Russian gold output fallsRussia produced 106 tonnes of gold in 1997, down 6.3 per cent from 1996 levels, the State Statistics Committee said last Tuesday. The committee did not give the 1996 production figure in tonnes, and estimates of Russian gold output can vary widely. The committee also said Russia produced 98 tonnes of gold bars last year, a 19 per cent increase on 1996 levels.
South African reserves down
South Africa's combined gold and foreign exchange reserves fell 600 million rand in January to 27.9 billion rand from December's 28.5 billion rand, Reserve Bank figures show. The central bank gave only headline figures. A fullbreakdown will be published on February 9.
Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted combined reserves of 28.9 billion rand. The bank also said the use of foreign credit lines stood at 9.4 billion rand at the end of January compared to 9.8 billion rand at the end of the previous month.
Asia crisis hits Australia steel
Asia's economic crisis isforecast to cut Australian crude steel exports to the region but continued regional growth in steel output will underpin Australian iron ore exports, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) said. Australia's steel output is forecast to fall slightly to 8.4 million tonnes in 1997-98, with steel exports forecast to drop by nearly 14 per cent to 2.8 million tonnes, valued at A$1.4 billion, ABARE said in a paper for its Outlook 98 conference. The decline would result from the Asian crisis, it said.
Ninety per cent of projected growth in global steel consumption to 2003 would come from Asian countries, excluding Japan, despite the Asian crisis, Peter Gooday, principal research officer with ABARE told the conference. This supported ABARE's forecast that Australian iron ore exports would rise by seven million tonnes to 145 million in 1997/98 and increase further to 167 million tonnes in 2002/03, he said.
World steel output to increase
In a conference paper, the AustralianBureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics, has projected world steel output of 780 million tonnes in 1997 to rise to 785 million tonnes in 1998, before rising further to 809 million in 2000 and 850 million tonnes in 2003.
Japan's steel production, which rose by nearly five per cent to 103.7 million tonnes in 1997, is predicted to fall by more than four million tonnes to 99 million tonnes in 1998. Japan's imports of iron ore are forecast to fall by 2.5 per cent to 118 million tonnes in 1998. However, they are forecast to recover to 120 million tonnes in 2003. Steel demand in China is predicted to rise with economic growth at a forecast rate of nine per cent in 1998 and an average of just over nine per cent a year to 2003. China produced an estimated 106 million tonnes in 1997.
South Korean steel production in 1998 is forecast to fall from high rates in the latter half of 1997 but to remain close to the total 1997 level of 41 million tonnes.
Nippon Steel cuts prices
Nippon Steel Corp said lastTuesday it cut its price to wholesalers of H-beam steel by 5,000 yen a tonne to 34,000 yen this month. The cut is a response to weakness in the domestic market price. Inventories of H-beam steel have been increasing because of poor domestic housing starts and lower public construction, a Nippon Steel spokesman said. H-beam steel is primarily used in construction, such as warehouses, houses and office buildings. Other Japanese steel makers are expected to follow suit, industry sources said. The price cut will not affect Nippon Steel's business performance in the year to March 1998, it said.
Cameco's new uranium mines
Cameco Corp, the world's largest producer of uranium, said last Tuesday it expected to bring new mines in Australia and Canada into production. The mines--MacArthur River in Australia's Northern Territory and Cigar Lake in Saskatchewan--contain the highest grades of ore worldwide and together will yield 36 million pounds of uranium annually, James Marlatt, manager of exploration forCameco's Australian division said. "We expect production to begin at McArthur River in 1999 and at Cigar Lake two years later," Marlatt told Reuters. Marlatt said the mines would come on stream "just when the gap between supply and demand for uranium is widening.
World consumption of around 74,000 tonnes of uranium each year is expected to continue outpacing global production, leading to a drawdown in the large stocks that have been weighing down prices for years. World stocks of uranium are projected to fall by around 120,000 tonnes over the next five years. Uranium is fetching about US13 a pound under long-term supply agreements and about US$12 a pound on the spot market, but has traded as high as US$25 to US$30 a pound in Times of short supply, Marlatt said.
Japan cobalt market in a tizzy
The Japanese cobalt market is wary after a credit research firm's report last fortnight that metal dealer Kanto Metal Co Ltd is preparing to file for voluntary bankruptcy, traders said. "The imact may besignificant (in the industry)," said one trader at a leading trading house. "Their debt is quite large."
Credit research firm Teikoku Databank said Kanto Metal, which had an accumulated debt of 25 billion yen, would prepare to file for voluntary bankruptcy. Set up in 1987 as a scrap merchant, Kanto Metal had expanded into the stainless steel business, including nickel and cobalt, with annual sales of 45.79 billion yen in 1996, compared with 3.33 billion in 1991, Teikoku Databank said.
A spokesman at trading house Nissho Iwai Corp, which has done business with Kanto Metal, said its estimated losses from Kanto's collapse could amount to a maximum 2 billion yen, which includes about 1.5 billion yen worth of problem inventory.
Mongolian Erdenet plans copper unit
Mongolia's Erdenet Mining Corp is considering building the country's first copper smelter in the next several years to cut costs, a company official said. Erdenet Mining, the only copper company in the mineral-rich country, was likelyto decide soon whether to build the smelter, deputy general director Artyom Ganovichev said. Other company officials said a decision would come within a year.
"There is a demand to build a metal processing plant," Ganovichev said in a recent interview. "The issue is being discussed at drafting level." The company was studying smelter technology in Austria, Germany, the United States and Russia. Work could start once the technology has been chosen, he said. A smelter in Erdenet, about 400 km (250 miles) north-west of the capital Ulan Bator, could significantly slash the company's transportation costs, since most of the concentrate now goes to smelters in northern China and Russia, officials said.
Jiangxi Copper profits may fall
Hong Kong-based Jiangxi Copper Co Ltd said recently it does not expect the company to meet a profit forecast of 500 million yuan for the year 1997 due to a drop in copper prices which had resulted in a material fall in profit. According to preliminary analysis of thecompany's unaudited management accounts for the year ended December 1997, the average selling price of copper was US$0.93 per pound during the second half of 1997, representing a decline of 12.6 per cent from the average price of US$1.064 per pound during the first half.
"The decline in world copper price has resulted in a material decrease in the company's profit for the year ended 31 December 1997," the company said in a statement, which added ``the directors do not expect the company to achieve its profit forecast of 500 million yuan as presented in its H-share prospectus dated 2 June 1997.''
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
