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.