With China being the major producer of lead, zinc and aluminium, it is expected that the production of such metals will be disrupted due to the recent earthquake in China. The 2008 Sichuan earthquake occurred on 12 May 2008, with its epicenter in Wenchuan County, Sichuan province of the People’s Republic of China. Zinc smelters in China have halted production after an earthquake in Sichuan, adding that up…

A delegation from the Chinese company General Nice Development visited Kishushe between May 5th 2011 and May 10th 2011 and after deliberations agreed to finance a feasibility study for the construction of the steel complex. The discovery of rich iron ore deposits in parts of the country has increased prospects of Kenya setting up its first steel manufacturing plant. Intensive prospecting over the past three…

China produced 1.25 million tonnes of high carbon ferrochrome in 2008, up by 190,000 tonnes. In the meanwhile imports of chrome ore increased by 750,000 tonnes to 6.84 million tonnes. With an annual high carbon ferrochrome capacity of 200,000 tonnes, Mintal Group is China's biggest ferrochrome producer in China. The group mainly provides products to major special steel makers including Baosteel, Taiyuan…

Reuters reported that spot iron ore prices in top consumer China slipped on recently as a slow recovery in steel demand kept most buyers off the market with steel prices hovering near levels last seen in February. China iron ore imports dropped to a six-month low of 57.69 million tonnes in April as falling steel prices forced mills to buy more iron ore from old stocks sitting at ports and use more domestic…

According to data released by the China Machinery Industry Federation, the value of finished goods in the machinery industry in China reached CNY 1.46 trillion during the first seven months of 2010 an increase of 39.72%YoY. The value of finished goods in the construction machinery sector soared 91.56%YoY. During the first seven months of the year, transport machinery output soared 55%YoY while the output of…

Local and international demand for tooling expected to support industry exhibition. The China Die & Mould Industry Association has announced that in the first half year of 2012, exports of moulds and dies from the People's Republic surged nearly one-quarter to $1.7 billion following $3 billion in total exports last year. In 2011, China’s die and mould sales reached some $28 billion, the association said,…

Reuters reported that China is likely to fail in its drive for state owned steel giants to swallow small mills and create iron ore super buyers to wring better prices from leading sellers Vale, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton as failure to get the three major iron ore suppliers to agree to price cuts in 2009 was blamed on small mills breaking ranks. China latest five year plan aims to fix by bringing more than…

China Mining quoted the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said China's raw material industries reported a 5.3% growth in industrial output over the past four months, buoyed by the government's stimulus package and growing domestic demand. MIIT statistics showed in April alone, the industrial output grew 7%. The nonferrous metal industry began to make profits because market prices were rising.…

Platts reported that China's stainless steel capacity is expected to exceed 20 million tonnes per annum by end 2010, up from 15 million tonnes per annum currently. Beijing Antaike Development said that "More than 10 million tonnes per annum of stainless steel facilities under construction are expected to be completed late next year." It added that the new plants will be located all over China, including…

Macquarie Group Limited said that China's increased nickel imports, boosted by expanding stainless steel output and a price gap between the domestic and overseas market, have driven a rally in London prices. Macquarie analysts led by Mr Jim Lennon said in a report that China's largest stainless steel producers operated at historically high capacity usage rates of more than 95% in May, while imports surged…