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Itochu sees iron ore and coking coal prices in 2017

Economic Times quoted Itochu Corp's Chief Financial Officer as saying that the firm is maintaining its earlier assumption that natural resource prices such as iron ore and coking coal will weaken later this year, despite a recent rally.

Mr Tsuyoshi Hachimura CFO speaking at an earnings news conference said that higher prices of iron ore and coking coal boosted the company's first-quarter earnings, but prices of the steel-making ingredients are likely to fall as supply will increase and China's steel output may be capped.

Mr Hachimura also said Itochu wants to slightly increase its interests in oil and gas assets, and fresh energy investment may be made on its own or with Chinese partner CITIC.

Source : Economic Times
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This Week's Raw Steel Production
Sign up for the weekly Raw Steel Update newsletter.

In the week ending on August 5, 2017, domestic raw steel production was 1,762,000 net tons while the capability utilization rate was 75.6 percent. Production was 1,658,000 net tons in the week ending August 5, 2016 while the capability utilization then was 70.9 percent. The current week production represents a 6.3 percent increase from the same period in the previous year.

Production for the week ending August 5, 2017 is down 0.4 percent from the previous week ending July 29, 2017 when production was 1,769,000 net tons and the rate of capability utilization was 75.9 percent.

Adjusted year-to-date production through August 5, 2017 was 53,870,000 net tons, at a capability utilization rate of 74.5 percent. That is up 2.7 percent from the 52,451,000 net tons during the same period last year, when the capability utilization rate was 72.4 percent.

Broken down by districts, here's production for the week ending August 5, 2017 in thousands of net tons: North East: 215; Great Lakes: 662; Midwest: 164; Southern: 642 and Western: 79 for a total of 1762.

The Raw Steel production tonnage provided in this report is estimated. The figures are compiled from weekly production tonnage provided from 50% of the domestic producers combined with monthly production data for the remainder.

Therefore, this report should be used primarily to assess production trends. The AISI production report "AIS 7", published monthly and available by subscription, provides a more detailed summary of steel production based on data supplied by companies representing 75% of U.S. production capacity.  

Note: Capability for the Third Quarter 2017 is approximately 30.6 million tons compared to 30.7 million tons for the same period last year and 30.3 million tons for the Second Quarter of 2017.

www.steel.org/about-aisi/statistics.aspx
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He, Voda.

Ik zie dat je nog steeds onverminderd doorgaat met nieuwsberichten.
Het forum heb ik zo´n twee maanden geleden gelaten voor wat het was, nu zie ik wederom verschillende aliassen en een beetje gelijke sfeer.

Groeten vanuit Mexico

Ozzy
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Tata Steel optimistic about steel demand growth in India

Business Standard reported that Tata Steel on Tuesday said it was optimistic about the prospects of the steel sector in India and hopes to ramp up the production capacity of its Odisha plant to capture growing opportunities. Addressing shareholders at the company’s 110th annual general meeting here, Tata Steel chairman Mr N Chandrasekaran said the global steel demand is expected to grow 1.3 per cent in 2017 and 0.9 per cent in 2018. He said “Demand for steel in China will remain flattish, while in Euro zone, it would be mildly positive. Steel demand in the country is expected to grow significantly at 6-7 per cent per annum in the next two years.”

He told “We are optimistic of 2017-18 being a better year for the domestic industry and we are set to capture these opportunities. We will endeavor to ramp up our production capacity, particularly at Kalinganagar and leverage our new and differentiated product range.”

Source : Business Standard
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Dongbei Steel restructuring plan gets creditor approval - Report

Reuters reported that creditors of Dongbei Special Steel Group Co Ltd have approved a draft plan to restructure the stricken northeastern Chinese steelmaker. An official with the company's public relations office told Reuters the plan was passed at a creditors' meeting on Tuesday morning. He gave no further details.

People with direct knowledge of the matter said the plan was approved by over 80 percent of the 429 creditors attending the meeting.

