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3 July 2008 Slag waste water treatment paper published

A new paper focusing on the treatment of contaminated drainage water in New Zealand has been published in the Journal of Environmental Quality. The abstract of the paper is as follows: Tile drained land with phosphorus (P)-rich topsoil is prone to P loss, which can impair surface water quality via eutrophication. We used by-products from steel and energy industries to mitigate P loss from tile drains. For each by-product, P sorption maximum (Pmax) and strength (k) were determined, while a fluvarium trial assessed P uptake with flow rate. Although two ash materials (fly ash and bottom ash) had high Pmax and k values, heavy metal concentrations negated their use in the field. The fluvarium experiment determined that P uptake with by-products was best at low flow, but decreased at higher flow in proportion to k. A mixture of melter slag (<10 mm) and basic slag (high Pmax, 7250 mg kg–1; and k, 0.508 L mg P–1) was installed as backfill in eight drains on a dairy farm. Four drains with greywacke as backfill were constructed for controls. The site (10 ha) had P-rich topsoil (Olsen P of 64 mg kg–1) and yielded a mean dissolved reactive P (DRP) and total P (TP) concentration from greywacke backfilled drains of 0.33 and 1.20 mg L–1, respectively. In contrast, slag backfilled drains had DRP and TP concentrations of 0.09 and 0.36 mg L–1, respectively. Loads of DRP and TP in greywacke drains (0.45 and 1.92, respectively) were significantly greater (P < 0.05) than those from slag drains (0.18 and 0.85, respectively). Data from a farm where melter slag was used as a backfill suggested that slag would have a life expectancy of about 25 yr. Thus, backfilling tile drains with melter slag and a small proportion of basic slag is recommended as an effective means of decreasing P loss from high P soils.

The authors of the paper are: R W McDowell (Invermay Agricultural Centre, Nw Zealand), A N Sharpley (Department of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences, Univ. of Arkansas, US) and William Bourke (SteelServ, New Zealand). The full paper citation is J. Environ. Quality, 2008, 37, p1575-1582.

26 June 2008 Siemens to supply new steel mill at Posco Gwangyang Works, Korea

Siemens VAI Metals Technologies received an order from the Korean steel producer Posco for the installation of a new green-field steel mill at its production site in Gwangyang, Korea. The project scope includes engineering and the supply of key components, systems and technological packages for an LD (BOF) converter, RH degassing plant and slab caster. The project will be implemented in consortium with Posco E&C (Posco Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd.) and Poscon – an affiliated company of the automation division of Posco. The first slab is scheduled to be cast on the new caster in May 2010, which will be rolled to plates in a new plate mill also under construction.

With a crude-steel output exceeding 30 million tons in 2007, Posco is one of the largest steel producers in the world. At its production sites in Korea and elsewhere in Asia the company produces a wide range of carbon, stainless and electrical-steel grades which are sold as coils, sheets, plates and wire rod that are used for a multitude of industrial applications. In response to the growing demand for plates, Posco made the decision to install new steelmaking and plate-rolling facilities at its steel works in Gwangyang. A total of 3.2 million tons of slabs, comprising low-, medium- and high-carbon steel grades as well as alloyed steel grades, will be rolled to high-quality plates for use in shipbuilding, boiler and pressure vessels and pipe production.

Siemens Metals Technologies will provide engineering and key equipment for a 250-ton LD (BOF) converter and offgas system, an RH degassing plant and a 2-strand slab caster with a nominal casting capacity of 3.2 million tons of slabs per year. The converter supply includes the maintenance-free VAI-Con Link suspension system, converter-tilting unit with drive, an oxygen valve stand for the LD lances and slag stoppers for minimized slag carry-over during tapping. The dry-type converter-offgas-treatment system will be designed to cool and dedust up to 200,000 m3 of offgas per hour in accordance with the strict Korean environmental standards. It includes an evaporation cooler, a Siemens four-field, round-type ESP (electrostatic precipitator), ID (induced draught) fan, a gas-switchover station for directing the treated converter offgas either to the flare or to intermediate storage in a gasholder for subsequent heating applications or for the generation of electricity). A feature of the offgas-treatment plant is the installation of a plate-type cooling system which ensures a high cooling efficiency during peak converter-offgas emissions.

