eSwatini: Tailor-Made Risk Solutions has supplied imported slag from eMalahleni, South Africa, for use in the construction of a 2km-long road in Mpholi Township, Manzini. The silicomanganese slag is a product of ferromanganese alloy and steel production, and comes from a stockpile with reserves of 6.6Mt. Engineering News has reported that the National Cleaner Production Centre of South Africa (NCPC-SA) assisted in testing the slag as part of the selection process for the material.

NCPC-SA programme manager Victor Manavhela noted the suitability of this type for slag for other construction applications, including in precast concrete blocks, pipes and paving stones.

UltraTech Cement Kotputli plant in Rajasthan

India: UltraTech Cement has commissioned 0.6Mt/yr of new slag grinding capacity at its Karur cement grinding plant in Tamil Nadu. The expansion follows the commissioning of a 2.7Mt/yr greenfield grinding unit at the site in 2024. The plant's total capacity is now 3.3Mt/yr. The company says that the additional capacity will it meet the rising demand for composite cement in South India and improve its blended cement ratio.

Türkiye: Cement producer Karcimsa Cement said that it will invest US$30m in a 1Mt/yr clinker and granulated slag grinding facility in Kayseri. Soner Ozbey, the chair of Karcimsa, said that the plant will produce ‘green’ cement with low carbon emissions, according to Medya Karabuk. He noted that Türkiye imposed restrictions on cement to expand the use of low-carbon cement in public procurement contracts from 2025. The unit will procure slag from local steel manufacturer Kardemir.

Karcimsa is a joint venture between Kardemir and concrete producer Beycim Beton Sanayi.

UK: The Port of Tilbury has ordered a LHM 550 mobile harbour crane from Liebherr to handle granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS). It is intended to unload slag from vessels into a hopper at the site and is scheduled to become operational in 2026. It will be the third LHM 550 at the port. The crane has been acquired to support the growing operations of the port, including Aggregate Industries’ new cement grinding and import terminal.

The crane arrived in mid-January 2025 fully assembled on the MV Meri heavy load vessel from Liebherr-MCCtec Rostock in Germany. The model is intended for high-volume cargo throughput. It has an outreach of 54m and 144t lifting capacity. It has been fitted with additional features to cope with GBFS. This includes an over-pressure system designed to ventilate the slewing platform of the crane to prevent product ingress into the machine rooms. A marine-standard paint finish has been applied to assist with corrosion control. The crane also uses a LieGEN energy recovery system and can operate on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) fuel.