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By MARK WILLIAMS | Source: Mining Journal

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A hedge fund lost the fight to double its holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. on Friday, a move that would have allowed it to block the iron ore miner’s $4 billion buyout of Alpha Natural Resources.

Cleveland-Cliffs shareholders on Friday voted against the request by Harbinger Capital Partners to buy up to a third of the company’s shares. Harbinger needed shareholder backing under state law.

Read the full story at the Mining Journal >>

Source: Express India

Sault Ste. Marie (Canada), October 2: Essar Steel is pumping in USD 160 million (nearly Rs 740 crore) into its Canadian operations to ramp up production to 3.6 million tonnes per annum to feed demand in North America, set up a captive power plant and clean up the environment.

… The company would spend USD 160 million to further increase production by 1 MT in the 12 months to March 31, 2009.

A chunk of the investment would go towards setting up a co-generation power plant that would cut the steel plant’s energy requirements by half. The captive power plant would use waste fuel from the steel plant to produce electricity and is expected to be commissioned by January next year.

Essar Steel Algoma also hopes to achieve greater synergies once its sister concern Essar Steel Minnesota, an integrated plant with its own iron ore reserves in the US, starts feeding it with the key raw material.

The Algoma plant currently sources ore from Cleveland Cliffs and coal from Massey in West Virginia in the US. The company last month announced an USD 1.6 billion investment in its Minnesota operations, where it would be setting up a 2.5 MTPA steel plant.

Read more etails about N.A. steel market, Essar Algoma’s local environmental efforts and planned Sault operations at Express India >>

Source: LCA

Cleveland - A malfunction of the Poe Lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, on September 24 has illustrated the pressing need for Congress to appropriate the funds to build another lock capable of handling the largest U.S.-Flag Great Lakes freighters.

Although the vessel delays totaled only about three hours, had the problem been more severe, cargo movement on the Lakes would have slowed to a trickle. U.S.-Flag Lakers whose length and/or beam restrict them to the Poe Lock represent 70 percent of U.S.-Flag carrying capacity.

“The Poe Lock that connects Lake Superior to the lower Great Lakes is the single point of failure that can cripple Great Lakes shipping,” said James H.I. Weakley, President of Lake Carriers’ Association. “In 2007, the Poe Lock handled nearly 65 million tons of cargo. Without that lock, America’s steel industry is cut off from its major source of iron ore. Without that lock, Great Lakes basin utilities are denied access to clean-burning low-sulfur coal. There just aren’t enough ships that are small enough to transit the MacArthur Lock to make up for loss of Poe-class vessels.” Read the rest of this entry »

Source: ReliablePlant.com

New mine development in Canada and the U.S. has risen rapidly in the last few years as worldwide demand for coal, iron ore, copper, molybdenum, potash and uranium has led to a record number of mine projects under development, currently peaking at more than 220 coal, metals and minerals mines in various stages of planning, engineering and/or construction. These mines represent more than $113 billion in total investment value.

These new mines are highlighted on Industrial Info’s new Canada & U.S. Mining Industry Wall Map. This first-edition map features details of more than 930 operational mines and 220 mines under development in the U.S. and Canada.

Data the map includes, preview and more information at ReliablePlant.com >>

Source: The Times of India

Following its acquisition of US-based Minnesota Steel in 2007, Essar Steel Holdings Limited is all set to invest $1.6 billion in putting up North America’s first mine-based steel plant at Minnesota’s famed Iron Range.

Essar has rechristened Minnesota Steel, which has over 1.4 billion tonnes of iron ore resources in the Mesabi range, as Essar Steel Minnesota LLC. Besides iron ore mining and production, the project will include a concentration plant, a pellet plant, a direct-reduced iron (DRI) plant and steel-making facilities, a company communique said.

At full production, Essar Steel Minnesota will employ nearly 500 persons, and up to 2,000 construction workers over the course of the project, the release added.

“The production from this facility will also support the Essar Steel Algoma plant in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, Canada. The synergy between the Minnesota and Algoma facilities will strengthen Essar’s presence as an integrated steelmaker of high value-added products,” Essar group chairman Shashi Ruia explained.

