Ann: Resource Increased To 0.5 Billion Tonnes , page-32

FYI nose and everyone particularaly last few lines. look like someones timing couldnt be less accurate


Kobe Steel plans $1 bln iron plant in Vietnam
Fri Apr 2, 2010 5:25am EDTStocks

TOKYO, April 2 (Reuters) - Kobe Steel Ltd (5406.T), Japan's fourth-biggest steelmaker, said it plans to build a $1 billion iron-making plant in Vietnam to tap growing demand for steel.

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Kobe has received approval from the Vietnamese government to start a detailed feasibility study for the project, the steelmaker said on Friday.

The company will soon set up a wholly owned unit in Vietnam to conduct the study.

Kobe Steel aims to start building the plant in the northern province of Nghe An in January 2011 and begin production in early 2013, spokesman Gary Tsuchida said.

Japanese steelmakers, including bigger rivals Nippon Steel Corp (5401.T), JFE Holdings Inc (5411.T) and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd (5405.T), aim to shift some of their production to fast-growing Asia to counteract weak domestic growth prospects as the population has peaked.

The plant will use Kobe's ITmk3 process to produce iron nuggets from low-grade iron ore, which will be used as feedstock for electric-arc furnace steelmakers. The plant will have an annual production capacity of 2.4 million tonnes of nuggets.

Kobe Steel, which earlier licensed the technology to Steel Dynamics Inc (STLD.O) of the U.S., has said it also plans to build nugget plants using ITmk3 technology in countries like India, Russia and Australia. (Reporting by Yuko Inoue; Editing by Chris Gallagher)