Voestalpine May Buy More Austrian Iron Ore

Austrian Steelmaker May Take Third Of Its Requirement from Local Mine

Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine AG, may increase the amount of iron ore it buys from the country’s Erzberg mine to 33 per cent in a move to try and cut its dependence on foreign imports in the face of rising raw material prices.

Speaking to Bloomberg Voestalpine CEO Wolfgang Eder said that his company is considering increasing its supply from Erzberg from the current 25 per cent to 33 per cent.
Voestalpine currently buys iron ore from Vale SA of Brazil as well as from Ukraine and South Africa.

Mr Eder also said that Voestalpine will pass on its increased costs in one or two steps.

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.

Voestalpine Cuts Working Hours for 4000 Staff

Austrian steelmaker, Voestalpine, has announced that in order to avoid layoffs ten percent of its 42,000 staff will have their working hours reduced in attempt to deal with the current downturn.

The cut will affect 1500 employees at the company's Automotive Division sites in Germany, the Netherlands and Austria sites of the Automotive Division and 2500 staff at the company's Steel Division a quarter of its staff.

The employees concerned in steel production will work approximately 15 percent less hours for the coming 3 months while payments are reduced by a maximum of 10 percentat.

CEO Wolfgang Eder said: “The current economic situation can only be handled with radical measures. Everyone of us will have to make sacrifices in order to avoid layoffs in large scale, which remains our primary goal.”