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voda 21 april 2021 10:55

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Gerdau Launches Gerdau Graphene

Brazil’s largest steel producer Gerdau has launched a new company called Gerdau Graphene, which will develop and market products based on Graphene materials. Gerdau Graphene will operate independently from its parent company's steel business divisions. It will offer pioneering technology to the construction, industrial and automotive lubricants, rubber, thermoplastics, coatings and sensors industries in Brazil and in countries across North America. The new company is part of the portfolio of Gerdau Next, the new business division launched by Gerdau in the second half of 2020 to operate in new segments apart from steel.

Gerdau Graphene is also in the process of increasing its presence and capabilities in the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre at The University of Manchester. Gerdau Graphene will work in partnership with the University as part of a global strategic alliance, with the aim of becoming a leading developer of grapheme enhanced products in the Americas.

Gerdau has been researching Graphene for four years & Gerdau Graphene already has strategic alliances with major Graphene developers, including fellow GEIC Tier 1 Partner First Graphene, with whom Gerdau signed a memorandum of understanding in March 2021 to develop the market for PureGRAPH Graphene products in the Americas. In the Brazilian market, it has strategic partnerships in the automotive sector with Baterias Moura and SKF do Brasil to develop applications in energy storage, rubber, composites and coatings.

The birth and the discovery of new materials give the world great expectations. Graphene is the right example of it. Graphene is able to flow 100 times more current than copper at the speed 100 times faster than silicon at room temperature and its high thermal conductivity allows it to transfer heat 10 times better than copper and it’s 100 times stronger than steel. It’s virtually transparent to light and also flexible enough to increase up to 20% of its area. Besides, electrical conductivity does not disappear even when fully folded. Graphene can be said to be a super-power material because it is thin, bends well and even light. The problem is that this Graphene material has not yet been produced in bulk.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 21 april 2021 10:56

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Judge Orders Release of Mexican Steel Tycoon Mr Alonso Ancira

Border Land Beat reported that a federal judge has suspended the criminal case against Mexican steel tycoon Mr Alonso Ancira, who was imprisoned in Spain for nearly two years and extradited to Mexico earlier this year, ordering his immediate release after Mr Ancira worked out a deal with Mexican prosecutions and will pay USD 216 million in damages to have his corruption and money laundering charges dropped. The judge said that Pemex, the Attorney General's Office and the Financial Intelligence Unit agreed to free Ancira of all charges.

Mr Ancira was facing corruption and money laundering charges after he was implicated in the fraudulent sale purchase of Agros Nitrogenados, a plant fertilizer firm and subsidiary of Altos Hornos de Mexico. According to court documents, Mr Ancira sold the firm at an inflated price to Mr Emilio Lozoya, former chief of the state-owned oil company Pemex. Mr Lozoya bought Agro Nitrogenados for USD 475 million when the property was only worth USD 50 million. This corruption case unfolded during the administration of President Mr Enrique Peña Nieto 2012–2018.

Investigators also showed that Pemex did not do a fair bidding process or a competitive analysis to determine if Agro Nitrogenados was the best candidate for Pemex's new plant fertilizing efforts. Agro Nitrogenados had incomplete, damaged and unusable fertilizer equipment; most of the machinery was over 30 years old and had not been used for at least 18 years. This should have eliminated Agro Nitrogenados as an option for Pemex's plans.

Mr Ancira was born in Mexico City in 1952. He studied law at the University of Anahuac and got an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Incarnate Word and Texas A&M University. In 1991, he was promoted to Managing Director of AHMSA, and in 1993 he became the President of the National Chamber of Iron and Steel. By 2004, he was appointed as the President of AHMSA and all its subsidiaries.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 21 april 2021 10:56

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Labour Party Urges UK Government to Save Liberty Steel

The Guardian reported that UK’s Labour party has called for British government to step in to save Liberty Steel from an insolvency that could threaten thousands of supply chain jobs if owner Mr Sanjeev Gupta fails to find a new lender to prop up his metals empire. Labour’s Shadow Business Minister Ms Lucy Powell said “A government commitment to stepping in before insolvency could allow suppliers, ranging from cleaners to makers of machine components, to continue to deal with Liberty without fearing losses. The people who lose out most from the option of becoming insolvent are the supply chain. If the government were to indicate this was an option that would inject confidence into the supply chain. Liberty Steel plants support thousands of steel and supply jobs in towns across the country and are of vital strategic importance for our economic prosperity and national security. Ministers are not spectators, they must intervene early to save these plants or we’ll see businesses in places like Hartlepool, Scunthorpe, Rotherham, Stocksbridge and Newport go bust as invoices go unpaid. Steel communities have helped to build Britain. The Conservatives must now back British steel to secure its future, with real action after 10 years of neglect.”