The 250-ton RH (Ruhrstahl-Heraeus) degassing plant will reduce the hydrogen and nitrogen gas content of the liquid steel to acceptable values as required for the production of high-quality plates. The 2-strand slab caster with a casting-bow radius of 9.5 meters will be capable of casting slabs with thicknesses of 250 and 300 millimeters and in widths ranging from 1,400–2,400 millimeters. The caster will be equipped with a wide array of technological packages. This includes DynaFlex for the online flexible adjustment of the mold-oscillation parameters, SmartMold with its cassette-type mold design that allows the copper plates to be quickly exchanged and LevCon 2 for improved automatic mold-level-control. Dynamic mold-width adjustment will be possible with DynaWidth. Furthermore, a SmartBender will be installed as the first segment in the strand-support system to enable fast slab-thickness changes to be carried out. Advanced caster segments of the type SmartSegment will enable the online and fully automatic adjustment of the slab thicknesses. DynaGap SoftReduction technology will allow the strand taper in the area of final solidification to be dynamically adjusted for improved internal strand quality. The Level 2 Dynacs secondary-cooling system featuring dynamic strand-cooling management ensures ideal cooling conditions according to the respective steel grade. With the employed 3D-Spray system the spray width is automatically adjusted according to the slab width, providing optimum slab cooling.

A key reason for the receipt of this contract by Siemens was the successful cooperation with Posco in previous projects of this type. Since the year 2000, Siemens Metals Technologies has supplied a total of nine slab casters comprising a total of 17 strands to Posco's Pohang and Gwangyang steel works.

25 June 2008 Call to repair 'big dipper' major road as steel slag deteriorates

One of Rotherham's busiest roads should be given a major facelift because it is creating a bad impression with visitors, according to a top councillor. Centenary Way - the main link between the M1 and the town centre - has started crumbling and has been dubbed the "big dipper" as steel slag used in its construction deteriorates. But Rotherham Council has been refused a government grant towards rebuilding the road which could cost millions. It says it intends to patch up the road because it can't afford to resurface it.

Tory group leader John Gilding says the crumbling road is at odds with plans to revitalise the town. He said: "We have all these big sums being invested in the town but this road - the main road into the town centre from the M1 - does not create a good impression. I understand there are problems with the capital side of things but I think a new surface should be put down as a temporary measure until the money comes through."

Three years ago the council received a one-off UK£2m grant from the UK Government to re-build Great Eastern Way at Parkgate which was suffering similar problems.

24 June 2008 Sagar Cements declares dividend

Sagar Cements has declared dividend of 25% including the interim dividend of 15% (already paid), on the equity shares for the year 2007-08. Sagar Cements specializes in the production and distribution of portland cement. It also offers slag, super grade and special sulphate resistance. SCL`s cement is marketed under the brand name Priya Cement.

18 June 2008 Searchlight Minerals Corp provides update on Clarkdale Slag Project

Searchlight Minerals announced that on 17 June 2008, the City of Clarkdale, Arizona issued a Certificate of Occupancy for the laboratory facilities located within the building that is anticipated to house the Company's initial 100 to 250 ton-per-day (tpd) commercial production module for the extraction of precious and base metals from a 20 million-ton slag pile located in Clarkdale, Arizona. The slag pile is approximately six miles from the historic United Verde Copper Mine in Jerome, Arizona, which produced some of the richest copper ore ever mined in the U.S. Clarkdale housed a smelter operation for the United Verde Mine, and when smelting activities ceased in 1947, a metal-bearing slag was left at the Clarkdale site. Independent engineers, operating under chain-of-custody procedures, have estimated that the slag pile is comprised of approximately 20.2 million tons of material that contains approximately 0.50 ounces of gold per ton, along with silver, copper, zinc and a ferro silicate byproduct.

"We view receipt of the Certificate of Occupancy for the laboratory as the achievement of an important milestone in our journey to complete the construction, installation, testing and start-up of our initial production module in Clarkdale," stated Ian McNeil, Chief Executive Officer of Searchlight Minerals Corp. "In coming weeks, we will install state-of-the-art analytical equipment in the laboratory that will allow our chemists to conduct immediate, on-site analyses of leaching results to further optimize the metals extraction process."

During the first half of 2008, the Company has been involved primarily in the renovation of an existing 26,000 sq. ft. building at the Clarkdale site. The building will house most of the components of the initial full-scale production module, including crushing, grinding, leaching, filtering and Ion Exchange (IX ) circuits. Concurrent with the building's renovation, the Company has been taking delivery of major equipment items, such as impact mills, a vibratory mill, leaching tanks, filter presses, ion exchange systems and lab equipment. A majority of the critical equipment is on site and currently being installed in the building. Remaining items are slated for delivery within the next few weeks.

"The renovation process has been enormously complex," observed McNeil. "We have overcome some very challenging engineering issues in order to integrate full-scale production equipment into the existing building. In the process, the Company has significantly upgraded service utilities and installed an operating well that will provide water service to the first module. A new electrical room and transformer were added, and underground power lines are now coupled to the transformer. The building should transition from temporary generators to the Arizona Public Service power grid later this week."

