Nonferrous

• CVRD, subsidiaries get new names Nov 29, 2007

  Brazil’s Cia. Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) has changed its name to Vale, and its North American subsidiaries are going along for the ride.

• Bolton slices brass rod, buybacks 18 cents a lb. Nov 29, 2007

  Bolton Metal Products Co., Bellefonte, Pa., has lowered its metal value for alloy 360 brass rod by 18 cents a pound to $2.95 at its Bellefonte operations and to $2.90 at its Santa Fe Springs, Calif., site.

• Timet cancels plan to build sponge plant [UPDATE] Nov 29, 2007

  Titanium Metals Corp. has put plans for a new sponge plant on the back burner as the outlook for raw material supply now appears sufficient to meet its needs.

• Thompson Creek may move mining to Denak pit ahead of plan Nov 29, 2007

  Thompson Creek Mining Co., Toronto, is considering an early transfer of mining activities at its Endako Mine in British Columbia to its Denak West Pit as it awaits a damage assessment from a rockslide that brought operations at the Endako pit to a halt two weeks ago, the company’s president and chief executive officer, Kevin Loughrey, said in a presentation at the Grand Hyatt hotel in New York Wednesday.

• Lead seen poised for comeback as stocks remain low Nov 29, 2007

  Lead prices are expected to rebound following a flurry of profit-taking as stocks held in London Metal Exchange-registered warehouses remain at critical levels, according to trade sources.

• N. American aluminum shipments, stocks off Nov 29, 2007

  North American aluminum demand fell 4.5 percent to 2.1 billion pounds in September from 2.2 billion pounds in both the previous month and September last year, according to the latest data from the Aluminum Association.

• Judge rejects Grupo Mexico bid to re-assert control over Asarco Nov 29, 2007

  Grupo Mexico SA de CV has lost another attempt to reclaim control of copper producer Asarco LLC, Tucson, Ariz.

• Aluminum in surplus as US demand slows Nov 29, 2007

  Aluminum markets showed a third-quarter surplus as demand slowed in the United States and Europe but continued to grow in emerging markets, according to Paul Williams, CRU International Ltd. aluminum semis research manager.

• BHP settles ’08 TC/RC with Indian smelter [UPDATE] Nov 29, 2007

  BHP Billiton, majority owner of Minera Escondida Ltda. in Chile, has settled a copper treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) contract for 2008 with an unidentified Indian smelter at $45 per tonne/4.5 cents a pound, according to trade sources.

• CVRD, North American units get new names Nov 29, 2007

  Brazil’s Cia. Vale do Rio Doce has changed its name to Vale, and its North American subsidiaries are going along for the ride.

• North American aluminum shipments, inventories off Nov 29, 2007

  North American aluminum demand in September fell 4.5 percent from the previous month and is off 3.8 percent for the year to date, according to the latest data from the Aluminum Association.

• Judge nixes Grupo Mexico bid to re-assert control of Asarco Nov 29, 2007

  A division of Grupo Mexico SA de CV has lost another attempt to reclaim control of copper producer Asarco LLC, Tucson, Ariz.

• Smelters fear BHP copper dominance with Rio in fold Nov 29, 2007

  Copper smelters have raised concerns over BHP Billiton’s potential dominance of the concentrates market if it acquires Rio Tinto.

• Smelters fear BHP copper dominance with Rio in fold Nov 28, 2007

  Copper smelters have raised concerns over BHP Billiton’s potential dominance of the concentrates market if it acquires Rio Tinto.

• Ormet narrows quarterly loss as sales soar Nov 28, 2007

  Ormet Corp., Hannibal, Ohio, trimmed its third-quarter net loss to less than $19.6 million from nearly $33.9 million in the same period last year as sales more than tripled to more than $130.5 million.

• Anglo OKs 77% production hike at Los Bronces Nov 28, 2007

  Anglo American Plc, London, has decided to go ahead with plans to increase production at the Los Bronces copper mine in Chile in a $1.7-billion project that will raise its capacity by 77 percent.

• Sino-Mining signs deal to restart North Korea’s largest copper mine Nov 28, 2007

  Sino-Mining International Investment Co. Ltd. has established a joint venture with North Korea’s Hysen Youth Copper Co. to restart a copper mine in the Communist nation.

• Century turns on new cells at Iceland smelter Nov 28, 2007

  Century Aluminum Co.’s wholly owned subsidiary in Iceland, Nordural ehf, has energized the cells of the 40,000-tonne expansion at its Grundartangi smelter.

• Stillwater executive resigns from company Nov 28, 2007

  Stillwater Mining Co. said late Wednesday that its chief operating officer, Stephen Lang, will resign to join another mining company.

• Aluminum in surplus as US, European demand slows Nov 28, 2007

  Aluminum markets showed a third-quarter surplus as demand slowed in the United States and Europe but continued to grow in emerging nations, according to Paul Williams, CRU International Ltd. aluminum semis research manager.

• Minmetals’ $376/tonne offer wins Nalco tender Nov 28, 2007

  The National Aluminium Co. (Nalco) tender for 30,000 tonnes of alumina was won by China Minmetals Corp. with a bid of $376.10 per tonne f.o.b. Visakhapatnam on India’s eastern coast.

• Alcoa plant certification geared at aircraft plans Nov 28, 2007

  Alcoa Inc., Pittsburgh, has received approval from the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program (Nadcap) for ultrasonic inspection and heat-treated forged products at its Samara manufacturing facility in Russia.

• Breakwater still tallying El Mochito output loss Nov 28, 2007

  Breakwater Resources Ltd., Toronto, has yet to determine how much zinc and lead production will be lost following a leak at the Soledad tailings impoundment area at its El Mochito Mine in Honduras.

• Elkem taps Holen to succeed Thuestad as CEO Nov 28, 2007

  Elkem AS, Oslo, Norway, has named Helge Holen as its new president and chief executive officer effective Dec. 21.