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.

North America: A survey by the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA) has revealed that its members used over 0.3Mt of recycled blast furnace slag in the production of thermal and acoustical insulation in 2017. The survey included data from both US and Canadian production plants.

Producers also used over 0.9Mt of recycled glass to produce residential, commercial and industrial thermal and acoustical insulation. Since the industry’s recycling program began in 1992, NAIMA estimates that its members’ plants have diverted an estimated 26Mt of recycled materials from the waste stream.

“Our industry is tremendously proud of the substantial use of recycled content in the production of energy saving insulation products,” said Curt Rich, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of NAIMA. “These products ultimately reduce building energy use and decrease our carbon footprint. Over the long term, the fibre glass and mineral wool insulation industry expects to continue using substantial amounts of recycled content in the production of insulation products.”

France: Eiffage, via its Eiffage Route subsidiary, and Phoenix Services have secured a new contract with ArcelorMittal, through SGA, their joint subsidiary for the removal and processing of by-products from the Dunkirk steelworks, the recovery of metal parts and the recycling of slag. This contract, worth an estimated Euro155m over 10 years, will come into effect on 1 December 2018.

The services to be provided entail collecting approximately 1Mt/yr of liquid slag, removing its iron content by a process already agreed in an earlier contract signed in 2004 and recycling it for embankments, agricultural uses and the manufacture of hydraulic binder marketed by Eiffage under the Sidmix brand. At least 75 personnel will be mobilised on a 24 hour per day basis to guarantee the removal of the slag from the steelmaking facility.

Italy: Cemitaly has been allowed to use slag and ash in cement production at its Taranto plant following an investigation, according to the Il Fatto Quotidiano newspaper. The former Cementir unit was investigated in 2017 as part of an illegal waste probe that examined whether the Taranto plant purchased ‘illegal’ by-products from Enel and the ILVA steel plant to produce cement.