Global Slag News

India: JSW Cement has launched its ‘Comp Cem’ product in Goa. It is a blend of clinker, ground granulated blast furnace slag and fly ash, according to the United News Of India. The new product is intended to help the cement producer expand its distribution network in the southern and western parts of the country.

US: The United State Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that 16Mt of ferrous slag was produced in 2018. Blast furnace slag accounted for about 50% of the sales volume. Nearly 90% of this value was from sales of granulated slag. Steel slag accounted for almost all of the remainder. 2.2Mt of slag was imported. Slag was processed by about 25 companies servicing active iron and steel facilities or reprocessing old slag piles at about 140 processing plants in 30 states.

The USGS said that locally produced granulated blast furnace slag was in limited supply in 2018 due to granulation cooling only being available at two active US blast furnaces. Supply of basic oxygen furnace (BOF) steel slag was similarly affected due to plant closures. As per 2017, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) sales volumes have failed to match increases set by the overall US cement industry since 2010 despite positive long term trends.

US: Harsco’s sales revenue from its Metals & Minerals division rose by 5.7% year-on-year to US$1.07bn in 2018 from US$1.01bn in 2017. Its operating income increased by 18% to US$121m from US$102m. It said that its Metals & Minerals' revenues were positively impacted by higher customer steel output and related demand for mill services, new contracts, higher commodity prices, increased applied products sales and the acquisition of Altek Group. Overall, the group’s revenue and operating income rose in 2018.

“2018 marked another year of successful execution against our priorities and we again delivered meaningful financial improvements,” said chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) Nick Grasberger.

US: Harsco has appointed Cope Willis as its Vice President of Sustainability and Environmental Solutions. In this newly created role, Willis will be responsible for driving Harsco’s environmental and corporate sustainability initiatives. He will lead efforts to integrate and embed sustainability throughout the company, and will serve as advisor, subject matter expert, and key influencer in business development efforts.

Willis joins Harsco from PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he served as Director of Sustainability Services. He reports to Harsco Chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) Nick Grasberger. He holds a BA in Environmental Science from the University of Virginia and a PhD in Earth Science from the University of California – Santa Cruz.

India: JSW Cement plans to increase the production capacity to 3.6Mt/yr at its Salboni grinding plant in West Bengal. The unit has a capacity of 2.4Mt/yr at present, according to the Economic Times newspaper. The cement producer plans to strengthen its presence in eastern India starting with West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand. The plant manufactures Portland Slag Cement and it hopes to tap into local demand for this product with the upgrade.