The Conservative government is preparing to intervene to save UK steel jobs only if Liberty Steel fails to refinance and becomes insolvent. Government sources have indicated that a leading option for a potential Liberty collapse is to copy the British Steel rescue. The whole process cost the UK government nearly GBP 600 million. Labour has said that would be too late for as many as 3,300 workers in companies that supply Liberty. In insolvency suppliers’ bills are often left unpaid, even if a business’s assets are later bought.

It is understood that Labour’s preference would be for GFG to find a new lender, preventing the need for any government intervention. The party has previously called for the government to commit to using UK steel for defence and national infrastructure to help the industry.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 21 april 2021 10:58

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EC Keeps AD Duty on Steel Pipe Import from Belarus, China & Russia

The European Commission has extended duties of between 10.1% and 90.6% on imports of steel welded tubes and pipes from Belarus, China and Russia for five years. Chinese producers face the highest rate of 90.6%. The rate for manufacturers in Belarus is 38.1%, while Russia’s OMK Group and TMK Group pay 10.1% and 16.8% respectively. Other Russian companies, such as PAO Severstal CHMF.MM, face tariffs of 20.5%. The Commission concluded that China, Belarus and Russia have significant spare production capacity and that dumping is likely if measures are removed.

The duties, in place since 2008, followed a complaint by a group representing 50% of EU production. The investigation cites ArcelorMittal, Spain’s Celsa Atlantic and Italy’s Arvedi Tube Acciaio as EU producers.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 21 april 2021 10:59

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PD Ports Bags Sheet Pile Contract at Immingham in UK

PD Ports has secured a long-term agreement at its Immingham site with the UK’s leading specialist sheet pile installer and supplier Sheet Piling UK Limited to store and handle the Company’s steel sheet piles ready use within construction industry. Building on an already strong relationship with the sheet pile specialists, PD Ports will now store and handle up to 16,000 tonnes of imported sheet pile materials at its prime East Coast location. Further value added services such as clutch sealing, cutting and welding will also be undertaken at the facility, demonstrating how integral the port group is to post-COVID economic recovery across the UK.

Sheet Piling UK’s imports, which arrive directly in to Immingham from Abu Dhabi, will now be stored and worked on-site before onward distribution. Previously, they were imported, transported via road, worked and then re-distributed. The new arrangement saves the need for the double-handling of cargo and provides a truly consolidated, sustainable solution, in keeping with both PD Ports’ and Sheet Piling UK’s sustainability practices.

Dedicated PD Ports staff on site will also be allocated to the contract, offering added value services such as pick and pack, all through one central point of contact, a factor that Chief Commercial Officer Geoff Lippitt said was key to securing the deal.

PD Ports is a Middlesbrough, UK headquartered port, shipping and logistics company; owner of Teesport, and ports at Hartlepool, Howden and Keadby; with additional operations at the Port of Felixstowe, Port of Immingham, and Port of Hull.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 21 april 2021 10:59

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Hanoi Court Proposes Further Probe in TISCO Steel Project

VNA reported that the Hanoi People’s Court on April 20 recommended investigating possible violations of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and considering the launch of criminal proceedings against several officials of the ministry involved in a case related to wrongdoings at Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel JSC if sufficient ground is found. Specifically, the trial panel said the MoIT made some decisions against the law, introduced and chose incapable units to carry out section C of the engineering, procurement and construction contract No 01, which was one of the main factor leading to the consequences of the case. The panel also proposed clarifying the violations of the Vietnam Industrial Construction Corporation in the implementation of the section C.

According to the indictment issued by the Supreme People’s Procuracy, the VNS Board of Directors decided to invest in the second phase of TISCO’s production expansion project which initially had total investment of more than 3.8 trillion VND (USD 165). The China Metallurgical Group Corporation won the construction bid in 2007. The indictment said that although individuals at TISCO and VNS were aware that MCC had infringed the contract and groundlessly proposed the implementation extension and value hike, they did not consider contract termination, revocation of the advance, or reporting the matter to competent persons to abolish the bidding result and re-organise the bidding process so as to ensure the project’s effectiveness and progress. Among the defendants, Mung held the overall responsibility for the project’s effectiveness while Tinh was in charge of approving and directing project implementation.

