UK: LKAB Minerals says it is aiming to complete its acquisition of Francis Flower on 3 December 2018. It added that the planning acquisition had also received clearance from the Austrian Competition Authority.

US: Xavier Becerra, the attorney general of California, has warned that Orcem Americas’ proposed slag cement plant in Vallejo breaks state environmental laws. In a letter to Vallejo's planning and development services co-ordinator he said that the project would violate the California Environmental Quality Act, according to the Irish Times newspaper. Becerra also raised issues with nitrogen oxide and CO₂ emissions. The intervention is an unusual move, as the state's attorney generals do not normally intervene in planning disputes.

Orcem Americas’ chief executive officer (CEO) Stephen Bryant said that a new environmental impact report would be prepared to address Becerra’s concernsd by the end of November 2018. The company, a subsidiary of Ireland’s Ecocem, is proposing to build and operate a US$50m slag grinding plant in Vallejo. However, the project has faced opposition from local environmental groups.

Spain/UK: Harsco’s Metals & Minerals division has won a multiyear contract with Spain’s Celsa Group. The agreement will span nine years with Celsa Barcelona and five years with its Cardiff operations. Under the deal, Harsco will provide Celsa Barcelona with on-site slag handling and scrap management services. The slag handling will include activities for under-furnace digging, ladle wrecking, and hot slag transport. In addition, Harsco’s scrap management experience will ensure the transport of scrap between the internal and external scrapyards, and the management of both sites. Celsa Cardiff will be provided with on-site metal recovery and meltshop services. No value for the deal has been disclosed.

Bangladesh: Confidence Cement plans to install a slag dryer unit at its plant in Madambibirhat, Bhatiary near Chittagong. The upgrade is intended to allow for uninterrupted production at its Unit-2 and Unit-3 lines, according to the Financial Express newspaper. The company also intends to demolish its 600t/day Unit-1 line due to high electricity costs and overall running costs.Confidence Cement to install slag dryer unit