Website traffic statistics Pages viewed and unique visitors to BMI Online Month/ year Page views Unique visitors Apr '12 36,778 2,953 Mar '12 33,313 3,329 Feb '12 32,149 4,071 Jan '12 23,023 3,568 Dec '11 30,478 3,022 Nov '11 27,841 3,394 Oct '11 26,528 3,175 Sep '11 25,125 2,889 Aug '11 28,196 2,806 Jul '11 27,350 2,728 Jun '11 28,207 2,684 May '11 27,308 2,659 Apr '11 29,976 2,538 Mar '11 35,400 2,797 Feb '11 32,548 3,004 Jan '11 36,291 3,044 Bulk Materials International: For bulk handling and transportation professionals worldwide. CLICK HERE for our FREE bi-weekly eNewsletter with latest industry news and events Search:  Home | Archive | Upcoming Events | Publications | Free Email Alert | Sitemap Advertise | Subscribe | Back Issues | Sample Issue | Contact | My Account Headline news... United Maritime to sell U.S. bulk terminal Bulk Handling USA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oiltanking Holding Americas (OTA) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire United Bulk Terminal (UBT), a wholly-owned subsidiary of United Maritime Group (UMG). More Areva and Mitsubishi to collaborate on uranium project French nuclear power plant builder Areva and Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation have agreed to work together in a uranium exploration programme in Australia. More OneSteel awards mining contract Mining and materials group OneSteel Limited has awarded a five year mining contract for its iron ore operations in the South Middleback Ranges (SMR), South Australia to BGC Contracting Pty Limited. More Cape Lambert sells copper project for A$25M Australian resources and investment company Cape Lambert Resources has reached a conditional agreement to sell its wholly-owned subsidiary Cape Lambert Leichhardt Pty Ltd, the holder of the Leichhardt copper project located 100km north east of Mt Isa, for A$25M in cash. More Cliffs Natural Resources invests Ca$3.3B in Ontario mine Cliffs Natural Resources has announced a Ca$3.3B investment to build a chromite mine, transportation corridor and processing facility in Northern Ontario's Ring of Fire region. More CoAL completes $75 M Chapudi coal deal South Africa-focused miner Coal of Africa Limited (CoAL) has completed its acquisition of the Chapudi coal assets in Limpopo from Rio Tinto and Kwezi Mining following approval of the deal by the minister of mineral resources under Section 11 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act. More Strong start for new ISS CESI operations in India With India struggling to import enough coal to meet its domestic power and steel production needs, Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) subsidiary, Coal Export Services International (CESI), has seen a strong start to its new operations in the country. More BHP confirms new CSG BHP Billiton has said that its stainless steel materials and aluminium customer sector groups (CSGs) will consolidate into a single CSG to be named aluminium and nickel. More BHP Billiton announces two new appointments BHP Billiton has appointed Ian Maxwell as president energy coal. More Newcastle sets monthly coal export record Eastern Australia's Port of Newcastle has set a new monthly coal export record with more than 11.8 mt being shipped during April. More Palmer forms new shipping company Australian mining magnate Clive Palmer has formed a new shipping company to service his Queensland Nickel Group. More Indonesia introduces ores export tax Indonesia's government has imposed 20% duty on exports of 14 mineral ores, including copper and nickel, in a bid to encourage local processing. More Mining resumed at Sibirginsk Mine Mechel OAO, one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies, reports that mining has been resumed at its subsidiary Southern Kuzbass Coal Company OAO's Sibirginsk Mine. More India plans fund to buy coal assets abroad India's coal ministry has proposed the creation of a sovereign fund to buy foreign coal assets. More Major expansion for Port of Salalah Oman's Ministry of Transport and Communications has awarded a commercial bid representing investment of OMR 55M (US$143M) to more than double the Port of Salalah's general cargo handling capacity. More Bulk Malta Ltd starts with two newbuildings Genoese shipowning alliance Gruppo Rimorchiatori Riuniti has established a new Maltese subsidiary, Bulk Malta Ltd. More NSW torpedoes Tinkler coal terminal The New South Wales Government has rejected an aggressive attempt by mining entrepreneur Nathan Tinkler to break open Newcastle's coal terminal duopoly by building a A$2.5B coal-loader on the former BHP steelworks site at Mayfield. More Steady growth for SA bulk The volume of South African bulk exports increased by 6.6% last year, but this figure masks huge differences between ports and sectors. According to figures released by Transnet National Ports Authority, exports reached a record 141.49 mt last year, of which Richards Bay handled 76 mt and Saldanha 53.2 mt. More Canada's Viterra to expand its presence in Ukraine Viterra Ukraine, the Ukrainian subsidiary of the Canadaheadquartered global agribusiness Viterra Inc., is to take a US$30M loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to replenish its working capital. More Logmarin reports a 'year of success' Logmarin has said that 2011 was a year of 'progress and achievements,' with construction now underway of the five new floating terminals ordered from the company. More Ministry backs Yuzhny development project Ukraine's infrastructure ministry has endorsed Yuzhny port's development project to deepen its approach channel and water area to 21m. More Russia to double its Asian coal exports by 2030 Russia is planning to more than double its annual coal exports to Asian-Pacific markets by 2030 from 32 mt to 85 mt, while the country's entire coal export volume may increase within the same time frame. More Tianjin wins approval for iron ore berth After waiting for more than three years, China's Tianjin Port Group (TPG) has received government approval to build a berth with annual capacity of 23 mt for iron ore. More Beumer to supply curved pipe conveyor to LKAB The Swedish high-tech