15 June 2008 Environmental problems found at Vedanta mines

Environmental problems involving Vedanta Resources and its subsidiaries include India's hazardous-waste monitoring committee finding a "mountain" of arsenic-bearing slag improperly stored at Vedanta's copper smelter in Tamil Nadu. The committee also found that the plant was emitting sulphur dioxide far in excess of permissible standards and that Vedanta ad embarked on a three-fold expansion of the smelter without permits.

13 June 2008 Sayreville steel mill working to cut down on dust and noise in neighbourhood

Gerdau Ameristeel, New Jersey, is in the midst of multimillion dollar renovations to reduce emissions of noise and dust particles coming from its mill on North Crossman Road. The work at the steel recycling mill is in response to complaints by nearby residents. To cut down on dust and noise, the company plans to enclose two operations, the melt shop and slag cooling area, according to a company-issued press release. The enclosure for the melt shop is being built farther from the homes and will help eliminate some of the sound, company spokesperson Steve Ross said. The enclosure should be built by the end of next summer. The company also has placed tarps over most of the slag pile and is watering down the rest to keep the dust down, Ross said.

"We want all these improvements to be implemented as quickly as possible," Vice President-General Manager Mark Quring said in the release. Pat Walsh, chairman of the Sayreville Environmental Commission and neighborhood resident, said, "A lot of people in the neighborhood feel that where the problem is coming from is the slag." The pile has built up while Ameristeel's slag contractor searched for a buyer, Walsh said. "A buyer has been found," Ross said. "The pile of slag that is there now has been sold and will be shipped off the site."

The company also will upgrade the system which removes and filters the melt shop's exhaust fumes, install a wheel washing system and expand its watering system to further suppress dust. "We think it's worth it to be a better neighbor," Ross said.

A resident of the neighborhood for about nine years, Walsh began noticing increasing levels of dust about three years ago. After he and other residents brought complaints to the attention of the company, last year, Ameristeel began working to improve operations. "Right away the steel company started working with us," Walsh said.

For the past year, Ameristeel has been working with township officials, the environmental commission and has received input from a community hotline and a community advisory panel to pinpoint the causes of problems in the neighborhood. "In response, the company has been investing a great deal of money in improving those conditions," Ross said.

Walsh said the company has been making strides, though not as quickly as residents would like. Borough officials are seeking a time frame from the company for when improvements will be completed, Walsh said. "We're just hoping they will pick up the pace, help the neighbors. That's why I think the deadlines are important," Walsh said. One of the primary concerns for residents was the possibility of health risks from emissions, Walsh said.

A report released by the company in February 2008, indicated that particle emissions did not exceed the health limits set by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Township officials are making plans to review to reports to get a second opinion on the results, Walsh said.

12 June 2008 Chicago's 'Eco Bridge' to be built with slag

Picture this on Chicago's downtown lakefront: A two mile-long land bridge arcing into Lake Michigan and outfitted with wind turbines and a soaring central observation tower. The "Eco-Bridge," Chicago architects Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill call it. They've been quietly shopping the idea over the past year to civic, business and political leaders, including Mayor Richard M. Daley. Let's set aside for now the inconvenient hurdle that the land bridge would cost US$1bn and no funding source has been identified.

The bridge, a 21st Century update of a comparable breakwater scheme in Daniel Burnham's celebrated 1909 Plan of Chicago, would form a grand civic space and a harbor, stretching from the Adler Planetarium on the south to East Wacker Drive on the north. You could walk on it, jog on it, maybe even bike on it. The bridge's observation tower would provide a place to gaze back at the skyline and a display platform for the Olympic flame should Chicago be selected as the host city for the 2016 Summer Olympics. It would be built on slag, a byproduct of steel-making, and the slag would be permeable, Smith said, allowing fish to use it as a habitat.

30 May 2008 Special slag concrete mix developed for I-5

The Cemex cement plant in the Sutter Country village of Pleasant Grove, has won the bid to provide concrete for the repair of the I-5 freeway project in Sacramento. Ten trucks an hour are expected to back into the plant and be filled with concrete. "From the time we push the button to start the conveyor belts moving, it will take us three minutes to fill each truck," said Operations Manager Andy Galli. "We are providing close to 17,000 cubic yards of material to this project."

While other concrete plants are dirty and dusty, Galli pointed out the Cemex plant is clean and green. "Usually there's stuff everywhere," explained Galli. "But our facility here is very environmentally friendly because we have the plant enclosed. We have dust collection systems to control the dust when we're manufacturing the concrete."

Some of the concrete concoction going to the 'boat section' of the I-5 fix has never been used before. When Quality Control Manager Jim Van Nest heard about the deal in mid-February, he said, "I called our sales manager and said you gotta be crazy we're bidding this. But I was told you've got to take care of it."