Under the terms of the agreement, creditors owed more than CNY 500,000 (USD 75,000) can either convert their debt to equity or be repaid 22.09 percent in cash. Creditors owed less than CNY 500,000 yuan will be paid in full.

The plan was submitted to the court in Dongbei's home city of Dalian last month.

The government has been urging struggling state-owned enterprises to convert debt to equity after introducing new guidelines last year.

According to the most recent data, the total liabilities of state firms reached CNY 94.13 trillion as at the end of June, up 11.4 percent compared with the same period of last year.

Source : Reuters
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Mr Chandrasekaran defends Corus buyout by Tata Steel

Business Line reported that Mr N Chandrasekaran Chairman of Tata Steel, clarifying on the controversy raised by estranged former Chairman Mr Cyrus Mistry, said that the acquisition of Corus PLC by Tata Steel in 2007 was part of the long term strategy to grow business through international acquisitions. Addressing shareholders at the company's 110th annual general meeting, Chandrasekaran said certain specific issues relating to past decisions of the company on acquisition of Corus and the company’s communication with the promoter, Tata Sons, were raised last fiscal.

The international growth strategy was to focus on accessing new markets, sourcing raw materials, enhancing the technology capability and developing high-end premium products and Corus Group Plc provided a natural fit for the international portfolio, including the identified synergies.

Denying the allegations on Tuesday, Mr Chandrasekaran said the value of Corus has increased since the initial bid, in line with the commodity price boom, its underlying performance and the transaction process. In the first financial year after the acquisition, the EBITDA of Tata Steel UK, which was the SPV which acquired Corus, was GBP 1,038 million, compared to GBP 687 million in the previous year. However, the sudden and unprecedented scale of the global financial crisis in 2008 had a very significant negative impact on the industry fundamentals in Europe, which impacted the performance of Corus, he said.

The board was deeply involved in all the deliberations on Corus that took place over multiple board meetings and had approved the acquisition of Corus on a consensus basis, he said.

Last November, Mr Mistry accused former Chairman Mr Ratan Tata of making the Corus acquisition an 'ego' issue and over-paid for acquiring the company. Mr Mistry had said that some board members had reservations on Tata pushing for the acquisition of Corus for over $12 billion, as a year earlier it was available at half that price.

Source : Business Line
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Rizhao orders Through-Process Optimization solution for entire production route from Primetals Technologies

Chinese steel producer Rizhao Steel Group Co Ltd awarded Primetals Technologies with an order for implementing the newly developed Through-Process Optimization solution (TPO). The order compromises of the intelligent Through-Process Quality Control System (TPQC), a newly developed Industry

Source : Strategic Research Institute
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New solid lubricant shown to reduce friction and wear on steel surfaces

phys.org reported that researchers have created a new type of non-liquid lubricant that has been shown to reduce friction and wear significantly under the extreme conditions found in various applications, from air compressors to missile systems. The new liquid-free composite is made from slurry of a material called graphene, zinc oxide, and the polymer polyvinylidene difluoride. Graphene is an extremely thin layer of carbon that has many potential technological applications, including lubrication.

Vilas Pol, an associate professor of chemical engineering at Purdue University, said "It has superior thermal conductivity, high strength and provides ultralow friction.”

The nanosize zinc-oxide particles the team developed allow the lubricant to stick to the metal surface, and the polymer binds the whole mixture together, said chemical engineering graduate student Arthur Dysart.

Solid lubricants are needed for applications such as air compressors, equipment used in the food industry, space vehicles, gear and chain mechanisms, fasteners found in high-temperature environments, missile systems, high-speed printers, hydraulic motors in winches, cranes and military vehicles, high-performance shredders and drilling rigs.

Farshid Sadeghi, Purdue's Cummins Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering, said "The fundamental causes of mechanical failure are friction and wear, so reducing these factors improves the performance and lifetime of many mechanical systems. Despite recent advances, liquid lubricants cannot be used in situations of high temperature or low pressure such as a vacuum environment, so dry solid-state lubricants are a viable alternative to their liquid counterparts in extreme operating environments."