Full story at The Times of India >>

Source: Lake Carriers Association

With higher water levels allowing Great Lakes freighters to carry bigger cargoes, the iron ore trade on the Great Lakes totaled 6.8 million net tons in August, an increase of 8.6 percent compared to a year ago.

The increase in water levels did allow one U.S.-Flag Laker to twice carry more than 68,000 tons in a single trip. However, if dredging of the Great Lakes Navigation System was sufficient to allow for a full load, the 1,000-foot-long vessel would have carried more than 71,000 tons each trip.

For the year, the Great Lakes iron ore trade stands at 39 million tons, an increase of 10 percent compared to a year ago. Shipments also are ahead of the 5-year average for the January-August timeframe by a like margin.

By JOHN FLESHER | Source: Chicago Tribune

Day after day, ships longer than three football fields depart Great Lakes ports after picking up or delivering loads of iron ore, coal and other cargo. Reaching open water, crews wash the decks with high-powered hoses.

It’s called “cargo sweeping,” because residues that spill onto decks during loading and unloading are swept overboard. The U.S. Coast Guard estimates that 1 million pounds of such debris is washed into the lakes every year.

… But shippers say requiring them to collect the residue, move it onshore for treatment and flush it into municipal wastewater systems would impose ruinous costs. A Coast Guard report last month estimated the price tag at $51.8 million up front, plus $35.7 million a year — more than the annual profit for the entire industry.

“What some are proposing could mean the end of Great Lakes shipping and the movement of cargo by more expensive and less eco-friendly modes of transportation,” said Glen Nekvasil, spokesman for the Lake Carriers Association, which represents U.S.-flagged freighters on the Great Lakes.

Nice analysis of the conflict, quotes from both sides at the Chicago Tribune >>

Source: The Beacon, Column

Last week I began writing about a trip my brother, Tom Allen, took on the lake freighter Herbert C Jackson July 2-10. His friend, Charlie Ontko, had invited Tom to go on a working trip on this boat. They left from Toledo, loaded with coal, went across the western end of Lake Erie, up Detroit River, Lake St Clair, St Clair River and most of the length of Lake Huron.

… On July 5 the Herbert C Jackson was traveling “light ballast” (no freight) as she made her way out the St Mary’s River, through Whitefish Bay and thence onto mighty Lake Superior. Destination: Duluth, Minnesota, at the extreme western end of the lake.

The weather was good, sunny and fine. However, the water temperature of Superior was only 48 degrees so that kept things cool. The guys wore jackets or sweatshirts most of the time.

On Saturday night, just as darkness was coming down, they passed the Keweenaw Peninsula jutting out from the Michigan shore. Tom called home and said they were close enough to see lights from vehicles on shore.

…At Superior they loaded coal for Marquette, Michigan. They didn’t get off the boat at all because they were waiting for officials to check their identification papers. Soon they were underway again, back out the river and heading toward where they would round the Keewenaw Peninsula and then “short-cut” down to Marquette.

At Marquette they unloaded the coal, moved to another dock and loaded iron ore pellets. Tom told us later that the loading and unloading procedures are fascinating. The boat carries ballast water and while loading and unloading the boat is kept level fore and aft. Sometimes loading is slowed while ballast water is pumped out. The crew can actually load freight faster than they can pump water out!

… In the Detroit River, the mail boat came out to meet them. Called by the sailors, “mail in a pail”, a pail is let down and mail and other items are transported to or from the freighter in a closed bucket. Also, another sailor came aboard at this time, leaving the smaller boat and climbing up a ladder on the side of the big boat. Since the Herbert C Jackson was so heavily loaded and low in the water, the new man coming aboard did not have far to climb. Again, all this happened while the two boats were underway and, again, is “routine”.

Lots more to read of Tom’s 8 days on the Herbert C Jackson at The Beacon >>

Source: Duluth News Tribune

A Monday morning strike at some Iron Range mines was averted after a last-minute deal Sunday night.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. sent out a notice at 9 p.m. Sunday announcing a tentative four-year agreement with the United Steelworkers.

The new contract covers approximately 2,300 workers at United Taconite Co. in Eveleth, Hibbing Taconite Co. in Hibbing, and Empire and Tilden mines in Michigan.

