Steel News

Hitachi Metals, Gloria Material to Discuss Tie-up

21 December 2011 - Hitachi Metals, Ltd. and Gloria Material Technology Corp. (GMTC) will commence discussions focusing on cooperation in production, sales, technology, and investment regarding high-grade specialty steel, and the acquisition of a portion of stocks in GMTC by Hitachi Metals.

November World Crude Steel Production Slips from Previous Month

21 December 2011 - World crude steel production for the 64 countries reporting to the World Steel Association stood at an estimated 115.51 million tonnes for November 2011, 6.8% lower than the 123.98 million tonnes reported for the previous month (October 2011) and 1.1% higher in comparison with November 2010.

Mechel Launches Bloom Caster at Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant

20 December 2011 - Mechel OAO announced the launch of the universal rolling mill’s first line, the blooming concaster #5, at Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant’s oxygen converter shop. The new caster has an annual capacity of 1 million tonnes.

voestalpine Re-Streamlines Group Structure

20 December 2011 - The voestalpine AG Supervisory Board announced plans to implement changes to its structure and Management Board, including the merger of its Automotive and Profilform divisions to form a single division.

Posco E&C to Construct Steel Mill for CSP

20 December 2011 - Companhia Siderúrgica do Pecém (CSP) and Posco Engineering & Construction (E&C) have signed a contract for Posco E&C to engineer, supply equipment for, construct, and commission the CSP steel mill in Ceará state. Start-up is estimated for the first half of 2015.

Tata Steel Completes 100 Years of Production with A-F Blast Furnace

19 December 2011 - Tata Steel celebrated this week the completion of 100 years of production for its A-F Blast Furnace at the company’s plant in Jamshedpur. The plant is to reach an annual capacity of 10 million tonnes in a few months when it commissions its ‘I’ Blast Furnace.

Siemens to Upgrade Automation, Controls for TKS Casting-Rolling Mill

19 December 2011 - ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe AG has placed an order with Siemens VAI Metals Technologies to upgrade the casting-rolling mill at the Duisburg-Bruckhausen location with new basic automation and technology packages.

ISRA Parsytec to Install 49th Surface Inspection System for Posco

19 December 2011 - Posco has commissioned ISRA Parsytec to install the 49th surface inspection system in a galvanizing line at its plant in Kwangyang, South Korea.

SMS Siemag Starts up X-Melt Steelworks, X-Cast Caster for Maghreb Steel

16 December 2011 - SMS Siemag successfully put into operation an X-Melt® electric steelmaking plant and an X-Cast® slab caster at Maghreb Steel in Morocco. The facilities are designed for an annual production of 1 million tonnes of steel and will supply the Steckel rolling mill and the heavy-plate mill with input stock.

Outokumpu Completes Negotiation, Cuts 200 Jobs in Finland

16 December 2011 - Outokumpu has concluded the employee negotiations that were initiated in October in Finland. The negotiations resulted in some 200 job reductions.

Japan Fair Trade Commission Okays Integration of Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metals

15 December 2011 - Nippon Steel Corp. and Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. have received from the Japan Fair Trade Commission a “Notification to the Effect that a Cease and Desist Order will not be Issued,” meaning the business integration of the two companies has been approved. The integration is scheduled to be fully executed on October 1, 2012.

Posco Founder Passes Away

15 December 2011 - Tae-Joon Park, founder of Posco, has passed away at the age of 84.

Washing Confirms High Quality of Elga Coking Coal

15 December 2011 - Mechel OAO announced that a sample lot of about 4000 tonnes of Elga’s coking coal was washed at Southern Kuzbass Coal’s Sibir plant. The concentrate has qualities that rate the Elga deposit with high-value grades of coking coals.

Magnitogorsk Announces New Appointment at MMK Metalurji

15 December 2011 - MMK Metalurji, part of the MMK Group, announced the appointment of Sergei Sulimov as Acting General Director, and the return of Yury Bodyayev, General Director of MMK Metalurji, to his previous position as Director of Production at MMK.

Posco Hot Rolling Strengthens Ties with Nippon Steel

14 December 2011 - Posco Pohang and Gwang-yang Works’ hot rolling departments recently hosted a technology exchange event with Nippon Steel Corp. to discuss ideas and experiences related to cost reduction, accident prevention, and improving product quality.

JSW Steel Reports 18% Growth in Crude Steel for November

14 December 2011 - JSW Steel Limited reported crude steel production of 600,000 tonnes in November 2011, representing 18% growth compared to 507,000 tonnes in November 2010 and 5% sequentially.

Siemens to Supply Secondary Refining, Casting Plant to BMZ

13 December 2011 - Siemens VAI Metals Technologies has received an order from Byelorussian Steelworks (BMZ) to equip the factory in Zhlobin with secondary metallurgical plants and a new six-strand continuous billet casting plant. The project is to be completed in early 2013.

Severstal to Accumulate 100% of Putu Iron Ore Project in Liberia

13 December 2011 - OAO Severstal’s indirect subsidiary Lybica Holdings B.V. has entered into a legally binding heads of terms agreement with Afferro Mining Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary Mano River Iron Ore Holdings Ltd. for the purchase of 38.5% interest in the Putu Iron Ore Project.  Severstal currently holds the remaining 61.5% interest in Putu.

EVRAZ plc to be Included in FTSE 100 Index

13 December 2011 - EVRAZ plc announced that it has now been included in the FTSE 100 Index of the UK’s leading public companies, making it the only steel and mining company in the UK FTSE All-Share Index.

Sumitomo Metals Develops new High Strength, Highly Corrosion-Resistant Alloy

12 December 2011 - Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. has developed new martensitic stainless steel OCTG, SM17CRS-125 (referred to as Super 17Cr), which the company claims has best-in-class corrosion resistance and strength to meet increasing demand in ultra-deep well developments.