Beowulf To Drill Further At Kallak Iron Ore Project

Beowulf Mining, the AIM and AktieTorget traded mineral exploration company, has announced that a drilling programme will commence this week at its Kallak Iron Ore deposit at Jokkmokk in northern Sweden.

A grid pattern of 35 holes, totalling 3,500 metres of drilling is expected to cover the complete deposit and potential surrounding areas. The drilling programme is expected to be completed by July 2010 with all analytical testing completed in August 2010.

All the drill cores will be geologically logged and the sections selected for analysis are expected to be assayed at the ALS/Chemex laboratory in the town of Piteå in northern Sweden. The drill cores will continuously be assayed as received at the laboratory. Assay results for the initial drill holes are expected in June 2010 and the full final test results are anticipated to be received during August 2010.

The objective of the drilling programme is to further define the quantity and quality of iron ore already known to be present in the licence area and to allow a maiden JORC compliant resource/reserve to then be sought.

Commenting on the drilling programme, Beowulf's Exectuive Chairman,Clive Sinclair-Poulton said:

“We are delighted to confirm that drilling will shortly commence on the Kallak iron deposit as anticipated. With the recent promising findings of RMG’s conceptual study and MINPRO’s encouraging metallurgical test results indicating that Kallak is potentially able to produce a high grade, high quality product, we look forward to announcing the results of the drilling programme in due course. We also look forward to the planned drilling programme at our Ruoutevare iron ore deposit scheduled for Q4 2010 which is also expected to enhance the Company’s asset base.”

Dannemora Commences Production For Iron Ore Deliveries

Swedish iron ore miner Dannemora, has started production of iron ore for trial deliveries.

The company has engaged Bergteamet AB has as a sub-contractor, and Bergteamet will produce approximately 160 000 tonnes of crude ore with sub-level caving from a level of 162 metres in the Ströms ore.

A temporary processing plant has been established outside the entrance down to the Ströms ore. The finished products will be gradually moved to Hargshamn for shipment to steelwork customers.

The mining and processing operation is expected to run from the middle of March until June, with gradual deliveries to specific customers.

Approximately 9,000 tonnes of iron ore products were delivered to Austrian steel company Voestalpine last year. Negotiations on long-term supply agreements are expected to begin after final testing and an overall evaluation of the blast furnace tests.

Dannemore To Deliver Iron Ore To ThyssenKrupp Steel

Swedish iron ore producer, Dannemora, has signed an agreement with Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe AG for delivery of between 20,000 and 30,000 tonnes of iron ore.

Delivery will be in the second quarter of this year and the iron ore will be used in
full-scale production at ThyssenKrupp’s steelworks in Duisburg.

Following technical verification of the production results, negotiations on long-term supply contracts are expected to begin.

Dannemora has already signed agreements for trial deliveries of iron ore to Austrian steel company Voestalpine and German’s Salzgitter. The three companies’ total annual iron ore consumption is 30 million tonnes.

Dannemora will have an annual production of 1.5 million tonnes of iron ore at full capacity.

Staffan Bennerdt CEO and President of Dannemora Mineral: "We are also engaged in
trial delivery negotiations with several other steel companies. Since the
beginning of the year, interest in iron ore deliveries from Dannemora has
soared. We shall increase our efforts to get iron ore to potential customers."

Production is expected to be up-and-running in 2011.

Losses Increase At Beowulf Mining

AIM-listed Beowulf Mining has announced a 30 per cent increase in unaudited losses for the year to 31 December 2009. The company, which is exploring mineral deposits in northern Sweden, announced losses of £520,096 – up from £398,664 in 2008.

The company also announced that ongoing metallurgical tests at its Ruoutevare Iron Titanium Project have to date produced a final high grade product of sponge iron containing 95% iron and 1.5% titanium.

During the year the company signed a new earn-in joint venture agreement signed with Energy Ventures Limited (EVE) for its Ballek joint-venture, replacing Agricola Resources Plc. EVE have commenced a 1,600m drilling programme at the Ballek joint venture with results anticipated by the end of April of this year.

Beowulf also acquired Agricola's Swedish assets, comprising a package of five highly prospective gold, copper, nickel and uranium exploration licences at Geddaur in northern Sweden as well as securing an exploration licence for Sweden’s largest molybdenum deposit at Munka. The company is said to be looking for other assets to complement and extend its project portfolio.

Commenting on the results Clive Sinclair-Poulton, Executive Chairman of Beowulf said:"Despite a challenging backdrop of global economic uncertainty, Beowulf made significant progress during 2009 and now has an enhanced project portfolio and a new joint venture partner in the form of EVE. Demand for commodities has recovered strongly and we look forward to reporting further progress during 2010."

During the year the company raised £500,000 in working capital via a share placement at a price of 2p per share.

No dividend will be paid.

Beowulf Confident About Ruoutevare Iron Ore Deposit

Anglo-Swedish miner, Beowulf Mining, said on Monday that an independent study has showed that its Ruoutevare deposit in Sweden contains a significant iron-ore resource close to the surface making it a potential open-pit mining operation.

The study estimates gross revenues of about $6.85-billion over a 15-year mine life at an extraction rate of 10 million tonnes a year, with total potential cash flows of $3.07-billion over the mine life.

"We believe that, with further work, we can increase the tonnage available and hence the expected mining life of the project," said Beowulf chairman Clive Sinclair-Poulton.

Ruoutevare is one of the largest known iron-ore deposits not yet in production in Scandinavia.

