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[verwijderd] 27 september 2012 16:55

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Baosteel: Luojing factory suspends production

Baoshan Iron and Steel Co Ltd, the nation's largest listed steelmaker, said its Luojing factory has suspended production partly due to lackluster demand.

europe.chinadaily.com.cn/business/201...

voda 27 september 2012 21:54

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Met dank aan poster s.lin

Frankrijk wil dat ArcelorMittal 150 miljoen euro in Franse fabriek investeert
27/09/12, 20u11
De Franse regering heeft van de staalgroep ArcelorMittal geëist dat die 150 miljoen euro zou investeren in haar fabriek in Florange, in het oosten van het land. Ook daar wordt de hoogovenactiviteit bedreigd met sluiting - net als in Luik - maar de regering eist in ruil wel investeringen in de koude lijn. .

"We zijn vandaag in een krachtmeting verwikkeld en we moeten er samen door", verklaarde de Franse minister Arnaud Montebourg, bevoegd voor het industrieel herstel, aan de vakbonden.

De Franse regering wil in de eerste plaats dat, bij een eventuele sluiting van de warme lijn, "elke andere geïnteresseerde" de activiteiten mag overnemen. Als de hoogovens effectief worden gesloten, moet ArcelorMittal van de regering 150 miljoen euro investeren in de koude lijn, dat is de verdere bewerking van het staal.

De directie van de staalgroep zou pas maandag reageren. De hoogovens in Florange liggen al veertien maanden stil, en volgens enkele media is de beslissing tot sluiting definitief.

Bron: afp

voda 28 september 2012 17:56

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FONDSEN UITGELICHT: Mediq en ArcelorMittal

In de laatste volle week van het derde kwartaal, waarin de focus op de problemen in de eurozone vooral op Spanje lag, en macrocijfers in de VS en Japan weinig reden tot vreugde gaven, kwam leverancier voor de zorgsector Mediq de markt vertellen dat het bedrijf wil ingaan op een bod op private equity-maatschappij Advent en van de beurs wil vertrekken. Staal- en mijnbouwgigant ArcelorMittal ging onderuit op een groot aantal negatieve marktverkenningen en vooruitzichten van analisten.

ARCELORMITTAL GAAT ONZEKERE TIJDEN TEGEMOET

Het grootste staalconcern ter wereld, ArcelorMittal SA (MT.AE), kreeg deze week te maken met een adviesverlaging door Goldman Sachs en ook analisten van Credit Suisse en Societe Generale stelden hun verwachtingen naar beneden bij. Het staalbedrijf gaat volgens deze kenners een onzekere tijd tegemoet, als gevolg van lagere prijzen en een dalende vraag naar staal.

Goldman Sachs gaf haar clienten deze week het advies om aandelen van ArcelorMittal van de hand te doen, nadat de Amerikaanse bank eerder deze maand had bekendgemaakt de Europese staalsector weer te gaan volgen. Toen kreeg ArcelorMittal nog het predikaat 'neutral' mee. Drie weken later werd dat dus een 'sell' advies.

De reden voor deze snelle wijziging wordt door de analisten zelf gegeven, want ze stellen in het rapport dat het moeilijk blijft om vooruit te kijken in de staalsector. Zo hadden ze verwacht dat de prijzen voor staal en voor de grondstoffen die nodig zijn voor de productie van staal hoger zouden liggen in het derde kwartaal. Vooral de prijzen van de belangrijke grondstoffen ijzererts en steenkool daalden in de derde periode. Ook voor 2013 verwachten de analisten nu een daling van de staalprijzen, waar ze in hun eerdere analyse nog op een verbetering rekenden.