Researchers tested stainless-steel surfaces coated with the new lubricant. Findings were detailed in a research paper published on July 11 in the in the journal Carbon.

Source : phys.org
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JSPL announces Q1 results

Press Trust of India reported that helped by higher revenue from operations, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd has reported narrowing of its consolidated net loss at INR 420.4 crore in the three months ended June 30. It posted a consolidated net loss of INR 1,238 crore in the April-June quarter a year ago. JSPL's total revenue from operations during the first quarter was at INR 6,126.6 crore, registering an increase of 19.5 per cent. The company's crude steel production was at 1.26 million tonnes on the consolidated level, as compared to 1.19 million tonne in the first quarter of FY2016-17

In a separate filing, the company said its board has approved raising INR 5,000 crore through issuance of non- convertible debentures on private placement basis. It said The board has also given its go ahead to increase the authorised share capital of the company from INR 200 crore to INR 300 crore.”

Source : Press Trust of India
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Metalloinvest signs long-term contracts with Evraz for supply of iron ore products
7 August 2017

Metalloinvest and Evraz have signed new long-term contracts for the supply of 3.4 mn tonnes of iron ore and pellets.

The contracts stipulate that Mikhailovsky GOK (part of Metalloinvest) will supply Evraz with 1.6 mn tonnes of pellets and 1.8 mn tonnes of iron ore concentrate before 30 June 2018.

Nazim Efendiev, First Deputy CEO, Sales Director, Management Company Metalloinvest, commented: “Supplying high-quality iron ore products to Russian steel companies on long-term contracts is a permanent priority for Metalloinvest. Metalloinvest and Evraz have been partners for many years, and our relationship is based on each party conscientiously implementing its commitments, as well as an understanding of our mutual interests.”

www.metalloinvest.com/en/media/press-...
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Metalloinvest announces early debt repayment
9 August 2017

Metalloinvest, a leading global iron ore and HBI producer and supplier, and one of the regional producers of high-quality steel, today announces the partial repayment of tranche B of PXF-2016 ahead of the scheduled maturity dates.
The redemption amounted to USD 100 mn.

www.metalloinvest.com/en/media/press-...
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Steel Wire Association of Malaysia to challenge safeguard duty in court

Edge Financial Daily reported that Steel Wire Association of Malaysia has obtained leave to pursue a court challenge against safeguard duties imposed by the international trade and industry ministry (Miti) on imported steel wire rods and deformed bar in coils. People familiar with the matter told The Edge Financial Daily that granted by the Kuala Lumpur High Court last week, the leave paves the way for the association to seek a court order to quash the safeguard duty.

The judicial review is only for the safeguard duties for SWR and DBIC, which was announced on April 13. The proceedings do not involve safeguard duties on imported steel concrete reinforcing bar (rebar) which was also announced on the same day.

It is learnt that the proceedings involve SWAM and Miti. The Malaysian Steel Association (MSA), whose petitions last year initiated the safeguard investigations that culminated in the safeguard duties, had applied to be part of the proceedings.

Rebar is mainly used for construction activities in Malaysia whereas SWR and DBIC are used by downstream steel manufacturers many of whom are SWAM members to produce steel wire mesh, fending and fasteners such as nuts, bolts and nails.

The duties for SWR and DBIC begin at 13.9% for the year up to April 14, 2018, then 12.9% and 11.9% respectively for the subsequent two years. Meanwhile for rebar, imports are slapped with a 13.42% import duty for 12 months up to April 13, 2018, followed by 12.27% and 11.1% each for the subsequent two years.

To recap, Miti had imposed the two duties after concluding two parallel safeguard investigations, which it initiated following safeguard petitions by the MSA in June 2016.

During the three-year period of safeguard duties, the petitioners would have to implement the individual adjustment plans submitted alongside their petitions. While plans vary, the steel mills had generally aimed to boost efficiency and productivity by improving processes and investing in plant upgrades and modifications, among others.

