Global Slag News

UK: Sweden’s LKAB Minerals has signed a deal to buy Francis Flower. The acquisition is intended to bring a portfolio of sustainable products into LKAB Minerals’ portfolio. Implementation of the agreement is subject to Austrian merger clearance. Both parties are confident that the merger control process will be completed by the end of November 2018. No value for the agreement has been disclosed.

Francis Flower is a family owned business, and the main shareholder is the current chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), Adrian Willmott, who upon completion of the sale will resign his position in the business but remain available in a consultancy capacity during an integration phase. The company will be integrated into LKAB Minerals’ existing UK business under the leadership of Darren Wilson, who manages the UK and European business within LKAB Minerals.

Francis Flower recycles blast furnace slag from the steel industry for production of ground granulated blast furnace slag for use in cement production, among other offerings for industrial and agricultural use. It employs 130 people across four sites in the UK: Scunthorpe, Wicken, Gurney Slade and Runcorn.

LKAB Minerals in the UK has a similar size business across four sites and employs around 160 people. Its main operations are processing and marketing of minerals, primarily for the building, construction, polymer, coating, refractory and foundry industries.

“We have an ambition of growing the industrial minerals business significantly over time, to balance LKAB’s growing iron ore production,” said Leif Boström, Senior Vice President for the Special Products Division in LKAB and CEO of LKAB Minerals group. “This will strengthen LKAB Minerals’ offering to the building and construction industries.”

China: Lushan Conch has completed preparation for a project to use slag and fly ash. The subsidiary of Anhui Conch said that it has completed transport bidding work and had completed an underwriting process to support production usage. The plant is also making arrangements to use synthetic gypsum.

The company surpassed its target of 200,000t for production and sales of cement in September 2018 with 215,300t and 217,700t respectively. 105,800t of the total sales were sold as bulk cement.

UK: Harsco’s Metals & Minerals division has renewed a multi-year services contract with British Steel. The US-headquartered company will provide slag management, briquetting, slab handling, coke crushing and other services at the Scunthorpe steel plant. Harsco has provided onsite steel plant services to British Steel for over 30 years.

“Our team has been working very closely with British Steel since the acquisition of the Scunthorpe Steel Works in June 2016 to develop an innovative partnership that brings benefits to both parties,” said Russ Mitchell, Harsco Metals & Minerals chief operating officer.

India: The slag yard at the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant in Andhra Pradesh has collapsed. No injuries were reported during the incident, according to the Hindu newspaper. The cause of the accident remains unknown. The slag yard was built at the time of commissioning of the steel plant. An official said that production remained unaffected. Slag from the steel plant is supplied to cement and brick producers.

Brazil: Harsco’s Metals & Minerals division has won a 10-year contract worth US$150m with ArcelorMittal Tubarao, a subsidiary of ArcelorMittal. The deal includes services such as meltshop cleaning, slag handling and crushing, metal recovery and drop ball services.

“We are excited to extend our long association with ArcelorMittal Tubarao for another 10 years,” said Harsco Metals & Minerals chief operating officer Russ Mitchell. “This agreement is key to maintaining our strong strategic presence in Latin America, and it underpins our commitment to our customer by delivering value and adding solutions with the highest quality and safety standards.”

ArcelorMittal Tubarao is one of the largest integrated steel mills in Brazil, with a production capacity of 7.5Mt/yr. It is a leading producer of flat carbon steel, used extensively in the manufacture of automobiles and household appliances. Located on the Vitória harbour, ArcelorMittal Tubarao is well connected to iron ore mines through railroads.