Nonferrous

• Companies challenge Commerce on aluminum extrusions Nov 28, 2012

  Valeo Inc., Valeo Climate Control Corp. and Valeo Engine Cooling Inc. are challenging a Commerce Department determination that certain aluminum parts for automotive heating and cooling systems that the companies import are within the scope of anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders on aluminum extrusions from China.

• Advisory Council opposes A123 Systems' deal Nov 28, 2012

  The Strategic Materials Advisory Council is urging the U.S. government to oppose the proposed acquisition of battery manufacturer A123 Systems Inc. by Chinese automotive parts manufacturer Wanxiang Group Corp.

• Royal Nickel eyes Dumont permit Nov 28, 2012

  Royal Nickel Corp. (RNC) has filed an environmental and social impact assessment for its Dumont nickel project in Quebec.

• Consumers want more P1020 in Jan. Nov 28, 2012

  Consumer declarations for January are showing that demand is slightly higher than usual, one trader told AMM.

• Copper mine output will be more than forecast: Jiangxi Nov 28, 2012

  Global copper mine output will increase next year by more than the "mild" 6.4 percent forecast by the International Copper Study Group (ICSG), according to a top executive from China’s largest copper smelter.

• Caserones copper project will produce in 2013: Mitsui Nov 28, 2012

  The Caserones copper project in Chile is on track to start production in 2013, Mitsui & Co. Ltd. said Wednesday on the sidelines of AMM sister publication Metal Bulletin’s 8th Asia Copper Conference in Shanghai.

• Codelco cuts Chinese premiums Nov 28, 2012

  Corporacion Nacional del Cobre de chile (Codelco) has agreed to cuts in contract copper premiums to China of up to $12 in 2013 from $110 this year.

• C. Steinweg halts deliveries of VSMPO ferrotitanium Nov 28, 2012

  Warehousing company C. Steinweg Handelsveen BV has told customers that it is unable to handle certain ferrotitanium parcels stored in its Rotterdam facilities because material obtained from Russian producer VSMPO-Avisma Corp. might be contaminated with asbestos, market sources said.

• Aluminum distributors report surpluses Nov 27, 2012

  Aluminum service centers are reporting a surplus of certain products, with lead times for some alloys as short as two-and-a-half months.

• SHG zinc contracts for 2013 almost settled Nov 27, 2012

  Special-high-grade (SHG) zinc premiums for 2013 appear to have been settled mostly at between 7.5 and 8.5 cents per pound.

• Silicomanganese prices slip Nov 27, 2012

  Silicomanganese prices have fallen as large quantities of material have been sold at lower levels recently after weeks of little activity.

• Aluminum scrap prices rise, alloys steady Nov 27, 2012

  Free-market aluminum scrap prices have risen alongside a bump in London Metal Exchange pricing, with alloy producers attempting to push alloy tags higher as their scrap costs increase.

• European aluminum billet contract volumes improve Nov 27, 2012

  Aluminum billet contract volumes for the first quarter of next year improved last week, with producers reporting larger-tonnage deals than in previous weeks to customers that had earlier rejected similar offers as too high.

• Trade court reinstates old magnesium duty Nov 26, 2012

  The U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) has reinstated the results of an anti-dumping administrative review of magnesium metal from Russia in 2006 and 2007.

• First Quantum’s Kansanshi copper smelter receives ‘go’ Nov 26, 2012

  First Quantum Minerals Ltd. has received approval from Zambian authorities to start building its $640-million Kansanshi copper smelter in Solwezi, but has been warned not to process uranium entrained concentrates.

• Alcoa, ABI union extend contract talks Nov 26, 2012

  Alcoa Inc. and the United Steelworkers union agreed to a five-day extension of a contract covering more than 900 workers at its Aluminerie de Bécancour Inc. (ABI) smelter in Quebec.

• LME warehouses in China ‘more than necessary,’ exec says Nov 26, 2012

  It is "more than necessary" for the London Metal Exchange to establish warehouses in China, the world’s largest metals trading venue, JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive director of global commodities Christian Schirmeister told AMM sister publication Metal Bulletin.

• Xstrata finishes first line at Koniambo site Nov 26, 2012

  Xstrata Nickel, a subsidiary of Swiss miner Xstrata Plc, has completed the first production line at its Koniambo nickel project in New Caledonia.

• Trade court upholds higher duty on Chinese magnesium Nov 26, 2012

  The U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) has accepted the remand results in an appeal of an anti-dumping duty administrative review of pure magnesium from China from May 1, 2008, to April 30, 2009.

• Last Mount Hope permit received Nov 26, 2012

  General Moly Inc. has received the final permit for its Mount Hope molybdenum project in Nevada.

• Calif. firms fighting emission auctions Nov 26, 2012

  Corporations in California are challenging the state’s greenhouse gas cap-and-trade auctions.

• Ruling vs. China aluminum extrusion imports appealed Nov 21, 2012

  The U.S. Aluminum Extrusions Fair Trade Committee has appealed a final ruling on an anti-dumping and countervailing duty scope order covering aluminum extrusions from China involving aluminum anodes for water heaters imported by A.O. Smith Corp.

• Lean stocks to help aluminum survival: Kaiser Nov 21, 2012

  Lean inventories and strong end markets mean aluminum service centers and mills will survive if the economy worsens and markets tank next year, Kaiser Aluminum Corp. president, chief executive officer and chairman Jack Hockema told AMM Wednesday.

• Vale closure spurs higher nickel offers Nov 21, 2012

  Nickel market participants are already reporting higher inter-trade offers for plating-grade metal as premiums are expected to rise next year due to the announced closure of Vale SA’s refinery in Thompson, Manitoba.