Planned Project Spending Increases 34% for the Great Lakes Metals & Minerals Industry in 2008

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In October 2007, there were 104 Metals & Minerals Industry projects totaling about $4.1 billion scheduled to begin construction in the Great Lakes region. Today, we are tracking 120 Metals & Minerals projects totaling $5.5 billion scheduled to begin construction in 2008. That represents a 34% increase in activity for the Great Lakes.

Click on the image to see a chart analyzing Metals & Minerals projects in the Great Lakes region.

The majority of the activity for 2008 will occur in Indiana, which has 34 projects totaling $901 million, and Illinois, which has 26 projects totaling just under $1.6 billion. Heidtman Steel Products Incorporated (Toledo, Ohio) is negotiating for the construction of a $225 million continuous steel annealing plant at a customer's steel mill in Indiana or Ohio. While the timeline for this project is a moving target pending site selection and customer support, construction could begin during the second half of 2008.

In addition to the planned Metals & Minerals project activity, there are 26 projects under construction totaling $1.5 billion in the Great Lakes region. Again, Indiana is the most active state in the region with 11 projects totaling more than $500,000 million under construction. Construction began recently on the grassroot Glen Ayr and Oaktown coal mines 8 miles north of Vincennes, Indiana. Vectren Fuels expects to spend $125 million on two underground coal mines and a preparation plant, which will ultimately produce 5 million tons of coal per year. Steel Dynamics Incorporated is also in the process of constructing a $200 million expansion at its steel mill in Columbia City, Indiana. That project should be operational by the second quarter of 2008.

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