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SINGAPORE, March 31 (Reuters) – Chinese steel and iron ore futures hit three-week highs on Monday, reflecting optimism that demand for the two commodities will perk up as the world’s top consumer heads into the seasonally brisk consumption period over the next two months.

Hopes that China will move to stimulate a slowing economy, including forging ahead with infrastructure investment, also supported investor sentiment. Dalian iron ore jumped as much as 3.9 percent and Shanghai rebar rose nearly 2 percent.

Read more at: http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/03/31/markets-ironore-idINL4N0MS1G920140331

(Reuters) – The president of Baoshan Iron & Steeel on Monday said more Chinese steel makers will be forced to close over the next three years due to tighter credit, higher environmental requirements and increasing margin pressure.

Dai Zhihao made the comments in an online briefing after the company reported a 42 percent drop in 2013 net profit. (Reporting by Ruby Lian; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

Source: http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/03/31/china-baoshan-steel-idINB9N0LQ00W20140331

Xinhua reported that China’s first rare earth products exchange opened in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region after a three month trial.

Mr Jia Yinsong a Ministry of Industry and Information Technology official said that “The Baotou Rare Earth Products Exchange is expected to regulate the country’s rare earth market, improve the way prices are formed and promote development of the industry. The exchange will introduce three spot transaction modes, namely price bidding, listed trading and real-time trading online, with more than 10 trading items including cerium oxide, praseodymium neodymium oxide and europium oxide.”

Read more at:  http://www.steelguru.com/international_news/Chinas_first_rare_earth_products_exchange_opens/335829.html

Mick Davis, the former chief executive officer of Xstrata Plc, raised as much as $3.75 billion from investors to buy assets and turn his X2 Resources into a mid-tier mining company.

The five-member financing group comprises Asia’s largest raw-materials trader Noble Group (NOBL), private-equity fund TPG Capital and sovereign-wealth and pension-fund investors, X2 said, without naming the funds. It got $2.5 billion of committed and as much as $1.25 billion of conditional equity funding.

Read more at: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-03-31/former-xstrata-ceo-davis-raises-about-3-dot-75-billion-to-buy-mines

Russia’s two metal giants have emerged as big winners from Indonesia’s new mining law, after leading a drive to get Jakarta to stick to its controversial mineral ore export ban in the face of opposition from miners and Asian buyers.

In its six-month lobbying campaign last year, United Company RusAl and Norilsk Nickel delivered a blunt message to Indonesian officials: We will only invest billions of dollars in smelters if you ban bauxite and nickel ore exports.

Read more at: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/rusal-norilsk-nickel-profit-after-strong-arming-indonesia-on-export-ban/497093.html

Rio Tinto has won a regulatory battle in the US after staring down a big Utah power company, paving the way for its copper mine to obtain cheaper power.

Rio’s Kennecott Utah Copper convinced politicians in Salt Lake City to change the law to allow it to tap alternative energy providers for its troubled Bingham Canyon Mine.

Read more at: http://www.smh.com.au/business/rio-tinto-wins-a-battle-for-cheap-power-at-bingham-canyon-mine-in-us-20140330-35rqz.html#ixzz2xSKGgPYb

RioTinto has fired a warning at mining unions telling them they are in danger of pricing themselves out of jobs that can or will eventually be done by robots.

Managing director Sam Walsh also said the company was still working under the belief that the mining and carbon taxes would be scrapped, despite the Government’s inability to get support for the issue in the Senate.

He cautioned Australia against allowing resource projects to shut because of local cost pressures or taxes only to move offshore where environmental concerns were not as strict.

Read more at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/mining-boss-says-australians-are-in-danger-of-pricing-themselves-out-of-jobs-and-industry/story-e6frg6n6-1226869179968

Telsa Motors Inc. the electric vehicle maker co-founded by Elon Musk, plans to source all the raw materials for its proposed $5 billion U.S. battery factory in North America.

The Silicon Valley company won’t look overseas for the graphite, cobalt and other materials needed for its so-called Gigafactory, said Liz Jarvis-Shean, a spokeswoman.

Read more at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-28/tesla-to-use-north-american-material-amid-pollution-worry.html

March 29 (Reuters) – GE Energy Financial Services, the General Electric Co arm that funds energy infrastructure projects, said on Friday it was planning to invest in a solar power project in Setouchi, Japan.

The Nikkei had reported earlier that GE would contribute about 10-20 billion yen to the project and take a majority stake in the plant’s operating company set up by Tokyo-based Kuni Umi Asset Management.

Read more at: http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL4N0MP46Y20140328

Russian metal producers are looking to expand into Asian markets in case the US and the EU impose sanctions on Russia.

Mr Vladimir Potanin CEO of Norilsk Nickel said that “His company won’t rule out increasing supplies of nickel and palladium to China and Japan. Norilsk Nickel is also considering measures to shield against possible sanctions from the US and EU. We have large volume of operations in the Chinese market, but the main payment currencies are dollar and euro. In principle, nobody hinders settlements in such currencies as the yuan for deliveries to China. We decided to explore this issue, to look how it’ll function.

Read more at: http://www.steelguru.com/international_news/Crimea_Standoff_Russian_metal_companies_to_redirect_to_Asia_if_sanctions_hit/335675.html