Russia: NMLK’s slag output is set to increase after the installation of a sixth furnace at its flagship plant in Lipetsk Oblast at a cost of US$0.55bn, increasing its pig iron production capacity by 8% to 3.4Mt/yr.

NMLK supplies Eurocement with 5Mt/yr of raw materials as primary feedstock and additives, and has in turn received the latter’s cement for its own construction projects.

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.

Australia: BIS, the production services provider, will be the sole materials handler for the Australian steel and mining giant GFG Alliance. The contract includes slag processing and handling, with conveyance to cement industry buyers across South Australia.

Greece: 130 delegates have met in Thessaloniki to attend the Euroslag conference. Delegates travelled from around the world, including from China, South Korea, Japan and the US, to discuss regulation, technical developments and new applications.