"We're going to use concrete made with slag, a byproduct of making steel. That's been done before," said Van Nest. But this project was different. "Instead of slag concrete that will cure and harden in 28 days, we were asked to get that strength in 24 hours. So it took us hundreds of hours in research and development to figure out how to do that."

Six weeks ago word came that Cemex workers had developed a recipe that included hardening agents, more slag and less cement. And test columns showed the stuff was super tough. Van Nest explained, "One square inch of concrete can hold a a car that weighs 3600 pounds.

Cemex workers said they'll feel proud watching their concrete road recipe make history. "We'll save taxpayers money because we'll be able to help fix the road in a much shorter amount of time," said Van Nest. "And cars will be able to get back on the road so people can get where they're going. That's a good thing."

27 May 2008 Davenport boosts price target

Davenport raises its price target on Walter Industries Inc. from US$85 to US$105, maintaining their Buy rating. The firm is also raising 2009-2010 estimates to reflect higher assumed prices on currently unpriced coal tons. Walter Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides a line of products and services, including coal and natural gas, furnace and foundry coke, slag fiber, mortgage financing, and home construction worldwide.

The firm said commentary at their recent coal conference reinforced their view of more prolonged supply tightness in the met coal market, and higher prices in the short-term steam coal market than they previously assumed. Walter Industries currently trades at $89.

27 May 2008 New facet to slag recycling

Recycling of materials for re-use is a fast-growing industry. Now a new facet has been added to the business – the recycling of slag. The latest move comes from National Scrap Metals at Kuilsrivier, Cape Town, South Africa. National Scrap Metals currently holds two international ratings, the ISO 14001 and the ISO 9001, and is working towards an ISO 18000 that may be awarded by the end of the year.

Major shareholders in National Scrap Metals are Murray and Roberts and the New Reclamation Group.

Adri Vosloo, general manager of National Scrap Metals says the company recently purchased sophisticated equipment from Pilot Crushtec – a Finlay 663 Supertrak, which is a mobile track-mounted diesel-driven screening plant, and a Modular MJ1252 skid-mounted electric granulator jaw crusher, manufactured by Pilot Crushtec. He says the facility is seen to be a ‘pilot’ operation that is expected to develop nationwide as investigations into possible uses of crushed slag continue.

The Kuilsrivier plant is currently processing 3500t/m of slag from the Murray and Roberts-owned Cape Town Iron and Steel, while additional material from a stockpile is also being fed into the system. Crushed slag is currently going to the construction industry, to be used as filler and for road manufacture, as well as to manufacturers of specialised bricks. Interest in the product is growing, and sales are increasing, he says.

“We see tremendous growth in the future for the recycling industry. The recycling of slag at Kuilsrivier has provided us with an ideal opportunity to operate what we see as a pilot project at one of the smaller slag producers, but investigations into further uses of crushed slag are ongoing. There are larger steel producers in the country and we may extend our operations nationwide, which will help protect the environment and our resources for the future,” he says.

Vosloo says National Scrap Metals purchased modular crushing and screening equipment from Pilot Crushtec in 2003 as a trial with the purpose of extracting metal from an existing waste dump while crushing slag. The decision to upgrade was taken recently when growth in demand for crushed slag started to develop. Currently the new jaw crusher is being used to enhance the production of the modular plant that, together with the Finlay 663 Supertrak is delivering 0 to 16mm and 16 to 50mm products . He says production is flexible and different sizes material can be provided to meet customer needs.

21 May 2008 Hangzhou Bay Bridge and Sutong Bridge open to traffic

Hangzhou Bay Bridge and Sutong Bridge in China have been officially opened to traffic. These two bridges are milestones in Chinese bridge construction history. Baosteel has performed an important role in this project, not only supplying all the steel for the cables of the Sutong Bridge, but it also supplied ta green slag powder for Hangzhou Bay Bridge.

Baosteel and Chinese scientific research colleges collaborated together to develop a high performance admixture of special slag powder and marine concrete in order to cast the piers of Hangzhou Bay Bridge. This application has improved the density of the concrete, resulting in low penetration, fewer defects and advanced corrosion resisting capability compared to normal concrete.

20 May 2008 Modern-day alchemy: turning trash into power

It's not turning lead into gold, but General Electric Co is working on a form of modern alchemy, converting garbage into electricity. GE, which aims to make US$25bn in annual sales from green businesses by 2010, is working to adapt its gasification technology, used to burn coal more cleanly, to turn municipal waste into a relatively clean-burning gas. The process takes solid material and heats it to temperatures up to 1400degC (2552degF) - far hotter than an incinerator - which causes most matter to shift into a gaseous state. That gas is then converted into a synthetic fuel called syngas, largely free of pollutants, that can be burned in an electricity-producing turbine.