Een belangrijke oorzaak voor de misere is de situatie in Europa, waar nog weinig verbetering in het verschiet lijkt te liggen. Het is volgens Goldman onwaarschijnlijk dat de staalprijzen zullen verbeteren, aangezien de vraag naar Europese auto's, constructie- en kapitaalgoederen zwak blijft. Voor 2013 rekent de bank nu op een daling van de prijzen met 4% ten opzichte van 2012. De analisten verlagen tegelijkertijd hun verwachtingen voor de winst voor rente, belastingen, afschrijvingen en amortisatie (EBITDA) in 2013 met 16% tot $8,3 miljard.

Ook Europese analisten delen de sombere toekomstverwachtingen van hun Amerikaanse collega's. Credit Suisse schreef vrijdag in een rapport de EBITDA verwachtingen voor 2012 te verlagen naar $7,0 miljard van $7,9 miljard en voor 2013 naar $8,4 miljard van $9,5 miljard, in navolging van de recente dalingen van ijzererts en gesprekken met marktdeelnemers. Behalve de marktontwikkelingen speelt ook de hoge schuldenlast van ArcelorMittal in hun ogen een belangrijke rol, en de Zwitserse analisten stellen dat er duidelijkheid nodig is over hoe het bedrijf een sterke schuldverlaging zal gaan bewerkstelligen. Volgens kredietbeoordelaar Moody's moeten ze tenminste $5 miljard minder aan schuld in de boeken hebben staan, voor het jaareinde, om een afwaardering te vermijden.

Het Franse Societe Generale verlaagde tevens zijn verwachtingen en rekent nu voor dit jaar op een EBITDA van $6,6 miljard, waar de analisten eerder nog $7,4 miljard verwachtten. Zij merken op dat de lagere ijzerertsprijzen extra op ArcelorMittal drukken, omdat de onderneming ook, in tegenstelling tot andere staalbedrijven, een eigen mijnbouwdivisie bezit.

Beleggers leken deze week de teleurstellende verwachtingen te onderstrepen. Hetaandeel eindigde onderaan op de Nederlandse AEX, met een weekverlies van 9,9% tot EUR11,16.

Door Levien de Feijter en Bart Koster; Dow Jones Nieuwsdienst: +31-20-5715200; bart.koster@dowjones.com

voda 28 september 2012 18:10

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Expert appeals for steel capacity reduction in China

Affected by stable investment approval and the onset of QE3, China steel price underwent a hasty and sharp rebound since mid September nearly CNY 200 per tonne within 2 weeks. However domestic steel price rally was closely followed by production recovery coupled with tight capital supply at the end of Q3 steel price gets back to correction starting from this week.

As the approved infrastructure construction of NDRC did not result in substantial steel demand, the retaliatory price rebound was interpreted as the breakout of long range depressed market sentiments.

Due to the drag of long standing lackluster steel market, not a few traders have confronted huge loss and even some of them either go bankruptcy or run away, leaving awful mess to others. This leads to continuous drop in steel inventory at marketplaces as well.

According to SteelHome data, the aggregate inventory of rebar wire rod HRC, CRC and medium plate hit 13.26 million tonnes as of last week, recording a year to date low. Therefore we have seen the shortfall of some products when steel price went up rapidly.

Now, part steel mills are planning to resume production considering rising steel prices. Statistics show that daily crude steel output of large and medium sized steel mills in early September was 1.56 million tonnes up 2.89% compared to that in late August. Furthermore, the production in mid and late September is anticipated to go up further as steel mills still could earn some profit owing to current low raw material prices. But this would break the weak balance of steel supply and demand; burying more pressure for further steel price rally.

What catches our attention is that the tight capital would come since late Q3 and National Day Holiday approaches. As the constructions sites run in full swing now, gradually driving up market demand most traders choose to speed up shipment and this would make steel price to fluctuate within small margin.

Some industry experts dig out deep causes behind all of these issues that to reduce and better steel capacity of steel mills seems more important to digest inventory if we want to break the vicious circle of rapid rise and fast decline of domestic steel prices.