Read the full story at the Duluth News Tribune >>

Jordana Huber | Source: Windsor Star

According to a report released in August by the U.S. Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency, more than 500 tonnes of iron ore pellets, coal, limestone, cement, salt and grain are washed into the Great Lakes each year by U.S. and Canadian bulk carriers.

“Some say it is like a highway in Lake Ontario where the ships go because it is so littered with rock and limestone and coal that it has coated the bottom like a road,” said Mark Mattson, president of Lake Ontario Waterkeeper. “I have pictures of slicks from the water when they dump the coal and you can see it from the air and you can see them floating from the ships.”

… The results of the U.S. Coast Guard’s environmental analysis further confirms Canada’s regulations are appropriate, he said.

“Environmental impact studies suggest the impact is negligible for the cargos that are allowed to be discharged under the Canada Shipping Act,” said Riverin.

Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania have all opposed cargo sweeping, along with 56 mayors of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, who warn toxic metals seeping out of waste can harm wildlife and people who eat fish contaminated by the metals.

… A 1999 study by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration concluded that residues of cement, grain, coarse limestone and wood pulp are not likely to cause serious environmental damage or produce negative impacts on plants and animals in the Great Lakes.

The Coast Guard report said tests conducted in vessel track lines found larger particle deposits but chemical concentrations found in cargo at the bottom of the lakes were well below levels known to be harmful to organisms.

… According to the Coast Guard report, the amount of residual cargo swept overboard is equal to .0006 per cent of the 165 million tonnes annually transported across the Great Lakes.

“Of course there is damage but whether anyone can pin it on cargo sweeping as the problem — that is difficult,” Mattson said. “Everybody knows you shouldn’t throw garbage in the lake and the only people who don’t know it are the shipping industry, who say we can’t prove it is a problem.”

Fascinating story, much more detail & quotes at the Windsor Star >>

Source: Duluth Seaway Port Authority

Higher Great Lakes water levels, continued strong coal shipments and a windfall of wind turbine traffic all contributed to strong tonnage totals through July, yet Duluth-Superior’s maritime commerce is lagging slightly behind last year’s record-setting pace, the Duluth Seaway Port Authority reported today.

All cargo through July totaled 21 million short tons, 6.5 percent behind 2007, which is remarkable considering grain shipments were down 62 percent compared to this timeframe last year.

Lake Levels Up.

Above average spring rainfall in all of the Great Lakes basins raised lake levels well above their levels of a year ago. Lake Superior is 16 inches above last year’s level, and forecasted to rise an additional inch over the next 30 days, enough to allow vessels to depart Duluth-Superior with as much as 14 additional inches of draft compared to the end of last year’s shipping season.

Each inch of draft means about 270 tons of cargo for the largest domestic lakers and about 100 tons for typical Seaway vessels. The remaining Great Lakes range from 6 to 13 inches above their levels of a year ago, and despite some seasonal declines forecasted for Lakes Erie, Michigan-Huron and Ontario, all (with the exception of Erie) are expected to remain above 2007 water levels over the next few months.

Coal Leads Commerce.

Historically the Port’s No. 2 cargo, coal shipments eclipsed iron ore during the early months of the 2008 shipping season and continue as the Port’s maritime commerce leader to date. The clean-burning, low-sulfur coal shipped via the port’s Midwest Energy Resources Company terminal reached 9.9 million tons through July (three percent above last year’s level). Total iron ore shipments through July of 8.9 million tons were running 12.4 percent behind 2007 tonnage totals to date. Iron ore shipments are expected to increase in the second half of the shipping season.

Project Cargo on Track.

Project cargo shipments at the Clure Public Marine Terminal continue to be strong. Wind turbine component cargo handled by Lake Superior Warehousing Co. is Read the rest of this entry »

See Also: MPCA: Lake Superior is not a washcloth for contaminated ship holds - MinnPost.com

By SHAWN JEFFORDS | Source: Sarnia Observer

The practice of freighters dumping waste cargo on the U.S. side of the Great Lakes is causing lasting harm and has to stop, environmentalists and local politicians say.