The materials that do not convert to gas, including some metals and minerals, shift to a liquid state and when they cool turn into slag, a stable rocklike substance. Slag's stability means its contents do not leach out into their surroundings, so it could be safely used in construction material. The challenge is how to take a process that works with a uniform input - coal - and make it run smoothly with the hodgepodge of materials that make their way into a garbage truck. "We're really trying to understand the variability that is in municipal solid waste," said Kelly Fletcher, advanced technology leader in sustainable energy at GE's research center in Niskayuna, New York. "Not to be cute about it, but garbage in, garbage out," Fletcher said in a phone interview. "We have to really understand what it is that our gasification system is going to get, in terms of the feedstock."

Environmental groups have long opposed incinerating waste - which releases polluting gases into the atmosphere and creates ash that can be hazardous -- but some are open to the idea of gasifying municipal solid waste. "We are open to technologies that would deal with MSW in a way that doesn't have the downsides of incineration and created a useful product," said Dave Hamilton, director of global warming and energy at the Sierra Club, in Washington. "We're interested in looking at it."

Many companies around the world, including Waste Management Inc, the largest US trash hauler, already produce energy from garbage by capturing the methane gas emitted by decomposing trash in landfills and burning it. The gasification approach cuts out the landfill - a key concern in crowded urban areas - and prevents the trash from decomposing and producing methane, which has more than 20 times the heat-trapping potential of carbon dioxide. "If you can intercept it from turning into methane, then doing something else with it is probably a better route," said Scott Sklar, president of The Stella Group, a Washington-based green energy consulting and design firm.

Energy experts said there are no garbage-to-energy gasification plans currently operating in the United States, although privately held Plasco Energy Group late last year opened a site in the Canadian capital of Ottawa, which is capable of processing 100t of municipal trash a day.

Cities in Florida, California, Louisiana and Michigan are contemplating or planning waste gasification facilities. Fletcher estimated that GE is about five to ten years away from making garbage gasification a paying business.

19 May 2008 The rain is to blame

Wet weather over the weekend in South Australia may delay maintenance work at Port Pirie's smelter. The smelter's operator Nyrstar has shut down the slag fuming plant and plans to reopen it early next month. Matt Howell from the company says while he still hopes the 21 day target is achievable, the safety of up to 170 maintenance contractors is Nyrstar's main concern.

"Its raining and that's great for the farmers but it's not so good for us because it introduces a bunch of other risks that we have to take care of," he said. It becomes slippery, there's a lot of electrical equipment out there, so look this is just part and parcel of running a shutdown, but it's very, very extensive in the coordination and the planning to keep 170 people occupied and working safely together."

19 May 2008 Mount Isa homes 'contaminated'

MORE than 900 homes in Mount Isa, Australia, may have been built on land contaminated by mining slag from the central Queensland town's mine.Preliminary soil testing, conducted by Macquarie University scientists, has found that pockets of the suburb of Soldiers Hill - where children have recently shown dangerously high blood-lead levels - have recorded lead contamination five times the legal limit. The tests, which will be finalised this week, have opened up a new avenue for legal action against the mine's owner Xstrata, as well as the Queensland Government and city council. A test case was filed last month in Brisbane's Supreme Court over lead poisoning of a six-year-old girl in Mount Isa.

Queensland Health will this Thursday hold a public forum to release the final report of a blood-screening programme. A preliminary report found that 11% of the 400 children tested had blood-lead levels above the safe limit set by the World Health Organisation. One of the children tested was Sharnelle Seeto's two-year-old daughter, Bethany Sanders, who will figure in legal action to come.

Ordered in late 2006 after The Australian revealed evidence of metal contamination of soils and water, the study shows at least 45 children have lead-blood levels that could damage intellectual and behavioural development. The Queensland Government this year moved to repeal exemptions to environmental standards granted to the Mount Isa hardrock mine and smelters by the Bjelke-Petersen government. But the report into the blood screening by the Queensland Government - which is a respondent in the test case - is unlikely to lay blame exclusively with Xstrata, the mine's Swiss owner.

Queensland Health's John Piispanen said the report was not concerned with the "blame concept". "The evidence we have found is to guide future long-term serious action in Mount Isa on lead - that was our scope," he said. "Lead comes from a wide variety of sources and there is some obvious stuff whether it is historical mining activity, current mining activity or from highly-mineralised soils." But solicitor Damian Scattini, of law firm Slater & Gordon, feared there would be the same sort of inaction that followed a 1992 blood-screening program that also found high lead levels among more than a third of the town's children.

