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Rio Tinto Alcan has pledged more than $1 billion in funding to press ahead with long-standing greenfield and brownfield projects in Canada, including the first phase of its new smelter at Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean in Quebec and work on the modernization of its Kitimat smelter in British Columbia.
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Spot ferrosilicon prices are falling in the United States as concerns about a supply squeeze ease amid expectations of fresh material arriving from China early next year.
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Spot ferrosilicon prices are falling in the United States as concerns about a supply squeeze ease amid expectations of fresh material arriving from China early next year.
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A fire at titanium producer Perryman Co. was quickly brought under control without loss or injury, the company said.
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Rio Tinto Alcan has pledged more than $1 billion in funding to press ahead with longstanding green- and brownfield projects in Canada, including the first phase of its new smelter at Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean in Quebec and work on the modernization of its Kitimat smelter in British Columbia.
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Chinese production of base metals increased in November, with copper, nickel and lead surging to new highs and aluminum logging its first gain in five months.
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Norsk Hydro ASA’s $4.9-billion acquisition of Vale SA’s aluminum assets has been delayed by regulatory hurdles and will close in the first half of 2011 rather than by the end of this year.
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Novelis Inc. outlined plans Tuesday to shut its foil rolling operations in Bridgnorth, England, by the end of April 2011, adding that it might also sell its printed confectionery packaging business at the site.
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Molycorp Inc. has completed the permitting required to start construction on a rare earths manufacturing facility at its Mountain Pass, Calif., mine aimed at boosting output 535 percent. The project secured a streambed-alteration agreement from the California Department of Fish and Game, and a groundbreaking ceremony has been scheduled for Jan. 2. Construction should last 18 months, Greenwood Village, Colo.-based Molycorp said, adding that it has begun pre-stripping operations in the mine in advance of new ore production. Molycorp produces 3,000 tonnes of rare earths annually, and the new facility will boost that to 19,050 tonnes per year by the end of 2012. Last week the company signed a new rare earths offtake and financing agreement for the plant with Japan’s Sumitomo Corp.
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China will raise export taxes on some rare earths beginning Jan. 1 as part of its annual round of customs tax changes. No specific details of the tax adjustments were given in a statement published on the Chinese Finance Ministry’s Web site. It said merely that the move would “regulate the export price” of some rare earths. The announcement likely will deepen concerns among overseas consumers that China intends to sharply restrict exports of rare earths. The Chinese government has said it wants to prevent over-exploitation of resources and minimize the environmental impact of mining. The prospect of a tighter supply from China, the source of most of the world’s rare earths output, has already sent big consumers scrambling for major alternative sources around the world, including Australia, India and Vietnam. The announcement also suggested that current import and export tariffs on nonferrous metals would remain unchanged.
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Building work has started at the Perkoa zinc mine in Burkina Faso, managed and operated by Glencore International AG in collaboration with Blackthorn Resources Ltd. The two companies signed a joint-venture agreement in November and are now ordering equipment, carrying out earthworks and preparing for an optimization study, Sydney, Australia-based Blackthorn told investors. The partners aim to produce the first ore in early 2011. Zug, Switzerland-based Glencore holds a 51-percent interest in the Perkoa Mine and is providing $50 million in project equity and $30 million in financing. The project has ore reserves of 6.3 million tonnes grading 13.9 percent zinc, equal to 873,400 tonnes of contained zinc metal.
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MMC Norilsk Nickel has sold its entire majority stake in Canadian platinum and palladium producer Stillwater Mining Co. in an oversubscribed share placement as part of its drive to sell certain assets and focus on its core business. Through wholly owned subsidiary Norimet Ltd., Norilsk sold 37 million shares of its 49.8-million-share interest to the public at an offering price of $19.50 per share, netting proceeds of $721.5 million. The Dudinka, Russia-based nickel producer in 2003 had paid $100 million in cash and 877,000 ounces of palladium for the stake in Billings, Mont.-based Stillwater. In addition to the public offering, underwriters Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, JPMorgan Securities LLC, UBS Securities LLC and VTB Capital Plc exercised an over-allotment option to buy 3.8 million additional shares. Norimet sold the remaining 9 million shares to UBS in an exchangeable note offer.
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HudBay Minerals Inc. will increase its annual exploration budget by more than 40 percent next year as two of its major ore-producing assets near the end of their production.
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Novelis Inc. outlined plans Tuesday to shut its foil rolling operations in Bridgnorth, England, by the end of April 2011, adding that it might also sell its printed confectionery packaging business at the site.
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MMC Norilsk Nickel has sold its entire majority stake in Canadian platinum and palladium producer Stillwater Mining Co. in an oversubscribed share placement as part of the company’s drive to sell certain assets and focus on its core business.
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Molycorp Inc. has completed permitting required to start construction on a rare earths manufacturing facility at its Mountain Pass, Calif., mine aimed at increasing production by 535 percent.
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The backwardation in the cash-to-three-month copper spread widened Monday on the London Metal Exchange as the short and long position holders battled ahead of the third Wednesday prompt date as prices soared to all-time highs.
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Tin industry group Itri announced Monday it has signed an agreement with the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) to collaborate on tin traceability and due-diligence schemes in central Africa.
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Copper and gold concentrate production at Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.’s Oyu Tolgoi Mine in southern Mongolia could start by the fourth quarter of 2012, several months earlier than the company originally projected.
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Three workers died as a result of an explosion Thursday at AL Solutions Inc.’s West Virginia plant.
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BHP Billiton allegedly pushed the Australian government to delay its decision on a proposed $19.5-billion deal between fellow miner Rio Tinto Plc and Aluminium Corp. of China (Chinalco).
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ZincOx Resources Plc and Korea Zinc Co. Ltd. have signed a letter of intent for a 10-year offtake agreement for the total production of unwashed zinc concentrate from ZincOx’s South Korean recycling plant, which is expected to start up in the first quarter of 2012.
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Copper and gold concentrate production at Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.’s Oyu Tolgoi Mine in southern Mongolia could start by the fourth quarter of 2012, several months earlier than the company originally projected.
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Two Tennessee aluminum recyclers hope to secure a permit to build a 90-acre landfill for salt cakes, despite residents’ objections last week at a public hearing.