

  U.S. zinc premiums remain range-bound despite expectations that a technical tightness caused by the impact of Hurricane Katrina and a continuing strike at Teck Cominco Ltd.'s operations in Trail, British Columbia, would lead to a rise.

• Norilsk finds nickel volatility 'disconcerting' Sep 12, 2005

  MMC Norilsk Nickel, Moscow, has conceded that nickel's current price volatility is having a negative effect on the market. Dmitry Rychkov, a market researcher at Norilsk Nickel Europe Ltd. in London, told delegates at Metal Bulletin's 8th international nickel and raw materials conference in Bilbao, Spain, that current volatility is "very, very disconcerting."

• Newmont Mining makes executive changes Sep 12, 2005

  Newmont Mining Corp., Denver, has announced that David H. Francisco has decided to step down as executive vice president of operations for health reasons. Francisco currently is acting as technical advisor to Wayne W. Murdy, chief executive officer, while Thomas Enos and Bruce Hansen will take over Francisco's previous responsibilities on a temporary basis.

• Nymex Europe names non-executive director Sep 12, 2005

  Nymex Europe Ltd., the European subsidiary of the New York Mercantile Exchange, has selected Sir Jeremy Hanley to be an independent non-executive director of its board, the company announced

• A war over warrants The LME's Simon Heale takes heat . . . and hurls it back Sep 09, 2005

  The London Metal Exchange made a "right and rational" decision to suspend warrants last Tuesday for material in its approved warehouses in New Orleans because details on the condition of the metal and warehouses in the hurricane-ravaged city remained unclear, according to Simon Heale, LME's chief executive officer.