Atlas Steel Products Acquired by ESOP: Atlas Steel Products of Twinsburg, Ohio, has been acquired by an employee stock ownership plan and acquired from the family of the late Lawrence J. "Bo" Burr, who died in April. John Adams, who has been chief financial officer and served as interim CEO during Burr's illness, was named president and CEO of the company. The ESOP includes management and non-management employees. "Bo always wanted Atlas to reflect the empowerment of all associates who work here," Adams said. "He always treated associates as owners, and under Bo's leadership, each major decision was a true group effort." The company's goal is to become one of the 10 largest steel distributors in the nation, Adams said.

China Establishes Major New Steel Company: Guangxi Iron and Steel Group was established this week in Nanning, China, as a joint venture between Wuhan Iron and Steel Group, the country's fourth-largest steelmaker, and the Guangxi regional administration of state-owned assets, China Securities Journal reported. The new company plans to begin building a steel plant in December with a planned ultimate capacity of 30 million tons annually at Fangchenggang. In its first stage, the plant, scheduled to be operational in 50 months, will have a capacity of 10 million tons.

Chalco Tightens Expenses: The People's Daily newspaper reports that Aluminum Corporation of China (Chalco), that nation's largest aluminum producer, will reduce costs because of a 65% drop in profits. Xiao Yaqing, chairman and CEO of Chalco, said the company will postpone some projects and reassess new ones. It may also spin off its copper business. Xiao says the sharp decline in profits was caused by increased production costs from rising mineral, coal and electricity prices, lower aluminum prices because of a production surplus, and a slowdown in overall demand for the metal.

Tata to Abandon Singur Site for its Nano: Tata Motors has indefinitely suspended construction in Singur, West Bengal, of a factory, 90% complete, to build its high-profile, $2,500 automobile, the Nano. The chairman of the Tata Group, Ratan Tata, said he will look for another place to build the plant because of continuing protests in Singur over land allocated to the factory.

No one suggests that the land was illegally allocated two years ago, yet local, highly organized agitators have forced the state government to negotiate over the 400 acres that they dispute. Immediate offers of land and complete government assistance came from Uttarakhand, Haryana and Gujarat, and the Marxist-ruled West Bengal government continues to try to establish negotiations with Mamata Banerjee, the very angry leader of the protesting Trinamool Congress. Negotiations won't come fast enough for an area farmer who killed himself on Wednesday of this week because he sold his tiny parcel of land to Tata, which had hired two of his sons, the Economic Times reported.

In media reports today, efforts were said to be under way to arrange negotiations in West Bengal to salvage the situation.

AM Price Drop Localized to South Africa: ArcelorMittal has issued a statement expressing confidence that "steel pricing will continue to remain structurally strong." The company made the comment after questions arose about plans by its South African subsidiary to lower prices by 5%. ArcelorMittal said its South African pricing "reflects specific currency developments and local price mechanisms," not anything that will have an impact elsewhere. It added, "In the case of seasonal market weakness, ArcelorMittal would adapt production to maintain stable pricing."

Separately, the company said that it will form Kalagadi Manganese to develop a South African manganese mine together with Kalahari Resources and the Industrial Development Corporation, the country's state-owned financier.

Australian Companies Force Greenhouse Gas Plan Change: A major meeting between Australian government environmental officials and representatives of a wide range of Australian industrial and mining companies ended with agreement by officials to modify their greenhouse gas emissions plan. Under the cap-and-trade proposal, the government planned to issue, at no cost, a number of emission permits to companies that are heavier polluters or that face tough global trade competition. After companies complained that the plan would choke off major new capital investments and make them uncompetitive, the resources and energy minister, Martin Ferguson, said the government "do not want to disadvantage our internationally competitive industries," the Melbourne Herald Sun reported.

Rio Tinto to Seek Copper in Chile: Rio Tinto has signed two agreements with Chilean copper producer Codelco to explore for more of the metal. The agreements cover the Esteli prospect in northern Chile and the Paloma prospect near El Tesoro mine, Rio Tinto said.

Separately, Rio Tinto CEO Tom Albanese told the Australian business press that it's possible his company will collaborate with Chinese partners to develop a series of iron ore projects in remote parts of the world. Among those projects are the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, Oyu Tolgoi copper mines in Mongolia, and La Granja copper mines in Peru.

Aluminum Association Issues Updated LEED Fact Sheet: The Aluminum Association has issued an updated "Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design" (LEED) fact sheet for aluminum sheet and plate in the building and construction industries. Click here to access the fact sheet.

In other Aluminum News: Vedanta Resources of India says it expects its aluminum output to rise to about 500,000 tons of the metal in the year that ends in March, or about 28% more than the last fiscal year. Pramod Suri, the CEO for aluminum, said the company hopes to begin construction in three or four months on a new smelter and power plant expected to cost about US$4.5 billion.

Tenaris to Expand Mexican Production: Tenaris S.A., the provider of oil country tubular products based in Luxembourg, says it will install a small diameter rolling mill, up to seven inches, with an annual production capacity of 450,000 tons of seamless pipes at its facilities in Veracruz, Mexico. The company says the project will cost US$1.6 billion.

Gerdau Expands in Peru: The Gerdau Group of Brazil says it will spend US$1.36 billion to expand capacity at its Siderperú steel plant in Peru. The company is currently expanding production to 700,000 tons annually from 400,000 tons. Under the newly announced plan, capacity will rise in stages to 3 million tons annually by 2013, Business News Americas reports.

Yuan Falls: For the first time since May 2006, the Chinese yuan had a monthly loss in its value against the U.S. dollar in August. Confirming what everyone in the West has known for some time, analyst Liu Dongliang of China Merchants Bank Co., said that "it is obvious that the government is adjusting the pace of yuan appreciation against the dollar to make sure it won't do more harm to exports." In official figures, the yuan fell 0.05% against the dollar in August.