Dannemora Signs Second Iron Ore Trial Agreement

Swedish iron ore miner Dannemora has signed an agreement for trial deliveries of iron ore with German steel company Salzgitter AG with a view to a long-term supply after trial production of the iron ore.

Between 13,000 and 18,000 tonnes of iron ore products will be delivered to Salzgitter’ss iron ore storage facility in Hamburg during the second quarter of 2010.

This is Dannemora’s second trial delivery. The company signed an agreement with Austrian steel producer Voestalpine in November 2009.

The Dannemora iron ore mine is expected to achieve annual production of 1.5 million tonnes of iron ore products at full capacity. Production is scheduled to commence during summer 2011, with full capacity expected in the second half of 2012.

Vargon Re-Starts Ferrochrome Furnace

Etikrom has re-started one of its four furnaces at its Swedish subsidiary, Vargon has re-started one of its four furnaces and that furnace will only operate at 50% capacity. Therefore, Vargon will be operating at about 20% of its total capacity of about 230,000 tonnes per year.

The main reason to turn on that furnace is to avoid the freezing on heat recovery system and produce hot water for the community due to the contractual obligations of hot water to Vattenfall Power Company to avoid the big penalties during the upcoming winter season.

Source: Steel Guru

LKAB Agrees 48% Iron Ore Pellet Cut With Salzgitter

Swedish high-grade iron ore producer LKAB has said it has agreed with its largest German pellets customer, Salzgitter AG, to lower its annual iron ore pellet price by 48.3%.

LKAB has settled the price for blast furnace pellets with Salzgitter Flachstahl at $1.2643 per dry metric ton Fe unit for 2009.

Source: Trading Markets

Yildirim Seeks Ferrochrome Anti-Dumping Case

Turkey's Yildirim Group would apply to the European Commission to open an anti-dumping case against ferrochrome imports from India, Russia, Kazakhstan and South Africa, chief executive Robert Yildirim said yesterday.

Yildirim Group, which has slowed ferrochrome production at the four furnaces at its Swedish company Vargon, will cut output totally at the end of next month until November.

Yildirim said cheaper imports had driven European ferrochrome prices below the cost of production for the firm, which imports chrome ore from Turkey.

"We will apply to the European Commission in Brussels to open an anti-dumping case against those four countries to protect ourselves from injury," Yildirim said.

"Stainless steel mills are not buying the amount their contracts oblige them to buy, which is forcing prices down. Low-cost producers in India, South Africa, Kazakhstan and Russia also bring the materials to Europe at a low price."

Global ferrochrome prices tumbled in response to slumping demand, forcing producers to cut output in recent months.

Ferrochrome is used in stainless steel to stop corrosion.

Yildirim suggested an anti-dumping tax could be exercised against the imports from the four countries.

He said Vargon was operating at about 30 percent capacity, with two furnaces working at 50 percent capacity.

Two furnaces had been closed since October, he said.

"At the end of this month one more furnace will be shut down and the other one will be shut down by May 28. At the end of May we will be shut down until November 1, and we will see. The market - if it recovers, we will reopen, if not, we will stay closed," Yildirim said.

Source: Reuters/Business Report (South Africa)

Outukumpu To Lay Off 2000 Staff

Outokumpu has announced plans to temporarily lay off 2000 employees at its Tornio Works in Sweden. The Tornio plant is currently operating at 50% capacity, but CEO Mr Juha Rantanen said that the layoffs should not be interpreted of further cuts in production.

Not all of the 2,000 staff would be out of work at the same time. Some employees may work on a part time basis while others, such as those working in the ferrochrome mine, may be laid off until the mine reopens.

Apart from shutting down its ferrochrome operations, Outokumpu will also shut down one of its two steel melting shops and halt a number of steel processing lines at the site. The move is an attempt to conserve cash and to realign output with a slump in global stainless steel demand.

Tornio Works employs about 2,300 employees and includes a ferrochrome mine and processing facilities, which are due to shut down completely in the spring. The site also contains a stainless steel plant, and steel processing lines.

LKAB Announces Record Production Levels

Swedish mining company LKAB has announced that despite a decline towards the end of 2008, production of crude ore in both of its Kiruna and Malmberget iron ore mines in the north of Sweden was at record-breaking levels for the year.

In all, nearly 43 million tonnes of crude ore was produced, 27.5 million tonnes at Kiruna and 15.4 million tonnes at Malmberget were produced, an increase of almost 2 million tonnes over 2007.

Pellet production also rose to record levels following recent investments in new palletizing plants. Production volume reached 19.9 million tonnes, over a million tonnes more than in 2007.

Mr Ola Johnsson president & CEO of LKAB said “Our long term strategy is to increase capacity for pellets and fines products for the steel industry to 30 million tonnes. This demands about 46 million tonnes of crude ore. The mines are a bottleneck in the chain of production and it is essential that we increase our crude ore capacity.”

He added that “LKAB continues its efforts to improve and trim operations, so that we can be ready to deliver high quality products in greater volumes when the economy recovers.”

However the prospects for 2009 are not so rosy. Fremover, the local paper in the port of Narvik, reports that the number of trains arriving filled with ore from Kiruna has fallen from 12 to seven per day.

Mr Johnsson agrees that the market outlook has changed dramatically in the past month: "The situation is difficult to assess, and our customers will be cutting back drastically in the near future. In the short term, we have to adapt. At the same time, our long-term plan of expenditures remains unchanged."