IMnI 2003 Annual Conference: Momentum Continues

Last year's Annual Conference, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 4 - 6th confirmed IMnI's determination to make its yearly get-together as thought-provoking and information-driven as possible. Fuelled by 32 top level presentations made primarily by members, the 115 attendees tackled the difficult topic of "Capacities vs. Consumption Potential".

Addressing the subject continent by continent to gain a global perspective, speakers inevitably arrived at the same conclusion: in the words of Keigo Takahashi, President of Nippon Denko, "the present capacity and production of the world manganese ferroalloy industry is excessive in general. Over-production not only wastes valuable natural resources and energy, it also affects the profitability of the whole manganese industry through accelerated and serious price wars." Repeated calls were made for industry players to show restraint and avoid needless surges of capacity. And in his introductory remarks, IMnI Chairman Vincent Trelut (Eramet-Comilog Manganese's Commercial Vice-President for Ore & Alloys) showed that when new capacity comes on stream, prices inevitably plummet.

Other papers of interest included "South America: A Political and Economic Overview" by Fabio Barbosa, CVRD's Chief Financial Officer, an exhaustive look at "The World Steel Industry: Forecasts for Production, Technological Innovations & Consolidation" by José Armando Campos, President of CST and Chairman of the Brazilian Steel Institute (IBS), "South Africa's Mineral Rights Act: What Lies Ahead" by Samancor's CEO John Raubenheimer and "China: Market Situation, Production Capacities & Challenges Ahead" by Xie Xin Min, President of Emei and newly-elected Chairman of the China Ferro-Alloy Industry Association.

At the close of the Conference, IMnI Secretary General Anne Tremblay and Marketing & Communications Committee Chairman Greg Forbes presented the results of the membership poll on "The Future of IMnI", conducted in April.

This, along with the technical presentations made at the Conference (using Power Point or Word format) are available on the Speeches page. To direct access <Click Here>

The program also included two technical tours: one to CVRD's manganese and iron ore mines in Carajas (the Amazon), the other to CVRD's manganese plant at Sibra, near Salvador.

If the conference speakers provided intellectually challenging content, host CVRD guaranteed first rate entertainment. The group outing, an afternoon boat cruise around Guanabara Bay with lunch served on board, offered lots of "photo op" memories. And the official banquet dinner, also hosted by CVRD, at Porcão, one of Rio's most famous restaurants renowned for its succulent barbecue, was followed by a colorful show highlighting traditional Brazilian music and dances, notably the samba. Two tours for accompanying persons were also on the program, with visits to Rio's most mythic sites, monuments and shopping areas.

Next year's Annual Conference will be held at the Hotel Okura in Tokyo, June 1 - 4, at the invitation of IMnI's Japanese members. The themes will be Mn Market Development and the Occupational Health, Environment and Safety (OHES) issues faced by the industry. A technical tour to Nippon Steel Kimitsu Works is slated for June 4. IMnI will make all efforts to ensure that Chinese industry players attend in number.

At the General Assembly held in Rio on June 5, and on the advice of the Board, members unanimously elected Keigo Takahashi, CEO of Nippon Denko, to the Executive Committee, replacing CVRD's José Luiz Amarante, who is moving to the company's iron-ore division. The Executive Committee is now made up as follows:

JL Amarante's seat on the Board was filled by Ricardo Antunes, Senior Managing Director at Rio Doce Internacional and head of the Brussels sales office. Board membership is now:

In addition:

Ricus Grimbeek (Samancor), was elected to replace Leif Andreassen (Tinfos) as Occupational Health, Environment and Safety (OHES) Committee Chairman. The Board warmly congratulated L Andreassen for his four year tenure, which culminates with the publication of the Scientific Criteria Document (available on the web site this fall).