Nonferrous

• Wolverine Tube reduces third-quarter loss by 70% Nov 24, 2009

  Copper tube and pipe maker Wolverine Tube Inc. remains in the red, but it slashed its third-quarter loss by nearly 70 percent to $7.2 million from $23.9 million in the same period last year.

• Wolverine Tube slashes 3d-quarter loss by 70% (UPDATE) Nov 24, 2009

  Copper tube and pipe maker Wolverine Tube Inc. remains in the red, but it slashed its third-quarter loss by nearly 70 percent to $7.2 million from $23.9 million in the same period last year.

• Aug. copper mart surplus widens: ICSG Nov 23, 2009

  The global copper market’s surplus increased in August as China and the European Union cut their apparent usage, according to preliminary data from the International Copper Study Group (ICSG).

• MMTA turns down price discovery system Nov 23, 2009

  The Minor Metals Trade Association voted against plans for the association to look at launching an online price discovery system alongside the London Metal Exchange.

• Nyrstar to close French facility Nov 23, 2009

  Belgium’s Nyrstar NV will close its GM-Metal SAS facility in France within the next couple of months.

• Assmang shuts ferrochrome furnace for rebuild Nov 23, 2009

  Assmang Ltd. has closed one of the four ferrochrome furnaces at its Machadodorp smelter in South Africa for rebuilding, a company source said.

• US brass mill imports, exports fall in Sept. Nov 23, 2009

  U.S. brass mill imports and exports fell in September compared with the same month last year, according to the Copper and Brass Fabricators Council. Imports of brass mill products totaled 37 million pounds, down 21.7 percent from 47.3 million pounds in September 2008.

• Moly tags up but spot business slow Nov 23, 2009

  U.S. molybdenum prices have skipped off the floor, but there’s little optimism for further recovery until year-end.

• Spence Mine strikers accept BHP offer Nov 23, 2009

  Union members at BHP Billiton’s Spence copper mine in Chile have agreed to accept a labor contract proposal from the company, ending a six-week strike, according to a union official

• Titanium players still feeling fallout from ongoing criminal case Nov 23, 2009

  Fallout from an ongoing criminal case is turning into an ongoing headache for a number of players in the titanium supply chain.

• Molybdenum prices up in US but spot business remains slow Nov 23, 2009

  U.S. molybdenum prices have skipped off the floor, but there’s little optimism for further recovery until year-end.

• Cliffs buying Canadian chromite deposits Nov 23, 2009

  Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. has agreed to buy the “Ring of Fire” chromite properties of Freewest Resources Canada Inc.

• Belgium's Nyrstar to close French zinc alloy facility Nov 23, 2009

  Belgium’s Nyrstar NV will close its GM-Metal SAS facility in France within the next couple of months, it said.

• Wolverine logs $7.2M loss in 3d qtr. Nov 20, 2009

  Copper tube and pipe maker Wolverine Tube Inc. posted a $7.2-million loss in the third quarter, narrowing from a loss of $23.9 million in the same period in 2008.

• US brass mill imports, exports fall in Sept. Nov 20, 2009

  Both U.S. imports and exports of brass mill products declined in September compared with the same month last year, according to the Copper and Brass Fabricators Council.

• Light metal surplus up in 1st 9 months of ’09 Nov 20, 2009

  The global primary aluminum market recorded a surplus of 1.4 million tonnes in the first nine months of this year, up 44.9 percent from a 977,000-tonne surplus in the same period last year, according to figures from the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS).

• World aluminum surplus up in 1st 9 months of 2009 Nov 20, 2009

  The global primary aluminum market recorded a surplus of 1.4 million tonnes in the first nine months of this year, up 44.9 percent from a 977,000-tonne surplus in the same period last year, according to figures from the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS).

• Noranda, Alcan warn US against ending wire duty Nov 20, 2009

  The development of a renewable energy grid across the United States could be a boon for the struggling aluminum cable industry, but if one Indian wire manufacturer has its way it might be foreign suppliers, not domestic ones, who reap the benefits, two major fabricators of the light metal warn.

• Noranda, Alcan warn US against lifting aluminum wire duty Nov 20, 2009

  The development of a renewable energy grid across the United States could be a boon for the struggling aluminum cable industry, but if one Indian wire manufacturer has its way it might be foreign suppliers, not domestic ones, who reap the benefits, two major fabricators of the light metal warn.

• Copper scrap cools as Asia exits mart Nov 20, 2009

  Stronger copper prices are scaring Asian buyers out of the scrap trade, and traders say the secondary market is cooling down while copper futures heat up.

• China aluminum costs seen rising $60/T on power tariffs Nov 20, 2009

  China’s new electricity tariffs will add around $60 per tonne to aluminum production costs, market sources estimated.

• Global aluminum output climbs in Oct. Nov 20, 2009

  Global aluminum production last month approached levels not seen since October 2008, driven by a 17-percent year-over-year increase in China, according to the latest data from the International Aluminium Institute.

• Alcoa idles Italian smelters after EC energy tariff ruling Nov 20, 2009

  Alcoa Inc. will temporarily curtail all production at its aluminum smelters in Fusina and Portovesme, Italy, after the European Commission ruled that the company must repay a portion of its Italian energy tariff.

• Ferrochrome prices remain level, but conditions mixed Nov 20, 2009

  The U.S. ferrochrome spot market remains in a narrow but stable range as U.S. prices are buoyed by high South African power costs and a strong rand despite dull North American stainless and specialty steel demand.