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.

India: Union officials at the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) have asked for an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into an alleged fixing of the price of blast furnace granulated slag (BFGS). The RSP claims that it couldn’t sell its slag by electronic auction due to limited storage space, lack of rail transport logistics and low market price of BFGS, according to the New Indian Express newspaper. However, sources quoted by the newspaper say that the plant had sufficient storage space and that at least three times as much railway cargo capacity was available as the RSP has indicated. It is estimated that it undersold its product by at least US$15.5m. Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram has also accused the steelmaker of favouring local cement producer OCL India in the scheme.

Russia: NLMK Group has signed a five-year contract for the supply of raw materials, including granulated slag, to Eurocement group. The contract, which runs until the end of 2022, covers an annual supply of up to 5Mt of raw materials for use as primary feedstock and additives for cement production at seven Eurocement plants. The raw materials to be supplied also include iron-containing additives, chalk, clay and limestone screenings.

“NLMK Group has been working with Eurocement for several years, on short-term contracts. This new long-term agreement has taken our partnership to a new level. It will make our relationship more open and structured, simplify clearing and settlement and reduce the risk of changes in the market impacting the supply of materials,” said Ilya Guschin, NLMK Group’s Vice President for Sales.

NLMK and Eurocement are also exploring new ways to use fine steelmaking slag in the construction industry, such as the possible substitution of limestone with slag in the production of clinker.