Mark Mattson, president of Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, said cargo sweeping is so widespread that a “highway” of debris now litters the bottom of Lake Ontario.

Some deposits are coal and iron ore, which in turn contain mercury. Shipping companies must take responsibility for the waste they create, he said.

Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley said the coalition should be encouraged.

“Why we allow the Great Lakes to be treated like a toilet bowl I don’t know,” he said.

“I can’t imagine that we would not be in support of banning this. It’s illegal to do in Canada and I think it should be illegal in the States as well.”

Much more to this story at the Sarnia Observer >>

by Tina Lam | Source: Detroit Free Press

Heavy snow and rains since last winter have made the lakes rise. Scientists aren’t sure whether this will last, but they’re hopeful. The temperatures, moisture and ice cover next winter will be critical.

“If we get two more good, normal winters with normal precipitation, then we’d have a turnaround,” said Cynthia Sellinger, deputy director of the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Lake Superior, which beat its 1926 record low last fall, rebounded to within 4 inches of its long-term average in July. Lakes Erie and Ontario are 2 and 4 inches, respectively, above their July averages.

Lakes Michigan and Huron are up 8 inches, though still lagging more than a foot below their normal July levels. Lake St. Clair is up 10 inches from last year and down just 2 inches from its normal for July.

… Ships on the Great Lakes that carry coal, iron ore and cement for industry moved slightly more cargo in June than they did a year ago, but they’re still loading light because some harbors still are too shallow, according to the Lake Carriers’ Association in Cleveland.

Despite 16 inches more water in Lake Superior last week compared with a year ago, the Wenonah ferry from Grand Portage, Minn., to Isle Royale National Park still is not running. Last summer was the first in 30 years the 149-passenger boat couldn’t get to the island.

Read why the lakes rebounded, further impacts and mid-term forecasts all at the Detroit Free Press >>

by Jeff Alexander | Source: The Muskegon Chronicle

A potential showdown is brewing between state and federal agencies over the U.S. Coast Guard’s longstanding practice of allowing freighters to wash unlimited amounts of coal and other cargo residues into the Great Lakes.

Each year, the Great Lakes shipping fleet washes upwards of two million pounds of cargo residue — primarily coal, limestone and iron ore — off freighters and into the lakes. The practice, used since the 1930s, prevents cargo residues from contaminating subsequent loads of other materials.

Federal law and an international treaty prohibit ships from dumping waste into the Great Lakes. But the practice has continued because Congress in 1993 approved a temporary policy, a loophole essentially, that allowed it on an interim basis. The Coast Guard now wants to make that policy permanent.

… “Minnesota solid waste rules prohibit the disposal of solid waste into waters of the state of Minnesota, including Lake Superior,” said Paul Eger, assistant commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, in a letter to the Coast Guard.

Eger disputed the Coast Guard’s claim that cargo residues washed off ships sink quickly and do not harm water quality.

“Coal has been observed and collected by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on the shoreline beach of Minnesota Point, Duluth,” Eger said. “This coal did not dissolve or dissipate in the waters of the lake, but instead floated and accumulated along the beach in Duluth.”

Michigan officials said they were unaware freighter operators washed cargo residues into the lakes until 2006, when The Chronicle first reported on the practice.

“Such discharges appear to be in violation of Michigan’s Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act,” said Rich Powers, chief of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s Water Bureau, in a letter to the Coast Guard.

More to the story — quotes, rebuttals and study results — at the Muskegon Chronicle >>

Source: The Hamilton Spectator

What came in and out of the Port of Hamilton last week: July 13-19

• Estimated total tonnage: 309,054
• Total ships in and out: 17
• Domestic: 17
• International: 0
• Percentage of imports: 70
• Percentage of exports: 30

Incoming: Nine ships arrived with bulk raw materials (coal and ore) used in production at steel mills ArcelorMittal Dofasco and U.S. Steel Canada. Five vessels handled petroleum products, three handled aggregate and one vessel handled steel.

Outgoing: 0

Highlights for the week: The port receives a wide variety of aggregates and dry bulk commodities including gypsum, stone and sand. Pier 23 is home to Lakeshore Sand, which processes foundry and glass making sand, casting and water filtration sand, and bunker sand supplied to nearly 40 area golf courses.

