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The Wuhan Iron and Steel Corporation, China’s first giant state owned iron and steel company and now the fourth largest steel maker in the world has begun exports of reduced iron powder.

The company stated that earlier this month a shipment of reduced iron powder was delivered to a customer in Korea, marking the first international export of WISCO’s Powder Metallurgy products and laying a solid foundation for further exports of the company’s reduced iron powder.

Read more at:  http://www.steelguru.com/international_news/WISCO_successfully_delivers_first_exports_of_reduced_iron_powder/331815.html

(Reuters) – Kazakh miner ENRC  is considering selling all its international assets, including its coveted copper operations in Congo, as its founders come under increasing pressure to repay a big loan they took on to privatize the company, industry and banking sources said.

Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/03/us-enrc-sale-idUSBREA120B320140203

Norilsk Nickel reported a 5% year-on-year decrease in its nickel production in 2013, following lower shipments of nickel semis from Boliden and Talvivaara to the Harjavalta nickel refinery in Finland and the mothballing of the Lake Johnston operations in Australia.

Read more at: http://www.metalbulletin.com/Article/3304427/Base-metals/Norilsk-Nickel-production-down-slightly-in-2013.html

Indonesia announced back in 2012 that it was planning to ban unprocessed ore exports, but it was only recently that the ban went into effect — January 12, to be specific.

While the news sent many nickel market participants reeling, largely because up until the ban was passed, the expectation was that Indonesia — a major supplier of nickel ore — would not go through with an unadulterated ban, it is proving to be a boon for the Philippines. That’s because in the absence of Indonesian ore, many analysts and investors are turning to the nation as a likely source of nickel.

Read more at: http://resourceinvestingnews.com/65843-nickel-in-the-philippines.html

SEOUL: South Korean steelmaker POSCO believes its new steel mill in Indonesia is unlikely to make a profit this year because of an accident at the plant.

“We previously expected the mill to turn into a profit this year, but we expect the accident would lead to a production cut, which would affect profit,” Kim Jae-yeol, a senior vice president, said at an investor conference. He did not elaborate on the details of the accident.

MADAGASCAR – Sherritt International Corp. of Toronto says its has reached commercial production at the Ambatovy nickel operations. Located, 80 km east of Antananarivo, the project is a joint venture of Sherritt (40% and operator),Korea Resources (27.5%), Sumitomo Corp. (27.5%) and SNC-Lavalin (5%).

Ambatovy produced its first finished nickel and cobalt in Q3 2012. It produced 5,695 tonnes of finished nickel and 493 tonnes of finished cobalt.

The project includes an open pit and an ore preparation plant at the mine site. Concentrated laterite ore is delivered by pipeline the process plant and refinery on the east coast. The project has an annual design capacity of 60,000 tonnes of nickel and 5,600 tonnes of cobalt with a mine life of 29 years. It is expected to be the world’s largest nickel and cobalt producer from laterite ores.

Source: http://www.canadianminingjournal.com/news/nickel-sherritt-hits-its-stride-at-ambatovy/1002874911/?&er=NA

Mick Davis, the former chief executive officer of Xstrata Plc, is seeking to raise at least $3 billion from investors before he starts buying mines for his X2 Resources, according to people with knowledge of his plans.

Davis, who has so far raised $1 billion, is targeting mines already in operation or close to producing, said the people, asking not to be identified because the plans aren’t public. Davis may initially limit the number of investors in X2 to six or seven, with each providing $500 million, they said.

Read more at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-22/ex-xstrata-ceo-davis-said-to-seek-3-billion-to-buy-mines.html

Santo Domingo.- The CEO of Xstrata Nickel’s Dominican Republic operation (Falcondo) on Sunday reiterated that the company’s presence in the country depends on a long term mining, with cheap electricity available, to produce and compete in world markets.

David Soares said they pin their hopes of extracting nickel at the controversial site of Loma Miranda, between La Vega and Bonao (central), for which they expect to get the mining permit.

Read more at:  http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/economy/2014/1/20/50274/We-need-guarantees-to-continue-Xstrata-Nickel-Dom-Rep