Tran Trong Mung, former Director General of TISCO, was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison for violating regulations on management and use of State assets causing losses and wastefulness under Clause 3, Article 219 of the 2015 Penal Code. Thirteen other defendants were given jail terms ranging from two to eight years and six months on the same charge. Meanwhile, five defendants were imprisoned for 18 months to two years and two given suspended sentences of 18 months each on the charge of lacking responsibility causing serious consequences. The defendants were also ordered to pay compensation worth over 830 billion VND in total to TISCO.

On July 12, 2007, then TISCO General Director Tran Trong Mung and MCC General Director Shen Heting signed an engineering, procurement, and construction contract worth over USD 160 million. It was stipulated that the value, including taxes and expenses necessary for contract implementation, was to not change during the implementation process. TISCO and MCC launched implementation on September 29, 2007. However, more than 11 months after the contract took effect, MCC had failed to select or sign contracts with subcontractors, or carry out the EPC contract. Instead, it proposed extending the contract implementation duration and raising the contract value by more than USD 138 million.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 21 april 2021 11:02

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St Petersburg Stock Exchange Admits Severstal Shares to Trading

PJSC Severstal announced that the St Petersburg Stock Exchange made a decision to admit GDRs on Severstal shares to organized trading without including them in quotation lists. This is due to the high interest of Russian stock market participants in the opportunity to conclude transactions with GDRs on Severstal shares. The corresponding notice was published on the website of the St Petersburg Stock Exchange on April 20, 2021.

Severstal Deputy General Director for Finance & Economics Mr Alexey Kulichenko said “We welcome the decision of the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange. The admission of Severstal GDRs to trading will expand the list of available financial instruments for all categories of investors, and will also allow our shareholders to better diversify their currency risks. Severstal is ready to meet the proposals of the stock exchanges, which make it possible to increase the comfort for investors."

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 21 april 2021 11:03

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Tenaris High Strength Structural Tubes for Sarens Crane

Tenaris has supplied 780 tonnes of high strength steel grade TS890 structural tubes to Sarens, a global leader in crane rental services, heavy lifting, and engineered transport, for the design of the largest crane currently available on the market: the SGC-250. The SGC-250, characterized by a maximum load moment of 250,000 tm enabling 5,000 tonne lifts, will support the construction of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, the United Kingdom’s largest and most complex civil engineering project, which is responsible for supplying seven percent of the country’s low carbon electricity. For a technically demanding crane design like the SGC-250, the critical factor is controlling weight while ensuring high resistance to stress requirement.

The construction industry has been requiring more specialized cranes capable of lifting extreme weights or large components to great heights. The combination of heavy lifting and hoisting capabilities called for the crane lattice boom to be as light as possible. To achieve this goal, high strength steel pipes are used, allowing crane designers to reduce significantly the wall thickness of the originally defined pipe dimension. Tenaris has developed a complete family of modern, high-strength steel grades, ranging from TS690, TS770, T890 up to TS960, with particular attention to weldability, as well as to a clean and smooth pipe surface after undergoing quenching and tempering heat treatment.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 21 april 2021 11:04

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Canadian Steel Producers Association Supports Federal Budget

Following the tabling of the 2021 federal budget, Canadian Steel Producers Association President & CEO Ms Catherine Cobden said “The CSPA would like to thank the Government of Canada for its efforts in the fight against COVID-19. We appreciate the commitments laid out in today’s budget aimed both at helping businesses and workers to get through the devastating impacts of the pandemic, while also setting the stage for our long-term recovery and success. CSPA members are ready to work on the priorities outlined in today’s budget to strengthen Canada’s resiliency and to build a greener and more innovative economy. While we produce some of the greenest steel in the world, we need partnerships and financial support to achieve our goal of net zero emissions by 2050. Today’s announcement of additional funding to the Net Zero Accelerator, together with new tax measures to support the adoption of innovative technologies such as carbon capture utilization/storage and hydrogen, will provide a strong foundation for this transformational agenda.”

