Nonferrous

• INTL FCStone’s ring-dealing sales top MF Global: Demler Oct 19, 2012

  Almost a year after the dramatic bankruptcy filing of MF Global Holdings Ltd., its former London Metal Exchange metals team is housed at INTL FCStone Inc. with higher ring-dealing revenue than it had before, according to Fred Demler, global head of metals.

• Boeing steps up titanium scrap recovery efforts Oct 19, 2012

  Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) is stepping up its titanium scrap recovery efforts, as it expects today’s surpluses in both secondary material and mill products to disappear by 2014.

• Solid demand for aluminum extrusions in ’13: Davenport Oct 19, 2012

  Davenport & Co. LLC is optimistic about aluminum extrusion demand for next year, predicting increases in five key end markets.

• Skana eyes transformer windings market Oct 19, 2012

  Skana Aluminum Co.’s recent purchase of Scott Aluminum Corp. in West Virginia will allow Manitowoc, Wis.-based Skana to increase its exposure in certain markets, according to one of the company’s top executives.

• Storm misses Baja mine but closure looms Oct 19, 2012

  Baja Mining Corp. closed its copper-cobalt-zinc-manganese Boleo project for nearly 24 hours as Tropical Storm Paul moved along Mexico’s Pacific coast, but the mine in Baja California Sur could be facing permanent closure if its financing situation remains unresolved, an executive told AMM.

• First Nickel increases output at Lockerby Mine in 3d qtr. Oct 19, 2012

  First Nickel Inc. produced 2 million pounds of payable nickel and 1.4 million pounds of payable copper from its Lockerby Mine in Sudbury, Ontario, during the third quarter, compared with production of 1.6 million pounds of nickel and 1.2 million pounds of copper during the second quarter.

• Sellers try to lock in 2013 ferroalloys contracts Oct 19, 2012

  Annual ferroalloys contract talks for 2013 are starting to kick off, with buyers reporting an eagerness among suppliers to lock in business for next year.

• Eager sellers drop prices on low-carbon ferrochrome Oct 19, 2012

  Low-carbon ferrochrome prices have softened as declining demand and a need to lower inventory before the end of the year brought sellers to the market.

• Commerce rules aluminum fencing subject to duty orders Oct 19, 2012

  The Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration (ITA) has determined that aluminum fence sections, posts and gates from American Fence Manufacturing LLC and individual components of modular aluminum railing systems from Peak Products America Inc. are subject to anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders on aluminum extrusions from China.

• USTR seeks candidates for Nafta review panel Oct 19, 2012

  The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office is requesting applications to serve on a North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) binational panel to review final determinations in anti-dumping and countervailing duty proceedings.

• US regulatory changes‘wrenching’: INTL FCStone Oct 19, 2012

  The regulatory changes currently being imposed on the U.S. commodities and broader financial markets are chaotic and “wrenching” on market participants, the chief executive officer of INTL FCStone Inc. told AMM.

• DLA ferrochrome offer concerns suppliers Oct 19, 2012

  Domestic suppliers of high-carbon ferrochrome have expressed concern that DLA Strategic Materials’ offer this past week, the first in 17 months, may lead to a further decrease in prices.

• Vale’s nickel production falls Oct 18, 2012

  Vale SA produced 49,000 tonnes of nickel during the third quarter, down 15.7 percent from the same period last year due largely to maintenance shutdowns at its mines in Sudbury, Ontario, and Thompson, Manitoba, and operational issues at Onça Puma in Brazil.

• Aluminum billet talks nearly complete Oct 18, 2012

  The Aluminum Association's and Aluminum Extruders Council’s fall meeting in Chicago is traditionally more a jumping off point for 2013 contract talks, but with the majority of next year’s deals already inked, this year’s event was a different story.

• Fuel standards said plus for aluminum Oct 18, 2012

  Aluminum producers have been preparing for an uptick in demand from automakers ahead of stricter fuel economy standards for vehicles, although some warn that there may be a "watering down" of the 54.5-miles-per-gallon goal.

• JCI in $125M deal to acquire A123’s automotive assets Oct 18, 2012

  Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI) has struck a deal to acquire the automotive assets of electric and hybrid vehicle battery manufacturer A123 Systems Inc., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this week.

• MacTung permitting could be completed by mid-2013: Leahy Oct 18, 2012

  Permitting for North American Tungsten Corp. Ltd.’s proposed MacTung tungsten mine in Canada’s Yukon Territory could be completed by mid-2013, the company’s top executive told AMM.

• Turkey poised to carry copper demand Oct 18, 2012

  Turkey and the Middle East will be key areas of demand going forward, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. senior vice president of sales and marketing Javier Targhetta told AMM.

• Chinese ferrosilicon producers raise offer prices Oct 18, 2012

  Most Chinese ferrosilicon producers lifted their offer prices slightly this week after inquiries began to pick up.

• Europe growing dependent on imports, says Eurometaux Oct 18, 2012

  The European Union has grown dependent on imports even for basic commodities, such as zinc, aluminum and copper, the head of nonferrous metals lobbying group Eurometaux said in an exclusive interview with AMM sister publication Metal Bulletin.

• Aluminum products excluded from import duties Oct 18, 2012

  Banner stands and back wall kits imported and sold by Skyline Displays Inc. should be excluded from anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders on aluminum extrusions from China, the Commerce Department has determined.

• Chinese smelters resume operation after water pollution scare Oct 18, 2012

  Lead and zinc smelters in the Hechi region of China’s Guangxi province are gradually restarting production, according to the country’s official Xinhua news agency.

• Royal Nickel in partnership talks Oct 18, 2012

  Royal Nickel Corp. is in discussions with various nickel and stainless steel companies interested in directly processing nickel concentrate from the company’s Dumont project in Quebec into high-grade ferronickel.

• Newmont’s copper output pulls back in third quarter Oct 18, 2012

  Newmont Mining Corp.’s third-quarter copper production fell 8 percent compared with the preceding three months and 39.7 percent from a year earlier.