Source: www.steelhome.cn/en, China steel information centre and industry database

voda 28 september 2012 18:18

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ArcelorMittal to permanently shut Florange BFs

Newspaper Liberation said that ArcelorMittal has decided to definitively shut two idled steel furnaces in northern France, prompting the Socialist government to scramble to keep the plant operational as it battles rising unemployment

Liberation, without citing its sources, reported that the Socialist government was negotiating with the world's largest steel maker to buy the two blast furnaces for a single euro so that it can then find a company willing to operate them.

The plant, which became a symbol of France's industrial decline during May's presidential election, is the last survivor of a once bustling steel region after the neighboring ArcelorMittal mill of Gandrange was wound down despite former President Nicolas Sarkozy's promise to protect it.

Florange's furnaces were shuttered in July and October 2011 amid a slump in international steel prices.

Source - Economic Times

voda 28 september 2012 18:27

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French minister races to save Florange steel plant

Reuters reported that a French minister raced on Thursday to the last blast furnaces in the Lorraine region, once the heart of the nation's steel industry, after a report that the idled plant would close in a blow to the Socialist government's fight against unemployment.

Industry Minister Mr Arnaud Montebourg headed to the Florange site after Liberation newspaper said its owner ArcelorMittal had decided to close a plant which became a symbol of France's industrial decline during campaigning for May's presidential election.

The newspaper said President Francois Hollande's government was negotiating to buy the two blast furnaces - idled since last year due to weak international demand - for a single euro so that it could then seek a company willing to operate them.

A spokeswoman for Montebourg, whose official title is Minister for Industrial Renewal, confirmed talks were taking place with the company but declined to comment on their content.

The Florange plant is the last survivor in the once bustling northeastern steel region after the neighboring ArcelorMittal mill of Gandrange was wound down, despite former President Nicolas Sarkozy's promise to protect it.

Source - Reuters

voda 28 september 2012 18:28

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ArcelorMittal to boost productivity and cut TCO using UCC

Seeking to consolidate and optimize its worldwide communications infrastructure, ArcelorMittal has chosen Siemens Enterprise Communications to deliver a global Private Cloud Service for Unified Communications and Collaboration based on a centralized OpenScape UCC Solution.

With this strategic initiative, known within ArcelorMittal as Speak2Me, the company will enhance its business processes with innovative services such as voice and UC soft clients with true One Number Service, with the user reached on his preferred device at any time, be it the soft client on his notebook, his office desk phone, mobile, or the phone in his hotel room or at a customer's location.

The multi year contract signed on September 12, 2012 covers the full spectrum of UCC, including presence management, and mobile clients for a wide range of devices such as smart phones and tablets as well as in house audio, web and video conferencing both for desktops in HD quality and integration with room based systems. These Cloud based UCC services will initially be available to about 8,000 ArcelorMittal users at numerous locations throughout Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa, other user groups will be added soon.

OpenScape solutions will be seamlessly integrated into ArcelorMittal’s existing Microsoft desktop such as Outlook and UC clients, and will be further integrated at the back-end into ArcelorMittal's Global Wide Area Network provided by BT Global Services. This network integration and the OpenScape solution will be hosted in BT's data centers. BT will further offer communication building blocks through its BT One portfolio and security through firewall and proxy services.

The company cited Siemens Enterprise Communications' worldwide leadership and experience in serving the UCC needs of large multinationals, along with its strong global service and successful delivery of worldwide Private Cloud and Managed Services to widespread enterprises. The OpenScape solution's proven efficiency of features like ONS and collaboration, as well as the ability to lower mobile communications and roaming expenses with intuitive mobile clients, were key decision criteria.

The Siemens Enterprise Communications and BT partnership was viewed as strength due to both companies' global execution capabilities and expertise in delivering complementary UCC and network services.

