Australia: BlueScope has approved a US$735m reline and upgrade project at its No 6 Blast Furnace (6BF) at the Port Kembla Steelworks. The project will include the installation of a new slag granulation system. The overall scope of work includes a traditional reline plus a significant upgrade of parts of the facility and supporting infrastructure, including investment in environmental improvements. It is intended to support future adoptions of low emissions steel production technology. The transition to the relined 6BF is expected to take place in mid-to-late-2026.

India: Bokaro Steel Plant has won granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) supply contracts with ACC and UltraTech Cement. Under the contracts, Bokaro Steel Plant expects to supply 1.3Mt of GBFS from its facilities in Jharkhand for use in cement production in the state. The Pioneer newspaper has reported that the contracts will run until August 2026.

US: Heidelberg Materials North America and Levy Group of Companies signed a granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) supply contract on 9 August 2023. Under the contract, Levy Group of Companies will supply Heidelberg Materials North America with 400,000t/yr of GBFS for use in its slag cement production. Deliveries will begin in early 2024. Heidelberg Materials North America says that it has upgraded its Speed cement plant in Indiana to increase the efficiency with which it grinds GBFS. Following the inauguration of its nearby 2.4Mt/yr Mitchell cement plant in June 2023, Heidelberg Materials North America plans to transition the 1Mt/yr to 100% speciality and slag cement production. Levy Group of Companies will supply the GBFS from steel industry sites in the Midwest Region.

Heidelberg Materials Midwest US president Axel Conrads said “Our agreement with the Levy Group of Companies to secure a consistent supply of slag granules will help us accelerate the transition of the Speed plant to slag cement production and better meet the increasing demand for more sustainable cement products in the growing Midwest market.”

Canada: Enviri Corporation’s Harsco Environmental division has renewed a steel mill services and products agreement with ArcelorMittal Long Products for its plant in Quebec. Under the two-year deal, Harsco Environmental will continue to offer a range of services, including slag pit digging, metallic recovery, melt shop cleaning, support services and ad-hoc rentals.