Taken from the Cape Breton Post:
eserve Group visiting Sysco
By John Campbell
New Democrat MLA Frank Corbett is concerned that the
lawyer representing Reserve Group in its bid for Sydney
Steel also represented Global Steel in its failed attempt to
buy the plant.
Reserve Group, based in Ohio, apparently broke the
secrecy agreement required of bidders by the ABN
AMRO bank when it went public Monday with a
suggestion that it was pulling out of the process after
getting a look at the Sysco books.
However Reserve representatives were on the plant site
Tuesday and more were expected to arrive today to begin
the due diligence process that sources say will also be
undertaken by several other firms contacted by the
Netherlands investment bank which is trying to conclude a
sale by Dec. 31.
A Canadian Press report quoted Ottawa lawyer Stuart
Hendin as saying that Ohio-based Reserve wants to
operate the mill and build up the order book before it buys
the place.
The report has Henden referring to “serious misgivings”
about the plant's order book but talks of having another
company, Rail Associates, market Sysco rails if Reserve's
bid is successful.
This is still the biggesr NR in this regard!
Viability study to be conducted with
Hoogovens
Sysco's saleability may have gone up a notch or two with
word of a study that will examine a major mineral deposit.
NAR Resources in conjunction with the Titanium
Corporation of Canada has agreed to proceed with a
viability study with Hoogovens Technical Services, a wholly
owned subsidiary of Royal Hoogovens, a major Dutch steel
and aluminum producer. Royal Hoogovens have recently
announced a merger with British Steel PLC, making the
resultant company the world's third largest steel producer.
Titanium Corporation jointly with NAR is developing what
is believed to be a world class mineral sands deposit
containing the titanium minerals; rutile, ilmenite, and
leucoxene as well as magnetite and zircon. The deposit is
situated near Truro.
The viability study is focusing on introducing ilmenite (an
iron and titanium mineral) as a raw mineral feedstock for the
Sydney Steel plant. The Nova Scotia government has
retained Hoogovens to manage the provincially owned
Sydney Steel operation (Sysco). Hoogovens is also
working with the major Dutch Bank ABN-AMRO who has
been commissioned by the Nova Scotia government to
privatize Sydney Steel.
The agreement deals with the evaluation of a potential new
source of raw material feedstock for Sysco. If the material
is proved suitable for steel production in Sydney there are
several distinct advantages which would be realized. Firstly,
Sysco would have a preferential source of raw materials,
which would come from a Nova Scotia source, thus giving
the company a distinct competitive advantage. Secondly,
Titanium Corporation and NAR would benefit from a
processing arrangement, which would augment their
anticipated titanium production.
The process under consideration involves locating a titanium
slag facility at the Sysco site whereby two products would
be generated, titanium slag and an iron byproduct. If a
titanium slag facility were situated adjacent to the Sysco site
it would allow the liquid iron byproduct to be used as a
direct feed into the existing electric arc furnace. This offers a
significant cost benefit for Sysco relative to the world
market price for scrap or alternative virgin iron units and
would contribute to a reduction in power and electrode
consumption.
Additionally, the titanium slag process generates significant
quantities of fuel gas, which could be used directly |