Mr Stefan Nuesch VP Global Accounts EMEA and APAC at Siemens Enterprise Communications said that "Our open communications design allows a smooth, transparent evolution to the latest UCC features that easily integrate with most legacy equipment. This helps ArcelorMittal to immediately facilitate advanced UCC capabilities at an affordable cost. Additionally, the Private Cloud approach allows the flexible offering of innovative and customized services without need for forklift investments."

Mr Patrick Vandenberghe, ArcelorMittal Group CIO, said that "Seamless and intuitive communication and collaboration has become key in a global company like ArcelorMittal, and will enable us to substantially improve the exchange of knowledge and best practices, to speed up and ease decision making and to reduce our communication costs. And with Siemens Enterprise Communications we are confident we have the right partner to make this happen, bringing the technology in a cloud based service model."

Source - Siemens Enterprise Communications

voda 28 september 2012 18:45

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Dannemora to supply iron ore for ArcelorMittal's Bremen plant

Sweden based mining and exploration company Dannemora Mineral announced that it has signed an agreement with the global steel giant ArcelorMittal for the delivery of approximately 26,000 tonnes of iron ore. The iron ore is scheduled for shipment to ArcelorMittal's steel plant in Bremen, Germany during the fourth quarter of the current year.

According to Dannemora's statement, the new agreement should be seen as the beginning of a long term contractual relationship between the parties.

Source - Visit www.steelorbis.com for more

s.lin 30 september 2012 08:40

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Grote Japanse staalproducenten fuseren
30-09-2012 | Gepubliceerd 07:27
Twee van de grootste staalproducenten van Japan gaan maandag officieel samen. Dan fuseren Nippon Steel, de grootste staalproducent van Japan, en branchegenoot en nummer drie Sumitomo Metal Industries.

Door het samenvoegen van de twee ondernemingen ontstaat het op een na grootste staalbedrijf ter wereld, na ArcelorMittal uit India. De bedrijven hopen samen slagvaardiger te zijn op buitenlandse markten. De nieuwe onderneming luistert naar de naam Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp.

ANP

s.lin 1 oktober 2012 20:20

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Arcelormittal sluit staalfabriek in Florange

Maandag 01 oktober 2012 om 14:26:45
Arcelormittal wil de al stilgelegde hoogovens in het Franse Florange definitief sluiten. Dat maakt het staalconcern maandag bekend. Hierdoor raken de 629 medewerkers van de staalfabriek hun baan kwijt.

De aanhoudende zware economische omstandigheden, waardoor de Europese staalvraag een kwart onder het niveau van 2007 ligt, is de hoofdreden voor de sluiting. Het gegeven dat Florange vierhonderd kilometer verwijderd is van een haven en dat de fabriek maar een lage productie kan draaien spelen ook mee voor Arcelormittal.

Het staalconcern houdt rekening met de wens van de Franse overheid om de komende zestig dagen een koper te vinden voor de staalfabriek. Het bedrijf wil wel doorgaan met zijn afwerkingsactiviteiten in Florange, waar tweeduizend mensen bij werkzaam zijn.

(Novum)

voda 2 oktober 2012 16:12

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ArcelorMittal koersdoel omlaag naar 11,50 van EUR14,50 - Nomura
ArcelorMittal advies blijft neutral bij Nomura

(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires

voda 2 oktober 2012 16:29

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Chinese behemoth takes the lead in trimming to show the way ahead

Chinese mills finally seem to be taking the bitter pill of production cuts. After nearly 3 quarters of maddening production surges the horror of collapsing domestic market despite intermittent stimulus by the government.

In a surprise move last week Baosteel shut down slab making facility Luojingto with a capacity of 1.2 million tonne per annum. Plummeting demand for slab from ship making and infrastructure sector has been the precursor of this stoppage.

A mere drop in ocean though it may not have significant impact on the overall production levels in China it will certainly insinuate other major mills who account for nearly 80% of the Chinese production (70 CISA members) to rationalize production levels for market redemption .

