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US: Cabot – carbon black
FOCUS In 1Q 2007, the company’s sales revenue from nanoparticulate calcium carbonate was $9 M, compared against only $3.7 M for 1Q 2006. In the latest quarter, nanoparticulate calcium carbonate accounted for 40.5% of the company’s total sales revenue. the rest coming from various coal-based chemical products, including ammonium bicarbonate, liquid ammonia, melamine and methanol. ShengdaTech expects to increase its total sales revenue from $72.6 M in 2006 to about $97 M in 2007. With nanoparticulate calcium carbonate representing a substantially higher proportion of total revenue, overall average profit margins should rise. The company is forecasting net income at $23.0-24.4 M for full-year 2007. Press Releases from: ShengdaTech Inc, Website: http://www.shengdatechinc.com (7 May 2007 & 15 Jun 2007)
Saudi Arabia: Ma’aden – kaolin The Saudi Arabian Government is determined to step up the exploitation of industrial minerals in the country, promising to invest in expansion of the rail network and in various projects proposed by Ma’aden, the State-owned mining company. One of these projects involves investing $3.279 M in developing a mine near Al-Baithah for the production of 250,000 tonnes/y of cement-grade bauxite and 50,000 tonnes/y of kaolin, with start-up anticipated later this year. In the railways sector, the Government plans to establish a new north-south line spanning the 2400 km between Riyadh and Haditha. This line should be fully in service by 2011. It will transport more than 4 M tonnes of freight (mainly minerals and other commodities) and 2 M passengers per year. Industrial Minerals, May 2007, (476), 74-77
US: Cabot – carbon black Cabot Corp has announced that it will close its Waverly carbon black plant in West Virginia, effective March 2008. Shipments from Waverly will continue until mid-2008, by which time product inventories here will be exhausted. The Waverly plant currently has a capacity of 90,000 tonnes/y.
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Cabot declared that its decision to close the plant was driven by changes in the global tyre manufacturing industry, especially over the past 18 months, with multiple tyre capacity reductions at plants in North America and the expansion of tyre manufacturing facilities in China and other countries in the Asia/Pacific, as well as in South America. These changes, together with the projected growth of imported tyres into the US, require Cabot to adjust its North American carbon black capacity in order to maintain competitiveness. At the same time as phasing our production at Waverly, Cabot is debottlenecking several of its other North American carbon black plants. In respect of the Waverly plant closure, Cabot will take a pre-tax charge of about $22 M over the next two years, of which about $8 M during the current fiscal year. Of the $22 M total, about $4 M will be represented by net cash outlays over the next two years. Press Release from: Cabot Corp, Two Seaport Lane, Suite 1300, Boston, MA 02210-2019, USA, Website: http://www.cabot-corp.com (12 Jun 2007)
LITIGATION Lead paint & pigment makers win battles in OH, MO & NJ, but still await RI Supreme Court hearing Onwards from the late 1980s, more than 100 lawsuits have been filed by private citizens, by lobbyist groups and by municipal (city) and state-level authorities, seeking to blame paint and pigment manufacturers for healthrelated problems caused by white lead pigment contained in paint. Lead paint was widely used in the US prior to the 1950s and it was not prohibited by the Federal Government until 1978. Health-related problems, notably mental retardation in children, have been shown to be associated with the inhalation or ingestion of lead paint dust and flakes in old and poorly maintained residential properties and public buildings. With one exception, all the lawsuits filed to date have failed. However, in mid-February 2006, the Attorney General for the State of Rhode Island won a case in the
Providence County Superior Court, which determined that the presence of lead pigment in a painted surface constituted a “public nuisance” and also determined that three former manufacturers were responsible for creating that public nuisance. The guilty parties in this case were: Millennium (inheritors of certain SCMGlidden assets and now a subsidiary of Cristal Global); NL Industries (formerly National Lead Co); and Sherwin-Williams. The companies were directed to pay for the abatement of the nuisance by repairing, repainting and generally “cleaning-up” properties that have lead painted surfaces. (See also ‘Focus on Pigments’, Mar 2006, 1-2). The three companies appealed, stating that there had been “a series of broken promises by the State, which resulted in a flawed trial and an erroneous verdict. They called for a re-trial and they also rejected the State’s request that the Superior Court should appoint a Special Master to administer the “cleaning-up” programme. On their behalf, Ms Bonnie Campbell (former Attorney General for the State of Iowa) said : “The February 2006 ruling sets out several threshold issues that remain to be resolved by the Superior Court and cannot be passed to a Special Master. Property-specific abatement cannot occur without involving the property owners and the residents of properties where remediation work might need to be carried out.” In March 2007, Judge Michael Silverstein (of the Rhode Island Superior Court) denied the request for a re-trial and indicated that Millennium, NL Industries and Sherwin-Williams should prepare to participate in the “cleaning-up” programme. It has been estimated that the “clean-up” costs will be more than $7000 per residential unit and could be more than $15,000 per unit, making the cost of the entire programme around $1-3 bn. In a 197page decision report, Judge Silverstein appointed a Special Master, who will be responsible for supervising the programme. In response, Ms Campbell said that the defendants would avail themselves of the right to take the case to the Supreme Court of Rhode Island. As of 20 June, a date has not yet been set for that Supreme Court hearing.