She said “Furthermore, we are pleased to see consultations launched on new measures to mitigate the adverse impacts of unfairly traded steel on our domestic producers, as well as additional resources announced to bolster monitoring of imports. Strengthening Canada’s trade remedy regime could not come at a more urgent time as we face unprecedented global steel overcapacity.”

he added “As we collectively weather the ongoing business uncertainty created by the pandemic, today’s budget will help Canadian steel producers fend off threatening unfair steel trade, support our participation in Canada’s economic recovery, and assist us in our long-term journey towards net zero. We thank the Government of Canada for the measures announced today and look forward to continuing to work together to drive Canada’s competitiveness and long-term economic prosperity.”

The Canadian Steel Producers Association is the national voice of Canada’s primary steel industry.

Following the tabling of the 2021 federal budget, Canadian Steel Producers Association President & CEO Ms Catherine Cobden said “The CSPA would like to thank the Government of Canada for its efforts in the fight against COVID-19. We appreciate the commitments laid out in today’s budget aimed both at helping businesses and workers to get through the devastating impacts of the pandemic, while also setting the stage for our long-term recovery and success. CSPA members are ready to work on the priorities outlined in today’s budget to strengthen Canada’s resiliency and to build a greener and more innovative economy. While we produce some of the greenest steel in the world, we need partnerships and financial support to achieve our goal of net zero emissions by 2050. Today’s announcement of additional funding to the Net Zero Accelerator, together with new tax measures to support the adoption of innovative technologies such as carbon capture utilization/storage and hydrogen, will provide a strong foundation for this transformational agenda.”

She said “Furthermore, we are pleased to see consultations launched on new measures to mitigate the adverse impacts of unfairly traded steel on our domestic producers, as well as additional resources announced to bolster monitoring of imports. Strengthening Canada’s trade remedy regime could not come at a more urgent time as we face unprecedented global steel overcapacity.”

he added “As we collectively weather the ongoing business uncertainty created by the pandemic, today’s budget will help Canadian steel producers fend off threatening unfair steel trade, support our participation in Canada’s economic recovery, and assist us in our long-term journey towards net zero. We thank the Government of Canada for the measures announced today and look forward to continuing to work together to drive Canada’s competitiveness and long-term economic prosperity.”

The Canadian Steel Producers Association is the national voice of Canada’s primary steel industry.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 21 april 2021 11:05

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Greensill Collapse Puts Scottish Government Deals under Scanner

Scotsman reported that Scotland may have to bear the economic brunt of Greensill’s sudden collapse and vital industries, jobs and public finances in Scotland could be at risk. GFG, the firm cited in Greensill’s 2018 pamphlet, was its biggest client by far, with credit facilities running to several billion pounds and now Mr Sanjeev Gupta is attempting to refinance the business. If he fails, Scottish taxpayers could pay a hefty price. Under the terms of that deal, which saw GFG buy the Lochaber plant in December 2016, the Scottish Government made a 25 year long guarantee to buy power it generated in the event the smelter shut down. The precise details of the guarantee remain unknown, with the government stating that it cannot disclose its total gross liability due to commercial confidentiality. Even at a conservative estimate, the total bill to the public purse could be in the region of GBP 575 million.

Ministers deemed such a guarantee crucial to facilitating GFG’s purchase of the plant from Rio Tinto, viewing it as a necessary obligation in order to protect rural jobs, and create critical mass for a sustainable steel production sector. But the precariousness of the arrangement was, and continues to be, keenly felt by those in government. A summary of an August 2017 meeting between First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Fergus Ewing, cabinet secretary for the rural economy, and Mary McAllan, the government’s director of economic development, warned that the government had reached the very limits of what was possible. The briefing, released under Freedom of Information legislation, also noted the potential to be overexposed to one company, a company that we know is on an aggressive expansion drive elsewhere.