The MSA petitioners are Ann Joo Steel Bhd, Southern Steel Bhd, Malaysia Steel Works (KL) Bhd as well as Lion Industries Corp Bhd’s subsidiaries Amsteel Mills Sdn Bhd and Antara Steel Mills Sdn Bhd.

They had claimed that the domestic producers of rebar, SWR and DBIC were substantially hurt by surging imports between Oct 1, 2012, and Sept 30, 2015, which caused them to lose market share, downsize workforce and scale back operations.

Collectively, the participating steel mills account for 73.4% of local rebar output and 100% of local SWR and DBIC production.

The petitions were strongly objected to by various steel industry players who use the three steel products as raw materials because the additional duties would increase their procurement costs, hurting profit margins.

Source : Edge Financial Daily
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New nano material may alter design of aircraft

The Star reported that a new kind of nano material developed by researchers is expected to become the next-generation aviation material and boost the development of the country's homegrown large passenger aircraft. The nano ceramic aluminium alloy was developed by the research team from the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Light in weight, such new material has the characteristics of high rigidity, high strength, fatigue resistance, low expansion and high temperature resistance.

Instead of the traditional physical method of mixing the ceramic and aluminium alloy, researchers put the nano ceramic particles into aluminium alloy through an innovative chemical process. During the process, the size, shape, and distribution of the particles were controlled.

Professor Wang Haowei, who led the project said that this helped improve the rigidity and strength of the new material. At the same time, the processing and manufacturing performance of aluminium alloy remains.

So far, the new material has already been used in the Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2 space labs, quantum satellites and meteorological satellites. It also has been used in key components of automotive internal-combustion engines.

Mr Wang said researchers are stepping up their cooperation with Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) to promote the use of such new materials in large aircraft.

Mr Wu Guanghui vice-president of COMAC, the general designer of C919, the first homegrown large passenger aircraft, said the nano ceramic aluminium alloy material is still being tested, and is expected to be used in the C919 aircraft.

A new material innovation centre was established at the university last week, which aims to further boost the industrialisation of the nano ceramic aluminium alloy material.

Source : The Star
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Roy Hill iron ore mine operating at nearly full capacity

Yahoo Finance reported that Roy Hill mining project in WA shipped 4.45 million tonnes of iron ore in July, the company has nearly touched its nameplate capacity of 55 MT on an annualized basis for the first time. Australia's newest large iron ore project has produced 45 million tonne so far since it started operations in December 2015, but has been beset with operational ramp up issues that have kept production below capacity.

Chief executive Barry Fitzgerald said it was now well on the path to overcoming these issues. He said that "Fundamentally, we are getting to a point where we are now comfortable that the project has capacity. Last month reflected that drive for availability and reliability and we have some minor fine-tuning to go."

A fully-functioning Roy Hill mine will mean addition of iron ore tonnes at the same time that Brazilian iron ore giant Vale brings online its new S11D mine into a fully-supplied market and could impact prices.

Mr Fitzgerald admitted the market was going through a bit of flux, given the changes going on in China's steel industry, but said he wasn't worried. He said that "Long term I am comfortable we will find a market for the material. There is strong demand for an independent producer of our quality.”

The strong production comes with iron prices again rebounding on improving steel demand in China, with the steel-making ingredient trading around USD 75 a tonne.

Roy Hill's three overseas shareholders have an obligation to offtake about 50% of production, while a large part of the rest is sold on long-term contracts.

The mine is controlled by the Australian billionaire's Hancock Prospecting, with other partners including South Korea's Posco, Taiwan's China Steel Corp and Japan's Marubeni.

Mr Fitzgerald said the company's first priority was to reach the 55 MT target, and it would consider getting some flexibility beyond that sometime in the future.

Source : Yahoo
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Anglo American vows to halve costs using new technology

The Australian reported that mining giant Anglo American is targeting a halving of its operating costs through new technologies as it continues its reinvention under Australian chief executive Mark Cutifani, Anglo’s technical director Tony O’Neill used his address to the Diggers & Dealers mining forum in Kalgoorlie to highlight some of the new technologies being pursued by the group.

