Displaying items by tag: China

Belgium: The World Steel Association (Worldsteel) published its Short Range Outlook (SRO) for 2019 and 2020 on 14 October 2019. It estimates global steel demand growth of 3.9% to 1.78Bnt/yr in 2019, slowing to 1.7% in 2020, with a demand of 1.80Bnt/yr. China leads the field with an estimated 7.8% growth to 900Mt/yr in 2019. Worldsteel named high rates of investment in property as a cause, and forecasted a slowdown to 1.0% in 2020, yielding a demand of 909Mt/yr, as a result of China’s continued economic deceleration.

World: Crude steel production grew by 4.9% year-on-year to 925Mt in the first half of 2019 from 882Mt in the same period in 2018. Data from the World Steel Association shows production increased in Asia and North American, remained stable in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region but that it fell in the European Union. Of the larger individual steel producing countries gains were reported in China, India and South Korea, but declines were noted in Germany and Japan.

China: The Chinese government is set to further restrict imports of metal by-products and scrap in July 2019. The latest rules will control imports of eight types of scrap metal, including copper, aluminium and steel scrap, according to Reuters. Companies that want to continue importing these items will need to apply to the environmental ministry to prove they are in compliance with environmental protection standards. Imports of iron and steel slag were banned at the end of 2018.

World: Global steel production rose by 4.6% year-on-year to 1.81Bnt in 2018 from 1.73Bnt in 2017. Data from the World Steel Association shows that production rose fastest in the Middle East, Africa and Australasia. Asian production rose by 5.6% to 1.27Bnt and North American production grew by 4.1% to 121Mt. European production remained static at 312Mt, with a slight dip in the European Union (EU) balanced by slight growth in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). China remained the largest steel producing country, with 9.28Mt in 2018. It was followed by India, Japan, the US and South Korea.

China: HBIS Laoting Steel has signed a US$247m contract with US-based Harsco for mill services. The 15-year agreement expands Harsco’s partnership with HBIS. The company has provided steel mill services to Tangshan Steel Group, a subsidiary of HBIS, for over a decade previously.

Under the expanded agreement, Harsco will deliver on-site mill services, including under furnace cleaning; slag transport and metal recovery; scrap and tundish cutting; and desulphurisation and ladle slag processing. Harsco also plans to partner with Chinese design institutes to design and build metal recovery and slag processing plants when the steel mill is put into operation. Upon completion, the Harsco-designed system will be able to process 1.42Mt/yr of slag at Laoting Steel. Additionally, Harsco intends to use ‘waste to resources’ technologies to transform slag into products for construction and other purposes.

China: The Ministry of Ecology and Environment has accused the Gaoyi Iron and Steel Company in Yuncheng in Shanxi province of illegally and dumping steel slag over a 10 year period. The ministry has named the steel producer as part of an initiative to name and shame industrial polluters, according to Reuters. The steel producer was ordered in 2013 to build a slag treatment yard but it failed to do so. So far in 2018 it has produced 0.3Mt of steel slag. Most of this has been dumped on nearby farmland.

China/Japan: Chinese customs have returned 14,100t of imported non-ferrous slag back to Japan the General Administration of Customs has said. The products were declared as iron oxide and iron powder, according to Reuters. However, they were found to be iron sludge and non-ferrous slag. These by-products have faced an import ban since the beginning of 2018.

China: The Ministry of Ecology and Environment has banned imports of steel slag from the end of 2018. It is part of 16 scrap metal and chemical waste products, according to Reuters. A further 16 items will be banned by the end of 2019. The government’s crackdown on waste imports is part of a ‘war on pollution.’

China: Hebei Zongheng Group Tangshan Fengnan Iron & Steel has ordered Inba slag granulation and dewatering equipment as part of a new 12Mt/yr iron plant. Capital Engineering & Research Incorporation (CERI), the general contractor, has signed two contracts with Paul Wurth for engineering and supply of four sets of Central Feed Bell Less Top charging systems as well as slag-related equipment for the four blast furnaces at the new plant. The Inba order covers eight dewatering drum units under hot water system, which is quite commonly adopted by local customers.

All four blast furnaces of Tangshan Fengnan’s new plant are scheduled to be commissioned in 2018. A fifth blast furnace may be built after the hot commissioning of the first four furnaces.

China/Brazil: Harsco Corporation has signed two multi-year contracts for steel mill services in China and Brazil at a value of over US$100m.

Harsco’s Metals & Minerals division has been selected by Hebei Iron and Steel Group to take over an increased range of onsite mill services at its Tangshan Stainless Steel works, where Harsco already provides environmental services relating to the commercial sale of the mill’s slag co-products. With the new contract, Harsco now adds onsite slag handling, metal recovery and briquetting to its responsibilities. Tangshan Stainless produces premium-grade steels for automotive and consumer markets. The deal will include the use of Harsco’s steam box technology for steel slag processing.

In Brazil, Harsco has been selected by one of the country’s largest fully integrated steelmakers to extend Harsco’s services for onsite scrap handling, slag transport, metal recovery and melt shop support. Harsco has been providing support to the mill’s flat steel operations for more than three decades, and to its mini-mill since its inception in 2014.

“These contracts reflect our renewed ambitions to grow the Metals & Minerals business following two years of successful transformation. Our relationships in both contracts demonstrate our capacity to provide long-term value to customer operations in parallel with lasting benefit to the environment,” said Harsco president and chief executive officer Nicholas Grasberger.