Now, Scotland on Sunday has learned that the previous month, the Scottish Government hired Deloitte to provide expert independent financial advice in relation to the various conditions, undertakings and monitoring requirements of the guarantee and reimbursement agreement between it and GFG’s Lochaber subsidiary. The purpose of the advice, according to government documents, was to ascertain the ongoing financial stability of the firm, and ensure the government received timely notification of key risks so that it could make effective decisions about its guarantee exposure. If at first sight, the hiring of Deloitte appeared to be prudent bookkeeping on the part of ministers, it seems anomalous given that only the year before, they had hired EY, another of the Big Four accountancy firms, to scrutinise the proposed deal with Mr Gupta.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 22 april 2021 08:39

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Prijs ijzererts nadert record door stijgende staalproductie China
Pim Brasser 21 apr

Analisten voorspellen dat de prijs van ijzererts dit jaar flink terug zal vallen. Als het de grote delvers straks wel lukt om hun productie op te schroeven, zal net als in 2011 de vrees voor tekorten verdwijnen, zo is de verwachting. Foto: Yao Jianfeng/ANP

Vorig jaar stelde de Chinese overheid importtarieven in op een hele reeks Australische producten. Dat was niet lang nadat de Australiërs de woede van de Chinezen op de hals hadden gehaald door te pleiten voor onderzoek naar de herkomst van het coronavirus. Maar ondanks alle woede was er één grondstof die de Chinezen met rust lieten: ijzererts.

Australië is goed voor ongeveer de helft van de wereldwijde export. En China is de grootste ijzerertsverbruiker. De vraag vanuit China wordt zelfs zo groot dat de prijs van ijzererts het hoogste punt ooit nadert. Een ton ijzererts, de grondstof voor staal, kost nu meer dan $180 op de beurs in Singapore. Daarmee is ijzererts op zijn duurst sinds mei 2011. En het record uit die tijd van $194 dreigt van het bord geveegd te worden.

Van $90 naar ruim $180
Begin 2020 kostte een ton ijzererts nog slechts $90, de helft van de huidige prijs. In december was dat al gestegen naar $150. En hoewel analisten toen waarschuwden voor een bubbel, stijgt de prijs door. De Chinese economie draait weer volop, en de overheid investeert in infrastructuur. Dat drijft de staalprijs op. De Chinese staalproductie steeg vorige maand met bijna 20% vergeleken met een jaar eerder.

De vraag naar ijzererts stijgt mee. Zo sterk, dat de vrees voor tekorten na ruim tien jaar terug is. Ook toen zorgde sterke economische groei in China voor een ijzerertsprijsrecord. De prijzen daalden weer tot ver onder de $100 toen de grote delvers hun productie flink opschroefden.

Voorlopig maakte de Braziliaanse delver Vale maandag juist bekend de productiedoelen voor afgelopen kwartaal niet te halen. Het kampt nog steeds met problemen na een groot ongeluk bij een van zijn mijnen, en er is een scheepslader in de brand gevlogen. Ook het Brits-Australische Rio Tinto kon de verwachtingen niet waarmaken. Het bedrijf had last van veel regen bij de Australische mijnen, en een tekort aan arbeiders.

Prijs zal mogelijk flink terugvallen
De problemen bij de grootste en een na grootste delver van ijzererts ter wereld gaven de prijs nog eens een zwieper omhoog. Beleggers hebben overigens wel vertrouwen in de bedrijven. Aandelen Vale werden afgelopen jaar bijna 150% meer waard, terwijl Rio Tinto bijna 90% steeg. BHP, de daarna grootste delver die zijn productiedoelen wel wist te halen, verdubbelde ook bijna in waarde.

Analisten voorspellen dat de prijs van ijzererts dit jaar flink terug zal vallen. Als het de grote delvers straks wel lukt hun productie te verhogen, zal net als in 2011 de vrees voor tekorten verdwijnen, zo is de verwachting.

Ook is de Chinese overheid van plan de staalproductie dit jaar terug te schroeven, om CO2-uitstoot te verminderen. Ook dit kan de prijs van ijzererts terugbrengen naar normalere niveaus, zei analist Daniel Hynes van de ANZ Banking Group tegen persbureau Bloomberg.

Originele link van het artikel: fd.nl/beurs/1381067/prijs-ijzererts-n...

