Global Slag News

UK: Harsco has published its environmental report for 2019 - 20, a year in which it divested its industrial division, selling three subsidiaries, and acquired US-based hazardous and contaminated waste processing specialists Clean Earth and Stericycle Environmental Solutions, “creating a leading national hazardous waste management platform.” Globally, Harsco derived 80% of revenue over the twelve-month period that ended 30 June 2020 from environmental services, compared to 60% over the twelve months ending 30 June 2017. Chair and chief executive officer (CEO) Nicholas Grasberger said, “Advancing sustainability and being a more purpose-driven company will play an essential role in Harsco’s future.”

Belgium: The World Steel Association says that global steel production in the first half of 2020 was 873Mt, down by 6% year-on-year from 929Mt. Global June 2020 steel production also fell, by 7% year-on-year to 148Mt from 159Mt in June 2019 and by 0.7% month-on-month from 149Mt in May 2020. China produced 91.6Mt in June 2020, up by 4.5% from 87.7Mt, corresponding to 62% of global steel production for the month. The sharpest falls occurred in the US, by 35% to 4.7Mt from 7.2Mt, and in France, by 35% to 800,000t from 1.23Mt.

India: The Bureau of Indian Standards has granted a licence to Counto Microfine Products (CMP), a joint venture of Ambuja Cements and medical company Alcon Group, for the production of micro-fine Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) cement. The Times of India newspaper has reported that CMP operates a grinding plant in the state of Goa.

Russia: Eurocement subsidiary Belgorodsky Cement has announced the start of commercial production of a new CEM-III slag Portland cement. The company says that the cement is highly water and frost resistant and suitable for use in the construction of massive ground and underground structures. Belgorodsky Cement director general Eduard Androsov said, “We offer our customers an individual approach to solving construction problems and guarantee a stable supply of high quality products in the required volumes and within strictly defined deadlines.”

Belgium: The World Steel Association (WSA) forecasts that total global steel consumption in 2020 will be 1.65Bnt, down by 6.4% year-on-year from 1.77Bnt in 2019, due to the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak on steel-intensive industries. The WSA estimated that demand will decline by 17% in developed countries, with the steepest falls in Japan, South Korea and the US, and by 18% in India. China’s steel consumption is expected to rise by 1% due to increased infrastructure spending and a swift post-coronavirus recovery. Construction, a mostly seasonal sector, had already reached full productivity in April 2020.

The WSA expects steel demand to increase by 3.8% year-on-year in 2021 to 1.72Bnt globally. The sharpest recovery is expected to be in developing countries, where the WSA says that total demand will increase by 9.2%, following a fall of 11.6% in 2020.