Mr Scattini said the mine, the state government and city council had done little since evidence of widespread contamination was first confirmed in 1990. At that time, a church, childcare centre and kindergarten were closed and 50 houses moved because of heavy-metal contamination. Documents obtained by The Australian show that the government suspected in 1990 that large tracts of suburbs were built on contaminated land. Mr Scattini said he planned to launch legal action on behalf of residents whose homes are likely to have been built on the top of land fill provided by the mine. Other sources of the contamination are believed to have come from dust that blew off the mines's slag heaps and from the discharge of tailings into the region's rivers. "If the tests confirm what we expect them to show - that the land is contaminated with lead and other heavy metals - we will be suing the responsible parties," Mr Scattini said. Xstrata Copper North Queensland chief operating officer Steve de Kruijff last month said the company took the issue of "lead management" seriously and was working closely with the community and authorities.

8 May 2008 Ohio Permit Approved; Steel Plant Coming to Scioto County?

Ohio’s Environmental Protection Agency has granted approval of air and waste water permits necessary for construction of a US$1bn steel plant between Franklin Furnace and Haverhill. New Steel’s 750-acre plant would eventually create nearly 1000 jobs.

One of the concerns during the permit process was reducing the amount of airborne mercury estimated to be released. New Steel responded by adding a “lignite injection system specifically designed to control mercury emissions,” the release said. “The final air permit contains a significantly lower mercury emission limit at less than 100lb/y. Ohio EPA believes this to be the most stringent air pollution technology for mercury to be used at an American steel mill and may set a new industry standard for cleaner air.”

In addition to enhanced mercury controls the facility updated the design of other control equipment which will significantly reduce the emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrofluoric acid, hydrogen chloride and sulphuric acid. All sources at the plant will use state-of-the-art controls for controlling air pollutants to meet emission limits. “I appreciate New Steel’s willingness to work with dedicated Ohio EPA staff in development of cutting edge permits,” said Chris Korleski, Ohio EPA director.

The final wastewater discharge permit has also been granted. New Steel must also receive a 401 water quality certification and a 404 permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. Decisions on those applications have not yet been made.

As a requirement of New Steel's wastewater permit-to-install, the company will be lining the slag quenching area and the slag plant water supply lagoon with two layers of compacted clay to minimise the risk of ground water contamination. The clay layers will total 5ft thickness and will be tested to ensure that permeability requirements are met. Installing a liner system for these areas goes beyond what is typically required in a wastewater permit-to-install.

New Steel International appears to be the US branch of MMK Steel, a Russian company that has been in discussion with the Ohio Department of Development concerning a possible steel mill. Ohio had been in competition with a Quebec site. According to the application filed in October 2007, MMK plans an iron-making plant, steel-making melt shop, continuous casting, hot rolling mill, cold rolling mills and process lines.

6 May 2008 Old slag helps make a building greener

Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), a cement replacement used in ready-mixed and precast concrete, has helped enhance the sustainable credentials of a redeveloped Victorian building in central London. Architects, Architype, wanted to ensure the refurbishment of 56 Southwark Bridge Road, owned by Southwark Borough Council, combined cutting edge design with the use of low carbon materials.

GGBS, which is a by-product of the iron making industry, was specified because it can reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the manufacture of concrete by 40% or more. In addition, it does not require the quarrying of new materials and makes use of a product that would otherwise be disposed of as landfill. It was imperative for Architype that materials used in the project reflected its sustainable approach to embodied energy, greenhouse gases and raw material extraction.

Adrian Ashby, from Civil and Marine, the UK’s largest producers of GGBS, worked closely with James Todd from Architype to ensure that site constraints did not dilute this approach. A standard GGBS percentage of 50% was agreed for use across the project – although Architype’s original specifications stated a 72% mix. “We had to balance our vision with the needs of the contractors and suppliers,” said James. “Ideally we would have liked a bigger mix, but it is inevitable that compromises are made on projects like this. Civil and Marine understood the need to be flexible and continued to offer advice and support throughout construction.”

Concrete containing GGBS was used in the space between the atrium and staircases, achieving a light-coloured concrete with a consistent fine textured finish. Using 300m3 of GGBS in the mixes saved 46t of carbon dioxide and 112,350KWh of energy and also prevented 79t of raw material extraction. Other environmentally friendly specifications on the build included solar panels, a wind turbine, low energy lighting and an energy monitoring system.

Graham Sutton, regeneration manager for the London Borough of Southwark said: “The building is going to be a media centre for broadcasting, cultural and art projects and will bring excellent training opportunities for local residents.”

