Australia: Researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and CRC for Low Carbon Living (CRCLCL) are testing a geopolymer concrete made from fly ash and blast furnace slag on a road in Sydney. A 30m stretch of road is being trialled with 15m of traditional concrete and 15m of a geopolymer concrete. Nine sensors have been positioned under the concrete to monitor and compare how the geopolymer concrete performs. The results from the trial will be used to create the first set of industry guidelines for geopolymer concrete.

“While we’ll monitor the road performance for up to five years, a lot of the data collected in the first three to 12 months of this world-first trial will be used to confirm our models and strengthen our predictions,” said Professor Stephen Foster, Head of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UNSW and the CRCLCL project lead.

Kazakhstan: Technogran Aktobe plans to build a cast iron plant in Mangistau region at a cost of US$200m. The plant will produce 250,000t/yr of cast iron and 250,000t/yr of granulated slag, according to Interfax. Slag from the plant will be used for cement production and road construction. These products will be exported to Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

Belgium: The European Commission (EC) has blocked the creation of a joint venture between Tata Steel and ThyssenKrupp. It said that the merger would have reduced competition and increased prices for different types of steel. It added that the parties did not offer adequate remedies to address these concerns.

“Steel is a crucial input for many things we use in our everyday life, such as canned food and cars. Millions of people in Europe work in these sectors and companies depend on competitive steel prices to sell on a global level. Without remedies addressing our serious competition concerns, the merger between Tata Steel and ThyssenKrupp would have resulted in higher prices. So we prohibited the merger to avoid serious harm to European industrial customers and consumers,” said Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.

The proposed joint venture would have combined the flat carbon steel and electrical steel activities of ThyssenKrupp and Tata Steel in the European Economic Area (EEA). ThyssenKrupp is the second largest producer of flat carbon steel in the EEA while Tata Steel is the third largest. Both companies are significant producers of metallic coated and laminated steel for packaging applications and of galvanised flat carbon steel for the automotive industry.

US: Harsco Corporation has rebranded its Metals and Minerals (M&M) division as ‘Harsco Environmental.’ The company says that the new name and visual identity more closely align with its increased focus on providing environmental services and product offerings to help customers drive business performance and growth. The name change and new branding take effect immediately.

Harsco Environmental will continue to be led by Harsco Chairman & CEO Nick Grasberger in tandem with the division’s Chief Operating Officer Russ Mitchell. Harsco Environmental operates more than 130 sites in 32 countries and has 7700 employees. It is Harsco’s largest division, representing approximately 65% of revenue in 2018.

“We are strategically transforming Harsco as a global market leader and provider of environmental solutions to the industries we serve,” said Nick Grasberger. “This rebranding to Harsco Environmental reinforces our over-arching strategic focus and better reflects what the division is today, and where it is headed in the future. Our suite of environmental solutions, recent acquisitions and future investments will drive revenue growth for Harsco in future years.”