Ironically despite global economic crisis and dipping demand across the regions China has clocked YoY growth of 1.2% touching 476.61 million tonnes in (January-August) likely to end around 715 million tonnes a jump of 5% over 2011. In its maiden retreat in August production of -0.1% since July (58.7 million tonne) market seeks solace but it cannot be sustained without concerted effort by the majors.

In the backdrop of diluted impact of USD 150 billion stimulus package owing to production surge initially as the market rallied disproportionately on hyped expectation. In the twilight of 2012 activity dips owing to winter any meteoric turn of fortunes is unlikely. Hence it would be prudent for the mills to toe the line of Baosteel .

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 2 oktober 2012 16:37

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ArcelorMittal Kazakhstan pioneers technology to generate electricity from coal mining gas

ArcelorMittal Kazakhstan's coal mining team is deploying technology to use gas from the country's mines to generate electricity.

In a first for the country and for ArcelorMittal in Kazakhstan, a team of mining engineers at Lenina mine in Karaganda region has pioneered a way to use coal bed methane for power generation. The gas is captured and then used as feedstock to generate 1.4 MW of electricity around 20% of the mine's total power needs. As well as removing potentially dangerous methane from the coal mine, the project has also helped to save USD 300,000 in costs over nine months by creating a captive power plant.

Mr Sergazy Baimuhametov, advisor to the head of the coal department at ArcelorMittal Kazakhstan, explained why Lenina coal mine was well suited as the pilot for this project, saying that "There has to be a certain concentration of methane, of not less than 30%, as well as a stable flow of gas, and Lenina mine met these requirements."

The project, which cost USD 2 million, entered the testing phase last November and was officially opened in July 2012, with government representatives attending the launch.

The coal department plans to expand the program in 2013 into other mines. ArcelorMittal operates eight coal mines in Kazakhstan: Abaiskaya, Saranskaya, Kazakhstanskaya, Tentekskaya, Kostenko, Kuzembayeva, Lenina and Shakhtinskaya.

The Lenina project, together with similar projects to use methane rather than vent it out, will help ArcelorMittal Kazakhstan avoid costs if the government opts to introduce fines for methane emissions.

The project's environmental credentials are in line with Kazakhstan's move to comply with the provisions of the Kyoto protocol, an UN led agreement to fight global warming that the Kazakh government ratified in September 2009. The government is gearing up to trade its greenhouse gas emission quotas on the Chicago Climate Exchange, and income from selling quotas on the exchange can be used to invest in environmental projects, such as the Lenina methane project.

The coal team is currently investing more than USD 100 million in capital projects for ArcelorMittal Kazakhstan's mines.

Source - ArcelorMittal

voda 3 oktober 2012 16:16

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Goldman Sachs: monetaire verruiming VS, ECB stimuleert metaalprijzen

AMSTERDAM (Dow Jones)--Stimulering van de economie door het ruime monetaire beleid in de VS en de eurozone heeft een positief effect op de prijzen van metalen, met name koper, aldus zakenbank Goldman Sachs in een metaalrapport.

Eerdere periodes van monetaire verruiming lieten een vergelijkbare ontwikkeling zien. Tijdens de zogeheten Quantitative Easing 2 (QE2), die begin 2010 startte en juni 2011 eindigde, steeg de koperprijs met ongeveer 40% en tijdens Operation Twist in de eerste helft van 2012, bedroeg de stijging rond de 20%.

Goldman Sachs betoogt dat monetaire verruiming voor metalen leidt tot goedkoop geld en "dus groei van de vraag, zoals investeringen in vastgoed en infrastructuur of particuliere consumptie", aldus de bank.

Verder is volgens Goldman Sachs benedenwaartse druk op de dollar het gevolg van verruiming en "dus hogere marginale kosten aangezien koper veelal wordt geproduceerd buiten de VS."

Verder ziet de zakenbank lagere financieringskosten voor voorraden en minder neiging tot verlaging van voorraden.