5 May 2008 Price target raise for slag fibre firm

Brean Murray has raise the price target on Walter Industries from US$107 to US$150. The firm believes that if Walter can meet its FY09 projected production volumes, the company will report EPS of US$15.00, versus the Wall Street consensus of US$9.34. Brean Murray calls Walter 'particularly attractive for deep value investors' given that it is currently trading at 4.9-times its forward EPS estimate. Walter Industries, Inc. provides a line of products and services, including coal and natural gas, furnace and foundry coke, slag fibre, mortgage financing, and home construction worldwide.

30 April 2008 Man severely injured in Mittal Steel's Sparrows Point plant

A combination of molten slag and water at Mittal Steel’s Sparrows Point plant on Monday 28 april 2008 caused an explosion that was felt throughout the community. One worker was seriously burned in the blast at the plant at 12:15am after he dumped 3000degC steel waste by-product into a pit of water, according to a news release from the Baltimore County Fire Department. The young man, who was not identified in the release, was operating a front-end loader in the coal chemical area of the plant when he dumped the slag. That caused an explosion that sent the molten slag and steam shooting high into the air, according to the release.

Firefighters from the Sparrows Point station responded to a two-alarm warehouse fire caused by the explosion and found that plant employees had moved the injured man to the company's infirmary. The man then was rushed to the burn unit at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. At the burn center, the release said, the man was listed as a 'Priority 1', meaning he suffered critical and possibly life-threatening injuries. No more information about his condition was available at press time Tuesday 29 April 2008.

At the plant, firefighters found that flying debris from the explosion had caused the nearby warehouse to catch fire, the release said. The molten debris had melted the roof of the warehouse and ignited combustibles inside, the release said. Firefighters had the blaze under control by 1:30am, according to the release. The fire and explosion were ruled accidental by fire investigators and caused about US$130,000 worth of damage to the property, the release said.

15 April 2008 Slag rivets 'to blame' for the sinking of the Titanic

Metallurgists studying the hulk of the Titanic argue that the liner went down fast after hitting an iceberg because the ship's builder used substandard rivets that contained too much slag. These rivets popped their heads and let tons of icy seawater rush in. They say that better rivets would have probably kept the Titanic afloat long enough for rescuers to have arrived, saving hundreds of lives.

The team collected clues from 48 Titanic rivets and found many riddled with high concentrations of slag, a glassy residue of smelting that can make iron brittle. To test whether this extra slag weakened the rivets, scientists commissioned a blacksmith to make rivets to the same specifications as those used to join steel plates in the hull of the Titanic. When the plates were bent in the laboratory, the rivet heads popped off at loads of about 4000kg. With the right slag content they should have held up to about 9000kg. Even a few failures because of flawed metal would have been sufficient to unzip entire seams, because as faulty rivets popped, more stress would have been placed on the good ones, causing them to break in turn. The shipbuilder, which is still in existence, denies it all.

15 April 2008 Eramet acquires Tinfos of Norway in Euro593m deal

Eramet said it will acquire metal alloys producer Tinfos AS of Norway in a cash and shares deal worth about Euro593m. It has agreed to buy a 93% stake from the family that controls the company and will make an offer on the same terms to the holders of the remaining 7% of shares. Tinfos had sales of Euro931m in 2007 and employs more than 500 people, Eramet said. Its activities include production of silico-manganese at its Kvinesdal plant, which has capacity of approximately 180,000t per year and a workforce of around 200.

Tinfos makes titanium dioxide slag and high purity pig iron at its Tyssedal plant, with a workforce of about 190. Titanium dioxide slag is used primarily in the production of white titanium dioxide pigments for paints, paper and plastics. The company also carries out international trading of metallurgical products, notably for the steel and foundry industries, and is involved in power generation through various hydropower and thermal power plants in Norway.

The acquisition is expected to enhance Eramet's EPS by more than 4% in 2009, the French mining company said. Tinfos's operations are highly complementary to Eramet's current business in Norway, where Eramet operates two manganese alloy plants at Porsgrunn and Sauda, it noted.

Based on Eramet's share price in the month to 11 April 2008, the deal gives Tinfos an enterprise value of Euro593m, equivalent to 7.8 times Tinfos's 2007 EBITDA.Following completion, Tinfos's major shareholders will together holdabout 2.4% of Eramet's shares.

8 April 2008 Charah receives US Patent for coal-slag processing

Charah Inc, which finds uses for ash from the coal-fired electric utility industry, has received a United States patent for its method of processing coal slag. The processing system, designed for power plants that use Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) technology, separates unburned carbon from the slag material and makes it available for reuse, according to a news release from Louisville, Kentucky-based Charah.

IGCC plants produce power in a more environmentally friendly manner by treating coal to remove its sulphur content prior to burning. There are about 26 IGCC plants in operation or under construction around the world, the release said.

