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Ural Metal and Mining Company (UMMC), a Russian vertically integrated producer of semi fabricated products, has said that it will continue its investment projects in semi-finished copper and copper alloy products despite a 6% y-o-y Jan-July decline in rolled demand this year. The company broke this figure down into its constituent segments: demand for copper pipes fell by 18% y-o-y and flat rolled products sales dropped 8% y-o-y in Jan-July. UMMC currently sells between 58,000-62,000t of rolled products per annum through its Kirov (flat rolled), Revda (flat rolled), Kolchugtsvetmet (tubes) and Majdanpek (tubes) operations. UMMC will complete its delayed 4-year investment strategy in 2013 with an upgrade of machinery at its Kolchugtsvetmet operation.

S.A. Eredi Gnutti Metalli S.p.A., an Italian copper and copper-alloy extrusions and flat rolled product fabricator, has taken over Dalmet S.p.A., another Italian company which competes in the production of copper and copper-alloy flat rolled products. Dalmet has the capacity to supply 3,000t/y of flat rolled products to the electrical, electromechanical, electronic and automotive components, ornaments, door locks and medals manufacturing markets. With this acquisition Eredi Gnutti increases its rolling and casting capacity.

It is expected that copper products and copper alloy products will be applied to water tanks on the ground in addition to floating fish cages in cultivating fish.Study on the effect of application of

It is expected that the commercialization of copper alloy materials for use in fish cages will gain momentum more

"The project is being carried out by Rusal's engineering and technology centre (ETC) at its Irkutsk aluminium smelter (IrkAZ)"

"The composite can be applied by spraying or other commonly used wet chemistry processes and cures at 150-200°C. It is suitable for steels, metal alloys and metals such as aluminum, magnesium and copper, and can be used to coat any shape of plates, pipes, gear wheels, tools or machine parts."

"The new material - made from nickel, titanium and copper - shatters previous records and is so resilient it could be useful in artificial heart valves, aircraft components or a new generation of solid-state refrigerators."

"SHANGHAI, Jun. 5 (SMM) -Speculation is running high that aluminum will replace copper in wire & cable now that China's new standards for aluminum alloy cable will take effect September 1. However, the new standards will do little in boosting aluminum applications in wire & cable, Shanghai Metals...... "

"A recent nationwide industrial standard released by Beijing is expected to reduce China's copper demand by 100,000-250,000 tonnes next year, Goldman Sachs said in a latest note. "

Despite a slowdown in the global economy and a softening in demand for aluminium rolled products in some regions, JSE-listed aluminium reroller Hulamin expected global demand to increase this year. CEO Alan Fourie on Tuesday commented that the company, which exported about 70% of its products, had seen some softening in demand for aluminium rolled products in some regions, but added that demand for these products was expected to grow by between 5% and 7% this year. "Obviously the slowdown of the [global] economy puts pressure on margins, it is an economic consequence, but we are still selling into a growing international market," he said. Locally, however, the softening economic climate was expected to impact on sales volumes for the second half of the year. However, Hulamin expected these high-value products to continue growing as a percentage of its sales in the next few years. Fourie noted that five years ago, these products equated to just over 50% of its sales volumes, while their contribution was just below 60% in 2007. They now comprised about 64% of its total sales volumes. Meanwhile, Hulamin stated that its costs had increased by 16%, influenced by a 58% increase in energy costs, increasing alloying costs caused by magnesium prices rising from $2 000/t to $4 500/t, and increases in other metals. Excluding the cost of increasing energy and metals prices, the company's costs had increased by 6%. Fourie noted that while the rising aluminium costs did not affect its profitability, it did have an effect on its working capital. "We hold aluminium in our working capital. So when the aluminium price increases, the cash tied up in working capital increases and we have seen a significant increase in working capital during this period, because the rand price of aluminium has increased by close to 40% in the last six months," he explained. Further, Fourie did not expect the increasing electricity prices to have too great an impact on its futu

Mitsubishi Electric Metecs plans to set up a joint venture in Suzhou, China with Denkishizai and Nippon Steel Trading. The joint venture will produce copper alloy strips which will then be supplied to Japanese and Taiwanese electronic parts makers in China. The estimated production is around 150t/m to 160t/m. Mitsubishi Electric Metecs will hold 75% of the new company, which Denkishizai will hold 20% and Nippon Steel will hold 5%. Previously Mitsubishi Electric Metecs set up another JV in China in 2004 with Denkishizai in Guangzhou. The Guangzhou JV now produces some 150t/m to 160t/m of copper alloy products.

MOSCOW - In what would be one of the biggest mining deals in Russia this year, the metals tycoon Mikhail D. Prokhorov announced on Tuesday that he would sell 16.6 percent of the Arctic mining giant Norilsk Nickel to his former business partner, Vladimir O. Potanin. The two tycoons agreed last year to divide their holdings in Norilsk, a Russian factory founded by Stalin, whose value soared along with high commodity prices. Norilsk is the world's largest producer of nickel, a key alloy in stainless steel. Under the terms, as laid out in a statement from Mr. Prokhorov's investment company, Onexim, Mr. Potanin agreed to pay $10 billion for the 16.6 percent, in $6.5 billion cash and 35.2 percent of the shares in another mining company, Polyus Gold. The deal valued Norilsk Nickel at $315 a share, well above Monday's closing price of $216, and despite a recent drop in nickel prices, concerns of an economic slowdown and diminished demand for stainless steel.

MOSCOW, January 21 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's prime minister signed on Wednesday a resolution to completely eliminate plain nickel and cathode copper export duties, but kept 10% duties in place for refined copper and copper alloys, a government spokesman said.

South Korea has experienced a sharp decrease in its entire copper semis range production in November 2008 according to the Korean Nonferrous Metal Association. Copper wirerod totalled 46,007 tonnes, falling by 18% y-o-y. Copper plate and strip plunged by almost 42% y-o-y to 10,744 tonnes. Copper tube also declined by approximately 26% to 9,448 tonnes, while copper and copper alloy bar production fell to 16,191 tonnes, a decline of approximately 8%. Overall, copper semis production in November 2008 dropped by 21.4% y-o-y. For the first eleven months of 2008, copper semis output amounted to 1,097,154 tonnes compared to 1,193,092 tonnes from the same period in 2007, declining by 8%. The economy has been hit by shrinking exports and weakening domestic demand. In response to the downturn, the government announced that it will invest 50 trillion won within the next four years in infrastructure and environment projects.

Amsterdam, Nov 5 : A researcher has shown that that an alloy of the metals magnesium, titanium and nickel is excellent at absorbing hydrogen, and is sixty percent less than a battery pack, which brings the world a step closer to the everyday use of hydrogen as a source of fuel for powering vehicles.

So how can copper help? Earlier this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the registration of 275 copper alloys as antimicrobial materials, allowing public health claims that copper, brass and bronze are capable of killing potentially deadly bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -- the so-called "superbug" MRSA, which is blamed for many hospital infection deaths.