Nonferrous

• India’s Hindalco expects to restart copper plant in June May 29, 2013

  India’s Hindalco Industries Ltd. expects to restart the country’s second-largest copper smelter in early June after a month of planned maintenance, a company official told AMM sister publication Metal Bulletin May 29.

• Alcoa joint venture finishes water recycling project May 28, 2013

  Alcoa Inc. and Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Ma’aden) have completed a new engineered wetlands wastewater recycling project at their joint-venture plant in Ras Al Khair, Saudi Arabia.

• US aluminum billet premiums inch up May 28, 2013

  Aluminum billet sector outlooks continue to diverge as some market players bank on a strong second half while others don’t expect any significant changes until annual price negotiations later this year.

• North American Tungsten falls into the red May 28, 2013

  North American Tungsten Corp. Ltd. has fallen into the red on lower revenue due to reduced market prices for tungsten.

• Ormet seeking more time to file Ch. 11 plan May 28, 2013

  Bankrupt aluminum producer Ormet Corp. is seeking an extension on its deadline to file a Chapter 11 reorganization plan.

• Rio offers Japan aluminum at higher premium in 3d qtr. May 28, 2013

  Rio Tinto Alcan Inc.’s initial offer for third-quarter aluminum premiums in Japan is above second-quarter premiums, three trading sources told AMM sister publication Metal Bulletin.

• Ronald Schumann, owner of I. Schumann & Co., dies at 67 May 28, 2013

  Ronald Louis Schumann, vice chairman and owner of I. Schumann & Co. LLC, died May 17 after a short battle with lung cancer. He was 67.

• Kazakhmys sells MKM for $54 million May 28, 2013

  Diversified miner Kazakhmys Plc has sold Germany-based semifinished copper products manufacturer Mansfelder Kupfer und Messing GmbH (MKM) for €42 million ($54 million) to a European family-owned company.

• Chrome mine strike ends as Lanxess agrees to bonuses May 28, 2013

  Employees returned to work at Lanxess AG’s chrome mine in Rustenburg, South Africa, on May 27, ending an illegal strike that started May 16, the company said.

• Valtimet shipping titanium tube for Qatar plant May 28, 2013

  Valtimet Inc. has begun sending welded titanium tubes more than 85 feet long to Savannah, Ga., for shipment this summer to the Ras Abu Fontas desalination plant in Qatar.

• Zinc premiums jump in New Orleans May 24, 2013

  Offers for special-high-grade (SHG) zinc in New Orleans have risen considerably in recent weeks, according to market participants.

• Zimbabwe miners reject state minerals control May 24, 2013

  The Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe, a private industry group, is set to reject the government’s proposal to auction off mineral deposits and control the production of strategic commodities, AMM sister publication Metal Bulletin has learned.

• Novelis to boost automotive sheet production in Europe May 24, 2013

  Novelis Inc. is adapting its plant in Goettingen, Germany, to meet growing demand for recyclable aluminum automotive sheet.

• Felman cutback may lift silicomanganese prices May 24, 2013

  Silicomanganese market participants say Felman Production LLC’s decision to idle one of its furnaces could tighten up supply enough for prices to increase, with all eyes focusing on the outcome of a reported tender from steelmaker Nucor Corp.

• Kennecott lays off 100 following wall slide May 24, 2013

  Kennecott Utah Copper said it has laid off about 100 workers as the company looks to reduce operating costs following an April 10 wall slide at its Bingham Canyon Mine.

• Ferrochrome outlook mixed amid demand uncertainty May 24, 2013

  Ferrochrome prices remained steady this past week, but with an uncertain demand outlook traders are divided on whether the market is poised for price increases or further drops.

• Kennecott moly likely to avoid force majeure May 24, 2013

  Kennecott Utah Copper is not likely to declare force majeure for molybdenum, having managed to cover its contract commitments through ongoing mine production and purchased concentrates.

• Cost-cutting sees Bonnell through tough times: exec May 24, 2013

  Bonnell Aluminum Inc.’s cost-cutting measures during the recession should benefit the extruder as the economy recovers and opportunities in the automotive sector rev up, says incoming president W. Brook Hamilton.

• Canada launches probe of copper tube imports May 24, 2013

  The Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) has initiated a preliminary anti-dumping duty investigation on imports of circular copper tube (outer diameter of 0.2 to 4.25 inches), excluding industrial and coated or insulated copper tube, from Brazil, China, Greece, Mexico and South Korea, as well as a countervailing duty investigation on the same product from China.

• Grupo México planning to boost copper output 70% May 24, 2013

  Mexican mining company Grupo México SAB de CV plans to increase its copper production nearly 70 percent to 1.4 million tonnes annually over the next five years, according to a senior executive.

• Ferbasa’s sales fall 11.5 percent in April May 24, 2013

  Net sales at Brazilian ferroalloys producer Cia. de Ferro Ligas da Bahia (Ferbasa) fell 11.2 percent year on year in April after it shipped lower tonnages of low-carbon ferrochrome and ferrosilicon.

• Novelis idles aluminum plate production line at Brazil plant May 24, 2013

  Novelis Inc. has decided to close an aluminum plate production line at its Ouro Preto unit in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state.

• Paranapanema will boost concentrate purchases May 24, 2013

  Brazilian copper producer Paranapanema SA will buy 51 percent more copper concentrate this year to feed a 27-percent expansion in its finished copper output.

• McEwen seeks buyer for Argentine copper asset May 24, 2013

  McEwen Mining Inc. is looking to sell its Los Azules copper deposit in Argentina’s San Juan province, but the country is not proving to be attractive to investors, according to chairman, president and chief executive officer Rob McEwen.