8 April 2008 Waste-to-slag using plasma art technology

A new technology called plasma arc gasification (PAG) could help the US solve its landfill problem. There are approximately 2000 landfill sites in the US, and the country generates about 230Mt of solid waste a year. Thanks to recycling and other efforts, only around half of this will end up in landfills, but a considerable amount will still need to be dumped. But thanks to PAG the reliance on landfills should diminish.

Plasma arcs can heat garbage to 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The byproduct is a rock-like substance called slag. The slag can be sold and used in constructing roads and highways. Using this slag would lessen the environmental impact of mining for construction materials. A portion of the gas and steam produced by this process can be used to run turbines and generate electricity in power plants, with the excess electricity being sold off to power companies.

Georgia Tech scientist Louis Cicero has suggested a nationwide system of plasma facilities can produce the equivalent electricity of 25 nuclear power plants. This does not have to be done with government monies. An Atlanta, Georgia company, Geoplasma, is building such a plant in Florida. A past objection to incinerators was possible air pollution. However, better technology has addressed this concern. Similar plasma-arc gasification processes are already operating in Japan, meeting tougher emissions standards than in the US.

3rd April 2008 Zlatoust’s EAF shop No 3 celebrates 40th anniversary

ESTAR Group’s JSC Zlatoust Metallurgical Plant’s electric furnace melting shop No 3 is celebrating its 40th anniversary. The shop was commissioned in 1968 when its assets consisted of four electric slag re-melting furnaces, four induction furnaces and vacuum arc furnaces. In late-1968 vacuum arc furnace with two casting moulds was commissioned. The production of 26 steel grades was developed in the shop with electric slag re-melting furnaces in just the first year of operation. Currently the shop produces over 100 different steel grades.

The steel shop is now equipped with induction furnaces, electric slag re-melting furnaces, vacuum arc furnaces and a two-strand half continuous billets casting machine for the production of round section electrodes. It also produces up to 2500t of products per month including stainless, construction, tool steel grades, high speed steel tools and alloys.

In 2005 an electric slag re-melting furnace 5VG was launched in the shop for production of hollow ingots billets for pipe industry allowing a complete exclusion of the first refining. Currently ZMP has developed production of hollow ingots with the length of up to 3.5mm and wall thickness ranging between 90-115 mm.

28th March 2008 Roads buckle due to defective materials

Barnsley Council in the UK has been left with a potential UK£6.2m bill after builders used defective materials to build access roads to housing estates. Steel slag was used the create the foundations for the roads, but that has since expanded due to contact with rain and the road surfaces have buckled and cracked. Councillor Philip Burkinshaw compared driving along one of the worst streets to riding a rollercoaster. He said: "Going down Water Royd Drive in Dodworth is more exciting than going on the Big One in Blackpool."

Residents of the street, which is the central road through the Harvest Meadows estate in Dodworth, have been complaining about the road surface for more than five years. The cost of digging up and disposing of the steel slag, which has to be specially disposed of because it is contaminated, in all the affected streets in the borough would be UK£6.2m. Highways engineers have determined that the cost of fixing the roads can be reduced by coating the slag and re-using it, but that would still cost UK£2.3m.

Cabinet environment spokesman Coun Roy Miller said there are up to 38 roads in the borough which need fixing and that they will be seen to on a worst-first basis. After Water Royd Drove, the worst are in Mapplewell, Wilthorpe, Tankersley, Cubley and Cawthorne. Councillor Miller said the work could take years. He said: "We are aware of the problems this has been causing for a lot of our residents. But we will be working to resolve the issue as quickly as we can with the resources available."

27th March 2008 Tube City receives 35 Safety Awards From National Slag Association

Tube City IMS, LLC, a provider of products and services to steel mills and foundries throughout the US, Canada, Europe, Mexico, South America and Asia, has announced that several of the Company's sites received a total of 35 Safety and Industry Best Practices awards from the National Slag Association (NSA) for 2007. The NSA Safety awards recognise superior performance as measured against Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recordable injury rates. The awards were recently presented to the Company during the NSA's annual spring meeting in Las Vegas.

Overall, Tube City IMS received 50% of the awards recognizing "Job Sites with at Least 200,000 Hours since the Last Recordable Accident" and 60% of the awards presented for "Lowest Incident Rate, 11-50 Employees."

Raymond Kalouche, President and COO, IMS Division, Tube City said: "The Company is honoured to receive these prestigious awards. They stand as testimony of our teammates' active participation in safety and innovation throughout our organisation," said . "We will continue to look for new ways to improve safety programs. I am extremely proud of all our colleagues for their dedication and commitment to safety."