JULY 2007
Saudi Arabia: Ma’aden – kaolin The Saudi Arabian Government is determined to step up the exploitation of industrial minerals in the country, promising to invest in expansion of the rail network and in various projects proposed by Ma’aden, the State-owned mining company. One of these projects involves investing $3.279 M in developing a mine near Al-Baithah for the production of 250,000 tonnes/y of cement-grade bauxite and 50,000 tonnes/y of kaolin, with start-up anticipated later this year. In the railways sector, the Government plans to establish a new north-south line spanning the 2400 km between Riyadh and Haditha. This line should be fully in service by 2011. It will transport more than 4 M tonnes of freight (mainly minerals and other commodities) and 2 M passengers per year. Industrial Minerals, May 2007, (476), 74-77
US: Cabot – carbon black Cabot Corp has announced that it will close its Waverly carbon black plant in West Virginia, effective March 2008. Shipments from Waverly will continue until mid-2008, by which time product inventories here will be exhausted. The Waverly plant currently has a capacity of 90,000 tonnes/y.
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PIGMENTS
Cabot declared that its decision to close the plant was driven by changes in the global tyre manufacturing industry, especially over the past 18 months, with multiple tyre capacity reductions at plants in North America and the expansion of tyre manufacturing facilities in China and other countries in the Asia/Pacific, as well as in South America. These changes, together with the projected growth of imported tyres into the US, require Cabot to adjust its North American carbon black capacity in order to maintain competitiveness. At the same time as phasing our production at Waverly, Cabot is debottlenecking several of its other North American carbon black plants. In respect of the Waverly plant closure, Cabot will take a pre-tax charge of about $22 M over the next two years, of which about $8 M during the current fiscal year. Of the $22 M total, about $4 M will be represented by net cash outlays over the next two years. Press Release from: Cabot Corp, Two Seaport Lane, Suite 1300, Boston, MA 02210-2019, USA, Website: http://www.cabot-corp.com (12 Jun 2007)
LITIGATION Lead paint & pigment makers win battles in OH, MO & NJ, but still await RI Supreme Court hearing Onwards from the late 1980s, more than 100 lawsuits have been filed by private citizens, by lobbyist groups and by municipal (city) and state-level authorities, seeking to blame paint and pigment manufacturers for healthrelated problems caused by white lead pigment contained in paint. Lead paint was widely used in the US prior to the 1950s and it was not prohibited by the Federal Government until 1978. Health-related problems, notably mental retardation in children, have been shown to be associated with the inhalation or ingestion of lead paint dust and flakes in old and poorly maintained residential properties and public buildings. With one exception, all the lawsuits filed to date have failed. However, in mid-February 2006, the Attorney General for the State of Rhode Island won a case in the
Providence County Superior Court, which determined that the presence of lead pigment in a painted surface constituted a “public nuisance” and also determined that three former manufacturers were responsible for creating that public nuisance. The guilty parties in this case were: Millennium (inheritors of certain SCMGlidden assets and now a subsidiary of Cristal Global); NL Industries (formerly National Lead Co); and Sherwin-Williams. The companies were directed to pay for the abatement of the nuisance by repairing, repainting and generally “cleaning-up” properties that have lead painted surfaces. (See also ‘Focus on Pigments’, Mar 2006, 1-2). The three companies appealed, stating that there had been “a series of broken promises by the State, which resulted in a flawed trial and an erroneous verdict. They called for a re-trial and they also rejected the State’s request that the Superior Court should appoint a Special Master to administer the “cleaning-up” programme. On their behalf, Ms Bonnie Campbell (former Attorney General for the State of Iowa) said : “The February 2006 ruling sets out several threshold issues that remain to be resolved by the Superior Court and cannot be passed to a Special Master. Property-specific abatement cannot occur without involving the property owners and the residents of properties where remediation work might need to be carried out.” In March 2007, Judge Michael Silverstein (of the Rhode Island Superior Court) denied the request for a re-trial and indicated that Millennium, NL Industries and Sherwin-Williams should prepare to participate in the “cleaning-up” programme. It has been estimated that the “clean-up” costs will be more than $7000 per residential unit and could be more than $15,000 per unit, making the cost of the entire programme around $1-3 bn. In a 197page decision report, Judge Silverstein appointed a Special Master, who will be responsible for supervising the programme. In response, Ms Campbell said that the defendants would avail themselves of the right to take the case to the Supreme Court of Rhode Island. As of 20 June, a date has not yet been set for that Supreme Court hearing.
JULY 2007