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voda 22 april 2021 09:36

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Delhi High Court Scorns Government over Apathy for Oxygen Supply

With the 315,728 new COVID cases reported on 21 April, the critical life saving oxygen crisis is worsening all over the country but media reports highlight that most of the hospitals in Delhi were merely hours away from running out of stock yesterday. In an urgent & timely intervention, the Delhi High Court, while hearing a Max Healthcare plea with regard to urgent need of oxygen, has directed the Central Governmen to forthwith provide oxygen by whatever means to the hospitals in the national capital which are treating serious Covid patients and are facing scarcity of oxygen. A Bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli, while adjourning the hearing to Thursday afternoon, said responsibility to ensure oxygen supply is squarely on the Union Government shoulders and if necessary, entire supply of oxygen to industries, including steel and petroleum, can be diverted for medical usage. The high court said “We are shocked and dismayed that the government does not seem to be seeing the reality. What is happening? Why is the government not waking up to the reality? Beg, borrow or steal. It is a national emergency. Every 10 days, we have doubled the number of Covid-19 cases and the fact of the matter on the ground is that there is a shortage of oxygen and it is evident to all. It is not that it is artificial or being wrongly projected. It is there. We cannot shut our eyes to it. As a state, you cannot say that look we can provide this much and no more, so if people die, let them die. That cannot be acceptable and that cannot be an answer of the sovereign state. We will have to enforce the fundamental rights of people and direct beg, borrow and steal and do whatever you have to do but you have to do. We cannot see people dying, because people are dying.”

On the Centre’s decision to exempt some industries from the ban on industrial use of oxygen, the Bench said “There is no sense of humanity left or what. What are we looking at? This is really, really ridiculous. You’re concerned about industries at this point of time when people are dying in thousands. One week, two weeks, your industries can wait. It is an emergency of such a grave nature. Human lives are not that important that means for the state? If the result is that those industries have to shut down for some time, till you make alternate arrangements, so be it, because we cannot afford to lose lives. That is the bottom line.”

They said “You have your own state-run steel plants and petroleum industries. Why can’t you curtail it? Why can’t you stop it? Why can’t you minimise it to whatever is absolutely critical? We can understand that you cannot shut down petroleum production completely in the country because it is a critical thing by itself, but you can reduce it. We are sure that if you were to divert their oxygen for medical use, you would be able to meet the requirement. We are shocked and dismayed hospitals running out of oxygen but steel plants are running. If Tatas can divert oxygen they are generating for their steel plants to medical use, why can’t others? This is the height of greed. Is there no sense of humanity left or not.”

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 22 april 2021 09:37

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UK Government in Crisis Talks with Liberty Steel

This is Money reported that UK’s Business Secretary Mr Kwasi Kwarteng has held fresh crisis talks with Liberty Steel as worries mount over whether it will secure new financing. The report quoted a Whitehall source as saying that “Government has no idea when new funding for Liberty will be secured and that ministers have not given Gupta a hard deadline. Liberty says it is still trying to arrange financing. But it doesn't feel imminent. It's quite a complex situation so these things aren't quick. We've been hearing it will be soon for the past two months. We're still hoping for the best, but planning for the worst.”

The company has been on the brink since Greensill Capital, the biggest lender to Liberty owner Sanjeev Gupta, collapsed in early March. This has left the fate of 5,000 jobs in the lurch including 3,000 at Liberty, the UK's third largest steel group. He is in talks to raise cash from new lenders to prop up GFG since Greensill went bust. But worries about its opaque structure are reportedly putting off lenders.

The outcome for other parts of his empire has been mixed. In Australia, GFG is in talks with Bain and Oaktree to plug some of its funding shortfall. In France, three aluminium plants went into bankruptcy last week and are being propped up by the French state.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 22 april 2021 09:39

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Tata Steel UK Sues Liberty Steel over Unpaid Debts

The Telegraph reported that Mr Sanjeev Gupta’s business empire is being sued over a flagship GBP 100 million deal that made him one of Britain’s biggest steel magnates. Tata has launched proceedings against Liberty Speciality Steels, Liberty House Group PTE and Speciality Steel UK, all parts of GFG. The Telegraph report cited sources as saying that “A commercial court claim has been filed against Mr Gupta’s GFG Alliance of companies by fellow steel firm Tata. The case relates to alleged missed payments linked to the sale of Tata’s Rotherham-based speciality steel division to Mr Gupta in 2017.”

Tata Steel UK decided to sell the division, which provides materials for aerospace, automotive and oil and gas firms, after a review of its loss-making UK operations. Liberty agreed to buy it in October 2016 and completed the transfer four months later.

