Metal Bulletin Events in conjunction with mjunction services is delighted is announce the inaugural Indian Steelmaking raw materials. Steel and it’s raw materials are seldom out of the news and with the recent announcement that India has become a net importer of finished steel this region is one of the most exciting on the steel map.

Steel consumption is being driven by India’s rapid urbanization and key to this growth is the ready supply of raw materials. 2008 has seen the cost the cost of producing steel in India increase by 60 percent leading to an increasing concern by the country’s steelmakers. Rising steel prices have also become a major concern for the government as steel and steel products contribute 21% to inflation.

Hear the most up to date news on India's raw material strategy with presentations from:

Mr. Rana Som, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, NMDC Ltd, India
Mr. Abanindra M Misra, Vice President, Raw Materials & CSI, TATA Steel, India
Mr. G. Ojha, Director, SAIL, India
Mr. V K Sharma, Director (Commercial) NMDC Ltd, India

Attend this event to learn more about one of the fast growing steel producing countries in the world. India currently imports over 20 million tonnes of met coal, 70 per cent of its coking coal requirement. With this trend set to increase over the coming years to feed the growing appetite for steel, where will this much needed commodity come from and at what price? With prices for coking coal increasing 210% this year, driven by high global demand and a tightening supply market, long term supply contracts to secure a continuous supply of good quality coal is key for steelmakers.

India exports about half of its 200 million iron ore reserves while 85 million tonnes are consumed by the domestic steel industry. To support the long term competitiveness of India’s steel industry a 15% export tax has been imposed on exports but what does this mean for the growth of India’s iron ore industry? The global iron ore industry has been characterised by soaring prices and volatility throughout 2008. Will the Government’s move asking miners to sign long-term supply contracts with steel companies instead high spot price sales check this volatility? With increasing demand for steel where are the new iron ore projects and who is investing? These are just a few of the questions our panel of key speakers will be addressing with an indepth expert approach.

These substantial increases in the price of input material are also exerting pressure on India’s pig iron manufacturers. With steelmakers switching to lower priced sponge iron, pig iron producers are feeling the strain. Government plans to raise export duty on pig iron, semis and sponge iron from the current 15% to 20%; has led to pig iron manufacturers either curtailing or closing down production. Innovation is the key for producers are castings the answer in a tightening market?

If you're involved in the Indian steel this is one event you can't afford to miss. Confirmed speakers include:

Mr. Rana Som, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, NMDC Ltd, India
Mr. Abanindra M Misra, Vice President, Raw Materials & CSI, TATA Steel, India
Mr. G. Ojha, Director, SAIL, India
Mr. V K Sharma, Director (Commercial) NMDC Ltd, India
Mr Russell Scrimshaw, Board Director and Executive Director, Finance
and Marketing, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, Australia
Mr. K. Ranganath, CMD, KIOCL, India
Mr Cameron Hunt, Director of Iron Ore Index Project, Metal Bulletin PLC, UK
Mr. Shoeb Ahmed, Director (Commercial), SAIL, India
Mr. Thomas M. Scarnati, Manager, Marketing & Sales HYL Technologies, S.A. de C.V, Mexico
Mr. R. Ramaraju, Managing Director, Bhilai Steel Plant, India
Mr. Siddartha Sengupta, Managing Consultant, Hatch Beddows, UK
Mr. T K Lahiry , Director, Bharat Coking Coal Ltd, India
Mr. Naresh Sharma, MD, Balaji Coke, India
Mr. Ved Prakash, General Manager, MMTC Ltd, India
Mr. Suresh Thawani, Managing Director, TATA Sponge, India
Mr. Abhijeet Mahanta, EMR India Ltd, India
Mr. Dinesh Shastri, Executive-in-Charge, FAMD, Tata Steel, India
Mr. C D Kamath, Managing Director, Tata Refractories Limited, India
Mr. P.K. Goyal, General Manager, MECON Limited, India
Mr. KV Rao, Managing Director, BRPL, India
Mr. Sunil Yadav, VP, Projects & Systems, Mining, Metso Minerals, India
Mr. Dibyendu Bose, Managing Director, TMIL Ltd, India
Mr. Pradeep Kumar Tewari, Executive Director & CEO, Credence Logistics, India
Mr. Ashutosh Satsangi, Head- Research, CRISIL, India