The primary operators in the domestic laker fleet on the Great Lakes are Canada Steamship Lines and Seaway Marine Transport, which serve steel mills ArcelorMittal Dofasco and U.S. Steel Canada and carry a variety of other bulk cargo through the system and to and from Hamilton. The port averages more than 500 domestic vessel calls each year.

Source: Marketwatch

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc today announced that it has acquired United Mining Co. Ltd.’s 30% interest in United Taconite (UTAC), an iron ore mining and pelletizing operation located in Eveleth, Minn. Cliffs previously owned a 70% interest in the joint venture and after completing the purchase now has 100% ownership.

United Taconite is expected to produce 5.2 million tons in 2008 and at Dec. 31, 2007 had proven reserves of 133 million tons.

[The purchase was made with a] mix of cash, stock and iron ore pellets. The total includes $100 million in cash and 1,529,619 Cleveland-Cliffs common shares. In addition, the transaction includes a provision to supply 1.2 million tons of iron ore pellets over the next five quarters at no cost.

Read the full press release at Marketwatch >>

By CHRISTOPHER DIEM | Source: Mining Journal

Cleveland Cliffs Inc. will invest $500 million dollars to increase pellet production at the Empire and Tilden mines - adding 375 new employees and extending the life of the Empire Mine until 2018.

Continued operations at the Empire Mine, which faced potential closure in 2011, will protect 550 current jobs. In addition, production at the Tilden Mine will be maximized, resulting in an annual pellet production capacity of about 13 million tons next year.

Read the full story at the Mining Journal >>

Source: Lake Carriers’ Assn.

Iron ore shipments on the Great Lakes remained strong in June. Loadings totaled 6.4 million net tons, an increase of 2.6 percent compared to both a year ago and the month’s 5-year average.

The trade was down from May’s total of 7.3 million tons, but that month was a period of stockpile replenishment as well as meeting current production demands.

Although there has been some recovery in water levels, the dredging crisis remained a millstone around Great Lakes shipping’s neck in June. Only three iron ore cargos topped 65,000 tons during the month, so even the best cargos represented only 91 percent of vessels’ rated carrying capacity. The worst case was when a vessel left the loading dock only 81 percent full because the receiving port is so in need of dredging.

For the year, the Lakes iron ore trade stands at 25 million tons, an increase of 9 percent compared to a year ago. Shipments are 8 percent ahead of the 5-year average for the first half of the year.

Lake Carriers’ Association represents 16 American corporations that operate 63 U.S.-Flag vessels on the Great Lakes. These vessels carry the raw materials that drive the nation’s economy: Iron ore and fluxstone for the steel industry, limestone and cement for the construction industry, coal for power generation…. Collectively, these vessels can transport more than 115 million tons of cargo a year when high water levels offset the lack of adequate dredging of Great Lakes ports and waterways. More information is available at www.lcaships.com

Source: LCA

The Lake Carriers Association reports that trade on the Great Lakes continues to suffer from a lack of investment in dredging. Despite an increase in shipments of both coal and iron ore in May over the same period last year, top loads again represented only about 90 percent of the largest vessels’ designed carrying capacity. As a result, coal shipments in May were limited to 4.4 million net tons.

Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes totaled 7.3 million net tons in May, an increase of 15.4 percent compared to a year ago, and some 16.4 percent better than the month’s 5-year average. Rising water levels and high steel demand have helped push trade levels up, but many of the largest vessels could have carried another 5,000-6,000 tons per trip if sufficient dredging was carried out, says the LCA.

By Steve James | Source: Reuters

The price of steel-making raw materials such as iron ore, coal and scrap metal will continue to rise for several years, keeping pressure on manufacturers and consumers, the head of U.S. steelmaker Nucor Corp said on Wednesday.

“The bull market for commodities will last for decades to come, and our customers need to get used to it,” Dan DiMicco, the company’s chairman, president and chief executive, told a steel conference.

His comments, at the American Metal Market’s Steel Success Strategies conference, echoed those of U.S. Steel Corp’s Chief Executive Officer John Surma on Tuesday.

Full story at Reuters >>