The company is closing in on innovations including the deployment of swarms of micro “bots” that will carry out testing and grade control across its mining operations, and is trialling a “dry water” made up of silica particles that mimic the properties of water. The dry water could eliminate traditional tailings dams and remove the need to draw down water in locations with limited supplies.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the conference, Mr O’Neill said technology would deliver the next step-change in productivity improvements across the company. He said that “Over the last four or five years, the company’s productivity has gone up 70 per cent. Half of that is portfolio, the other half is actually operating practice.”

“The innovation we’re looking at, we want to get plus-50 per cent (productivity improvement). The operating model, the normal best practice is driving the initial wave and then we want to bring this (technology) over the top and change the whole ballgame again. If we couldn’t double productivities with these over time then I don’t think we’ll have got it right.”

Many of the technologies Anglo is pursuing are close to readiness for implementation, with Mr O’Neill saying it was getting permits rather than the pace of technical innovation that was impeding the rollout of the technologies.

He said that “We could put developments today into some of our businesses that would significantly save water, but we’re not allowed to because we can’t get the permits in an expedient fashion.”

He added that “How we change the regulation piece is really quite critical.”

The tens of millions a year that Anglo is now investing in technological research is a far cry from a few years ago, when the mining giant entered the downturn crippled by a debt-laden balance sheet and a host of marginal assets.

The group has been reshaped under Mr Cutifani. Several operations have been shut down or offloaded, while the company recruited former Fortescue Metals Group chief financial officer Stephen Pearce to work towards resolving its debt issues.

Mr O’Neill said Anglo had rebuilt the technical side since a review into the unit back in 2013 and 2014. “We’ve rebuilt the organisation, it’s a very different organisation, and we’ve … been able to hand-pick some of the best people in the world. “The reason I’m on the board is because the company sees the technical pieces as a strategic strength.”

Source : The Australian
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Mining scam - Iron ore worth INR 1,900 crore illegally extracted

Press Trust of India reported that Comptroller and Auditor General report has pointed out that overall INR 1,900 crore worth illegal extraction of iron ore was reported in the State between 2009-16 in violation of the mining plan and environment clearances. It said that “We observed violation of the provision of the Acts and Rules made for regulation of mining operation in the State. Violating the provisions of the MCD (Mineral Conservation and Development) rules and MC (Mineral Concession) rules the lessees had extracted minerals valued INR 1,529.64 crore in excess of the mining plan.”

The report added that “The lessee had also extracted minerals valued INR 374.99 crore in excess of quantity allowed under environment clearances.”

CAG has said the audit team checked 38 cases to ascertain whether the environment clearances limit has been observed by lessee during the period from 2009-16.

He said that “We observed in five cases, the lessee had extracted 30.02 lakh metric tonnes of iron ore valued at INR 374.99 crore in excess of the limit. No reason for extraction of iron ore in excess to environment clearance limit was found.”

The CAG has pointed out that “In respect of seven leases the quantity as per the approved mining plan was 25.94 lakh tonne during the period 2009-13 against this the quantity actually extracted during the period was 98.35 lakh tonne. This resulted in unauthorised extraction of 72.41 tonne of iron ore valued at INR 1,529.64 crore.”

The mining industry in Goa had faced ban due to Supreme Court order in September 2012, which was later lifted in April 2014.

The actual extraction of iron ore began only in November 2015. The CAG report which audits various departments and their performance till March 2016 has castigated State Directorate of Mines and Geology for not taking action to recover the penalties under MMDR Act, 1957 for excess extraction over the limits.

CAG has said that “The DMG failed to monitor unauthorised extraction, transportation and storage of minerals effectively. Due to poor monitoring, the short declaration of 27.7 lakh tonne iron ore valued INR 118.01 crore extracted by lease holders was not detected by it.”

The audit report also states that the DMG failed to detect the suppression of closing stock iron ore which resulted in short collection of royalty of INR 35.53 crore.

