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Johannesburg - Preliminary figures released by the International Stainless Steel Forum show that global stainless steel crude steel production decreased in the first half of 2008 by 1.8 percent compared with the previous year. The drop in output was 2.9 percent in the first quarter but just 0.6 percent in the second and all major regions have recorded lower production volumes. The smallest drop came from Western Europe and Africa, which together represent the world's second largest producing area, after it reported a 0.8 percent decrease in stainless steel production during the first six months of 2008. Total production was 4.9 million tonnes for the half year.

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.

SYDNEY -(Dow Jones)- BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AU) said Tuesday it expects stainless steel demand to be robust over the long-term, underpinned by China's ongoing urbanization and industrialization, the miner said in a presentation to analysts on a site tour at its nickel operations in Western Australia.

NEW DELHI: The Centre Government has imposed a provisional anti-dumping duty on certain high-end stainless steel products to guard the domestic industry from surges in cheaper imports from China, Thailand and the U.S.

"To prevent the theft of these cables, Network Rail have specified Panduit super heavy duty stainless steel banding to wrap around the cables and securely strap them to the cable trough. This measure will make the cables more difficult to access and extract therefore deterring thieves owing to the considerable extra time and effort involved and the added risk of detection, apprehension and arrest. The frequency of Panduit cable locking needs to be balanced with cost and the need to maximise the quantity of locked cables as quickly as possible. As a result of this, the below table sets out how often Panduit stainless steel rail cable bands should be used."

LONDON - Nickel hit a two-year low Friday as worries about \ndemand from stainless steel mills mounted, while copper managed to end in \npositive territory despite growing fears of a global economic slowdown.

ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT), a steel manufacturer based in New Deli, launched a clean technology venture capital fund to support ventures that have relevance for the carbon-intensive steel industry. The Fund has made its first investment of US$20 million in Miasolé, a California-based pioneer in the development of thin-film solar panels Miasolé has developed unique high volume manufacturing processes that enable efficient production of Copper Indium Gallium Selenium (CIGS) solar products on a flexible stainless steel substrate. This technology promises to dramatically lowers the installed cost of Photovoltaic (PV) systems and will enable renewable energy from the sun to replace carbon generating fossil fuels. Fund managers will be working with leading venture capital firms, including Bessemer Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, to identify worthy cleantech ventures. ArcelorMittal also announced that it has created a new carbon fund in order to strategically engage in the carbon market and promote climate friendly solutions that are relevant for the steel industry. The fund, which has an initial investment commitment of €100 million (US$ 157 million) is currently looking at investment opportunities in renewable energy, energy efficiency, methane capture and greenhouse gas reducing technologies--all of which have the potential to generate carbon credits under the Kyoto Protocol. ArcelorMittal intends to use the carbon credits received from these Clean Development Mechanism and Joint Implementation projects for compliance in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.

Outokumpu, the Finnish stainless steel producer, sold its last remaining copper processing facility to Bons & Evers holding BV, a privately owned Dutch metals company. The facility produces brass rod, employing 170 people, located in Drunen, Netherlands. Bons & Evers produces hot-forged and machined brass products and has production facilities in: Borne, NL; Voehrenbach, DE; Geisingen, DE; Esvres, FR; Herzberg, DE.

Outokumpu, a leading stainless steel fabricator, announced on 1st November that it has sold its 50% shareholding in Nordic Brass Gusum, a brass rod mill located in Sweden, to the operative management. The brass rod mill has a production capacity of 40,000t/y, employs 150 workers and in 2010 achieved a turnover of EUR110M. Outokumpu still owns another brass mill in the Netherlands, Copper LDM B.V., which has a production capacity of around 30,000t/y.