minerals group LKAB has commissioned Beumer to provide a curved pipe conveyor for the transport of olivine in summer and quartzite in winter, each at 800 tons per hour. More Port of Kherson to double handling volume by 2015 Ukraine's Port of Kherson is planning to more than double its annual cargo handling volume to 8 mt by 2015. More Aurecon wins award for coal infrastructure project Aurecon, in joint venture with Hatch, won the 2011 Project of the Year for the Abbot Point Coal Terminal X50 Expansion at the annual Consult Australia Awards for Excellence held in Sydney in December 2011. More Home deals demanded down under Controversy has broken out in Australia over the insistence by Chinese investors that equipment for port and mining projects be sourced from Chinese suppliers. More Cargotec wins four more OSV orders MacGregor bulk handling systems are to be installed on four offshore support vessels (OSV) of various types under construction in Asia and Europe. More Overhaul for WA ports Administration of all Western Australian bulk ports is to be consolidated into four major authorities in a move the owner, the state government, says will ensure better planning and coordination of development. More Road to Rouen A four-year project worth Euro185M to deepen the River Seine approaches to the Port of Rouen began in December. The public tender was launched in June 2010 and the contract was awarded to a Belgo-French consortium, SDI-EMCC. More  Feature articles Grabbing at new market opportunities The 'heavy end' of the grab market is proving resilient although doubts are now appearing about the potential that biomass handling can offer grab manufacturers. More Indian iron ore exports plunge after tax rise India's iron ore exports are likely to be 75% lower than previously expected in the quarter ending in March as a rise in export duties kicks in as part of the government's push to conserve supplies for domestic steelmakers. More Stacking up the options With demand slowing for new stacker/reclaimers for iron ore and coal as major projects come on-stream, OEMs are buoyed by considerable interest in some of the minor bulks. More India's bright mining future The choice of India as the host country for an international mining symposium later this year demonstrates the importance of the country to the mining sector. More Railways on track for growth Moving bulk freight by rail is often a cheaper option than by road due to economies of volume and distance. The attraction of using rail is evident in the number of new rail projects and upgrades underway around the world resulting from continuing steady growth in demand for commodities. More Shoreham shores up its mobile assets England's Sussex coast port exemplifies the efficiencies that can be obtained by using hydraulic mobile cranes. More POAGS automates ore receiving Australian radio frequency identification (RFID) software developer and systems integrator Ramp RFID has delivered an RFID-based vehicle traffic management system (TMS) to manage iron ore deliveries at the new Utah Point terminal at Port Headland in Western Australia. More Dust control systems help keep bulk handling clean UK-based bulk materials handling company Guttridge has recently launched a new award-winning dust suppression hopper system into the UK bulk handling market. More India looks for overseas port presence India's forecast economic growth is good news for overseas ports as the country looks to secure access to freight terminals in order to reduce the cost of shipping the imports it needs to fuel its development. More Aluminium market 'in the balance' for 2012 Rusal, the world's largest aluminium producer, has said it expects European consumption of aluminium to remain flat in the first half of 2012, offset by moderately higher U.S. demand and continued growth in China's consumption. More Storage systems for the dry bulk market A look at recent silo and storage system projects for a range of different dry bulk materials. More Is it time for self-unloaders to re-invent themselves? Self-unloaders, once described as a "solution looking for a problem", are facing a challenge in how to adapt to changing market conditions. More Still potential in the shiploader market The stabilisation of commodity prices coupled with uncertainty over Chinese growth demand may deter miners from further ramping up existing export terminals, but new concessions in Africa are showing significant promise. More Baltic ports face up to a changing future The Baltic bulk shipping market can, at best, be defined as 'changeable' as some major exporters decline while new trades develop elsewhere. More New shoots of growth evident for world grain production World grain production is recovering from a slump according to new research published by the Worldwatch Institute in its Vital Signs Online publication. Despite record rice and maize yields around the world, global wheat production dropped substantially enough in 2010 to bring total grain output to just below 2008 levels. More Customised containment solution overcomes construction challenges Geometrica Inc. and Carlos Caballero SRL have created a rugged storage solution high in the Bolivian Altiplano of the Andes. More Long-term business in an expanding world Uno Sundelin, industry sector director, mining and materials handling, Bosch Rexroth AB, looks at the market trends and growth affecting this global company. More Energy policy shift marks coal as growth product Germany's energy sector is facing an uncertain future after its announcement earlier this year that it will phase out all of its nuclear power plants by 2022 following Japan's nuclear disaster at Fukushima in March. More Catering to the upturn in biomass demand Biomass products, such as wood pellets and nut shells, are increasingly being used by power companies as they seek to utilise sustainable fuels. More Asian coal demand shows no sign of slowing Asia's sustained appetite for steel and energy will continue to underpin demand for coal. More All contents © WCN Publishing, Northbank House, 5 Bridge Street, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 8BL, England.