Source : Business Line
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Fortescue to review payout ratio - Mr Power

AAP reported that Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group's board will be reviewing its dividend payout ratio later this month ahead of full year results, chief executive Nev Power said on Tuesday. Mr Power told reporters on the sidelines of the Diggers and Dealers conference in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia "We are very focused on returns for shareholders not only debt-holders; we need to ensure we have a balanced strategy going forward.”

The miner had flagged in February it would likely boost its target payout ratio of 30 to 40 per cent of profits if it continues to benefit from strong iron ore prices.

Source : NZ Finance
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Port Hedland iron ore exports in July dip sharply

According to data released by the Pilbara Ports Authority, iron ore export volumes from Port Hedland, the world’s largest iron ore loading terminal, fell heavily in July to 37.883 million tonnes down by 12% MoM and 2.2% YoY. Over the past 12 months, total iron ore exports stood at 493.77 million tonnes, down fractionally on the record high level of 494.6 million tonnes shipped in the year to June.

Source : Strategic Research Institute
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Viet Nam Steel Association urges steel import controls

The Viet Nam Steel Association is calling on the Government to maintain a series of quality and management controls in the steel industry since trade fraud in steel imports is still high. The Vietnam ministry of industry and trade had planned to eliminate administrative procedures in 17 fields this year, including the steel sector, in order to ease conditions for enterprises.

In December 2015, the Government issued a circular (No 58) defining regulations on the management of domestically produced and imported steel quality. The circular also aimed to prevent steel exporters taking advantage of some zero tariff levels thereby affecting local producers.

Instances of trade fraud included importing rolled steel containing 0.0008 per cent boron (Bo) element labelled as a metal that enjoys preferential zero per cent tax.

The association said the management on imported steel quality under the circular has helped stabilise the domestic market.

VSA also said Circular 58 contributed to tightening imports of steel products which Viet Nam could produce and loosening import restrictions on those which the country needs.

Mr Ho Nghia Dung, VSA’s chairman told the Vietnam News Agency that the Government should maintain Circular 58 to support the local steel sector. He said the country’s total steel imports last year reached 23 million tonnes, ranking it fifth in terms of Viet Nam’s import turnover.

Mr Dung noted that the big steel import amount and value have also had a negative effect on the import-export balance. He added that in addition, construction steel is often imported from China as alloy steel to enjoy zero tax, creating unequal competition between local producers and importers.

Tran Ngoc Chu, Hoa Sen Group’s General Director, commented that safeguard measures have been imposed on Chinese steel by many countries. On the other hand, he also said that Vietnamese steel exported to world markets has also been under suspicion of shunning anti-dumping duties.

Mr Chu said that as a result, local steel producers have been are under pressure from lawsuits on anti-dumping duties and other trade defense measures from Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia and the US.

He said Viet Nam should maintain the steel quality control system, especially for imported steel. However, he added, administrative procedures on imports of steel products, such as hot-rolled non-alloy steel and cold-rolled non-alloy steel, which Viet Nam has not been able to produce, should be simplified to ensure material supplies for production.

Source : Biz Hub
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2 iron ore processing plants in the pipeline at Sangan Iron Ore Complex in Iran

Financial Tribune quoted Morteza Hashempour Manager of Sangan Iron Ore Complex as saying that two new iron ore processing plants are scheduled to come on stream in Sangan mineral zone in the next two months.

The first is a 5 million tonne pellet-making plant under construction by Opal Parsian Sangan Mineral and Industrial Company, which will be completed by October. National Industries and Mining Development Company is the investor of the next project, a 5-million tonne iron ore concentrate plan slated to open in late September. Known as “Iran’s Mineral Heaven” and located in Khorasan Razavi Province, Sangan is home to over 1.2 billion tonnes of estimated iron ore reserves and expected to expand even more through further explorations.

Iran’s flagship flat steel producer Mobarakeh Steel Company inaugurated a 5-million tonne per year pellet-making plant in the region last week with an investment of 10 trillion rials (USD 263.15 million).

Source : Financial Tribune
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