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MOSCOW — OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel sees South African output of platinum group metals declining in the next several years as the Russian mining company leads investors in creating a $2bn palladium fund.

“Investments in a vast amount of projects in South Africa were delayed and it’s hard to expect an increase in output in the region,” Anton Berlin, head of strategic marketing at Norilsk, said in an interview on Monday.

Read more at: http://www.bdlive.co.za/world/europe/2015/04/07/norilsk-sees-africa-cutting-platinum-output-after-low-investment

The Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre in the UK is leading two new European research projects to develop advanced manufacturing technologies for the civil nuclear industry.
The projects will develop machining techniques to reduce the risk of component failure over a reactor’s lifetime, and investigate processes to create high-integrity reactor components from metal powder.

MELBOURNE, April 8 (Reuters) – Australia’s treasurer has told business representatives he would not allow Glencore Plc to merge with Rio Tinto due to concerns about losing tax revenue, a person familiar with his comments said on Wednesday.

Treasurer Joe Hockey said based on the tax implications he had seen from the treasury, he would not allow a Glencore takeover of Rio, Australia’s second biggest miner and one of its biggest taxpayers, the person said. He declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/08/rio-tinto-glencore-australia-idUSL4N0X52AS20150408

Carbon3D leverages a proprietary technology called continuous liquid interface production, or CLIP, which is similar to stereolithography, or SLA, in that a pool of UV-light-sensitive resin is selectively cured with a UV laser to build objects one layer at a time. But instead of pausing between layers like SLA does, which creates rougher surface finishes and reduces printing speed, CLIP controls the flow of oxygen to the resin, enabling it to continuously “grow” objects with an “animation” sequence that the UV laser follows during the printing process.

Read more at: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/04/05/the-future-of-3d-printing-just-arrived-3d-systems.aspx

Illustration of oil refinery (Photo source: Free Digital Photos)

Jakarta, GIVnews.com – China has expressed interest to invest an estimated US$ 63 billion in infrastructure and other projects in Indonesia.

China has expressed interest to work on projects such as power plants, seaports, high speed railways, industrial estates and shipyards, Franky Sibarani, Chairman of the Capital Coordinating Board (BKPM) said at his office on Wednesday (01 Apr.), Tempo.co reported.

Read more at: http://www.globalindonesianvoices.com/20042/china-to-invest-us63-billion-in-indonesia-bkpm-to-open-office-in-beijing/

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi have vowed to work for the target of raising two-way trade to 10 billion USD in 2018 from 5.4 billion USD last year, as agreed by top leaders of both countries.
Read more at:
http://m.english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/government/127286/vietnam–indonesia-determined-to-raise-trade-to–10-billion.html#

New Caledonia’s Koniambo nickel company says it has serious problems with its furnaces and will therefore produce far less metal this year than scheduled.

The seven-billion US dollar plant was shut for weeks after Christmas after about 500 tonnes of liquid nickel was spilled from one of the furnaces, incurring the company millions of US dollars of damage.

The company now says a design flaw will make it necessary to replace the other furnace, which will almost halve this year’s planned nickel production of 27,000 tonnes.

Its manager has told local media that the setback will force Koniambo to reduce its expenses, which may lead to job cuts.

The plant, which was officially opened by the French president Francois Hollande in November, is widely seen as the key industrial site to advance the economy of the mainly Kanak northern province.

According to Wohlers Report 2014, the worldwide 3D printing industry is now expected to grow from $3.07B in revenue in 2013 to $12.8B by 2018, and exceed $21B in worldwide revenue by 2020.

Source: Why 3D Printing Stocks Could Have a Tremendous Runway for Growth.

Prototyping (24.5%), product development (16.1%) and innovation (11.1%) are the three most common reasons companies are pursuing 3D printing.  Of those surveyed in a recent Gartner study, 37% had just one 3D printer within their organizations, with 18% owning 10 or more. The average number of printers per organization was 5.4.

Source: Gartner Survey Reveals That High Acquisition and Start-Up Costs Are Delaying Investment in 3D Printers. 

Read more at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2015/03/31/2015-roundup-of-3d-printing-market-forecasts-and-estimates/

Publicly listed nickel mine operator PT Vale Indonesia (INCO) will allocate up to US$185 million in capital expenditures (capex) this year to finance expansion projects, including the construction of new refining facilities.The company’s chief financial officer, Febriany Eddy, said on Tuesday the allocated sum was significantly higher than last year’s capital spending realization of $76.8 million.

See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/04/01/vale-sets-aside-185m-finance-expansion.html#sthash.bysmksp0.dpuf