Goldman Sachs noemt QE3 de meest agressieve monetaire versoepeling tot dusver en samen met de Europese Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) heeft het er al toe geleid dat prijzen van de meeste metalen de afgelopen maand de beoogde driemaandskoersdoelen al hebben bereikt. In sommige gevallen liggen de prijzen al boven deze koersdoelen. Het koersdoel voor koper voor de komende twaalf maanden laat Goldman Sachs echter staan op 9.000 dollar per ton.

Goldman Sachs gaat voor China en de Verenigde Staten uit van een gematigd herstel, in combinatie met een aanhoudende stijging in de voltooiing in de Chinese huizenbouw, vooral van sociale woningen.

Door Andre Sterk; Dow Jones Nieuwsdienst; andre.sterk@dowjones.com; +31-20-571 5201

voda 3 oktober 2012 16:32

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Iron ore stockpiles decline at Chinese ports - Report

Interfax China reported that iron ore stockpiles at China's ports fell this week as inbound shipments declined prior to the upcoming National Holiday (September 30th 2012 to October 7th 2012), while some steelmakers were restocking in anticipation of higher prices following the break.

According to Shanghai based Mysteel Information, reserves at 30 major ports decreased 1.57% to 94.68 million tonnes, including 7.38 million tonnes of Indian iron ore, up by 1.93%.

Source - Interfax China

voda 3 oktober 2012 16:35

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TATA Steel arranges USD 6.6 billion loan - Report

Dow Jones Newswires reported that TATA Steel has arranged a USD 6.6 billion loan from a banking consortium to fund construction of a factory in eastern India

Dow Jones, quoting an unnamed official, said that State Bank of India and private ICICI Bank are part of the consortium,

A TATA Steel spokesman, when contacted by AFP, declined to comment on the report.

The reported INR 350 billion (USD6.6 billion) loan comes as fundraising for infrastructure projects has slowed, with banks hesitant to provide money to companies amid delayed project approvals and a tougher economic climate.

Source - AFP

voda 3 oktober 2012 16:35

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US Steel may bid for ThyssenKrupp plant - Report

Pittsburgh Business Times reported that United States Steel Corporation is among the potential bidders for a USD 5 billion steel plant in Alabama being sold by ThyssenKrupp.

ThyssenKrupp is putting on the market the high tech steel plant, which was built in 2010, and said it wants to either partner with another company or sell the plant and another one in Brazil.

US Steel declined to comment but two other big steel companies, ArcelorMittal and Nucor Corporation said they were thinking about it.

Source - Pittsburgh Business Times

voda 3 oktober 2012 16:37

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France has 60 days to save ArcelorMittal steel furnaces

Reuters reported that steel giant ArcelorMittal has given the French government 60 days to find a buyer for the last steel furnaces in the former industrial powerhouse region in Lorraine. Unions are pessimistic about the prospects but industrial recovery minister Mr Arnaud Montebourg has ruled out nationalization.

Mr Montebourg said that he strongly disagreed with the Luxembourg based company owned by Indian billionaire Mr LN Mittal, to close the furnaces and coke oven at Florange.

The company announced the closure after the furnaces had been inactive for 14 months. It will mean the loss of 629 jobs, although the company says that it hopes to avoid compulsory redundancies.

The government has given the task of finding a buyer to economy ministry official Mr Pascal Faure, who has already written a report on the site.

ArcelorMittal said that it intends to keep the site's downstream activities, which employ 2,000 people.

Unions believe that that decision will make it almost impossible to find a buyer and some have demanded that the site be nationalized. Montebourg has said that a state takeover is not on the order of the day.

According to the World Steel Association, about 200 million more tonnes of steel were produced than sold in the world in 2011 and demand has fluctuated with the effects of the economic crisis in Europe and the US.

More and more production has shifted to countries where labor is cheaper.

ArcelorMittal has 25 furnaces in Europe, but only 16 are operating at the moment. There are only two left in France, at Dunkirk on the channel and is Fos sur mer, near Marseille.

Lorraine was for a long time a centre of heavy industry and subject to continuous dispute, including wars, between France and Germany.

The closure of the furnaces is widely seen as a symptom of the decline of traditional heavy industry in France and comes amid a wave of factory closures and job losses that have posed a huge political problem for President François Hollande's Socialist government since its election earlier this year.

Source - Reuters

voda 3 oktober 2012 16:40

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Analysts foresee doomsday for iron ore as new mines come on stream

Bloomberg reported that Iron ore, the commodity most leveraged to China’s growth and Australia’s biggest export earner, is heading for the longest bear market in 20 years.

Vale SA, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, which control about two-thirds of seaborne iron ore supply, are spending about USD 47 billion on new and bigger iron ore mines from Brazil to Australia. The new cargoes are set to reach the global market just as China changes gear to lower growth expectations, following what may become its weakest performance since 1990.

Citigroup Inc said in a report last month “An iron ore surplus looms in 2015 after capacity expansions in Brazil and Australia, the biggest exporters, help boost global seaborne exports by about 35% from 2010 levels.”

Mr Alberto Calderon, chief commercial officer of BHP, said last month at a conference in Canberra “We’re already seeing the beginning of the end of the first phase of economic development in China. The pace of demand for iron ore from China has slowed down by more than half.”

Kieran Davies, chief economist at Barclays Capital in Sydney, said in a note. “The price of iron ore is the canary in the coal mine. It’s seen as an indication of the economic outlook for China and Australia.”

According to Mr Andy Xie, a former Morgan Stanley chief Asia-Pacific economist, prices reached a record USD 191.90 a tonne February 16 last year and may plunge as low as USD 50 a tonne before the middle of next year

They haven’t traded at that level since contract prices were set at USD 47 a tonne in 2006.

Source - Bloomberg

voda 3 oktober 2012 16:41

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S&P warns of little iron ore respite for miners

Global credit agency Standard & Poor's said that it saw little improvement in iron ore prices in the near term and warned that smaller single commodity miners could see their ratings slip.

S&P said a slowdown in China, the world's largest producer and consumer of steel, and sluggishness in Europe had seen iron ore prices dive from their peak of more than US$180 per tonne to below USD 90 per tonne in the past two months.

Prices had rebounded to between USD 100 and USD 110 but S&P said it doesn't expect iron ore prices to climb much further in the near term, and warned that substantially debt laden miners could come under pressure.

S&P said in a research note that "We found that iron ore prices need to average above USD 120 per tonne in the near term to alleviate potential negative rating pressure for certain producers, assuming other factors such as costs and foreign exchange rates remain the same."

The agency said single commodity miners such as Australia's Fortescue Metals Group and Ukraine's Ferrexpo would be under the greatest pressure, with iron ore accounting for almost all their business.

Fortescue in September 2012 secured a USD 4.5 billion loan to pay down debts that have seen it defer two planned expansions and cut jobs as it grapples with a commodities slowdown.

Xstrata has also announced sackings and BHP Billiton, the world's largest miner, shelved plans to expand its massive Olympic Dam copper and uranium project in Australia after reporting a 35% plunge in annual profit.

S&P said BHP, Anglo American and London headquartered Vedanta were all seen as being relatively robust due to their diversified portfolios, with falls in earnings likely to be less than 20% were iron ore prices to remain soft.

S&P said that Brazil's Vale and Anglo Australian Rio Tinto were more likely to suffer, with an estimated impact on earnings of between 20% and 40%.

Fortescue and Ferrexpo would be among the worst hit, with a fall in earnings of more than 40% forecast and Fortescue in particular seen as having limited flexibility to reduce spending.

Australia recently slashed its mining earnings forecasts for the first time since the global financial crisis, estimating that iron ore prices will plunge 27% and steelmaking coal 28% over the next 12 months.

Source - AFP

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