Mr Gupta was hailed as a white knight who had rescued more than a thousand jobs when he agreed a deal to buy the speciality steels operation from Tata for GBP 100 million. It is thought that this price included arrangements such as deferred payments and preference shares and also took into account stock held by the business, which reduced the cash amounts due by about a quarter.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 22 april 2021 09:39

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US Steel to Achieve Carbon Neutrality by 2050

United States Steel Corporation has expanded its transformational commitment to sustainability by setting an ambitious goal targeting net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. To achieve its net-zero goal for 2050, US Steel expects to leverage its growing fleet of electric arc furnaces coupled with other technologies such as direct reduced iron, carbon-free energy sources, and carbon capture, sequestration, and utilization. Achievement of the goal also depends on public-private collaboration across industries and global stakeholders to develop supportive innovative breakthroughs, including access to commercially available carbon-neutral electricity sources.

The net-zero ambition builds on US Steel’s existing goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 20% across the company’s global footprint by 2030. It follows the company’s acquisition of technologically advanced Big River Steel, the only LEED certified steel mill in the United States. Last month, at Ceres 2021, the company introduced a new sustainable steel product line, verdeX. This month, US Steel became the first steel company based in North America to join ResponsibleSteel. In addition, US Steel Senior Vice President Mr Richard L Fruehauf has been named Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer. This linkage of the company’s strategy and sustainability priorities is designed to further integrate Scope 1 and 2 transitions with the company’s strategy. It also strengthens support for customer and supplier implementation of their own net-zero targets, to ensure process inputs and steel use conform to net-zero. Having already produced more than 14 grades of some of the most advanced high strength steels at its Big River Steel subsidiary, the company is confident in its ability to use EAFs and other advanced technologies to achieve significant carbon emission reductions.

With US Steel’s sustainable steel product line, verdeX, customers will be able to secure advanced high strength steels produced with only one-quarter of the carbon intensity currently required for comparable products. More information on verdeX can be found at www.ussteel.com. We’re open and ready to do business with our customers and the verdeX line today. Call or come to our website to see how you can integrate verdeX into your sustainability plans.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 22 april 2021 09:43

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TMK Forms JV for Production of Stainless Steel Flat Products

Russian Pipe Metallurgical Company and the Chelyabinsk Electrometallurgical Plant set up a joint venture LLC Russian Stainless Company RNK to implement a project for the production of flat stainless steel in the city of Volzhsky in Volgograd Region of Russia. RNK will be owned in equal shares by the Volzhsky Pipe Plant, which is part of TMK and CHEMK. She will become the operator of the project for the creation of a production complex, which is supposed to be located at the VTZ site. Currently, the project is being developed and the search for optimal solutions for its financing is underway. It is planned that the enterprise will produce up to 500 thousand tonnes per year of high-quality finished flat hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel from alloyed stainless steels and corrosion-resistant, heat-resistant and heat-resistant alloys.

Consumption of stainless steel in Russia currently amounts to about 300 thousand tonnes, while more than 90% of stainless steel flat products are imported. Over the past 10 years, the demand for these products in the country has grown by an average of 5% per year. The launch of modern stainless steel production will ensure the growing level of domestic consumption.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 22 april 2021 09:43

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HSBC Blockchain Trade Finance for Tata Steel & Universal Tube

HSBC has successfully executed a blockchain-enabled, live trade finance transaction between the UAE’s Universal Tubes & Plastic Industries Ltd and India’s Tata Steel Ltd. The Contour blockchain platform enabled end-to-end digitisation of the documentation required for Universal Tubes to import its order of flat carbon steel to the UAE from Tata Steel in India. The transaction is a real case scenario of the operational viability of blockchain as an alternative to conventional exchanges of paper-based documentation. While the physical transfer of goods between the UAE and India takes a relatively short time due to close proximity, the administrative paperwork can often impede delivery. By using blockchain, the reduced transaction time will boost the efficiency of trade between the two countries, which is valued at around $60 billion with the UAE being India’s third largest trading partner.

Contour’s platform allows all parties to have visibility of a trade while also ensuring that no single organisation controls all the data. This ensures that banks, importers and exporters have improved visibility without compromising security. HSBC is a founding shareholder in Contour and was the first bank to join the platform as a full production member in December 2020.

The transaction also incorporated essDOCS’ CargoDocs solution, enabling the transfer of the title of goods alongside the letter of credit and further streamlining the entire process.

Trade finance powers much of global trade but traditionally it involves heavily manual and paper-based processes. Digitisation of these processes can reduce transaction times from 5-10 days to less than 24 hours, unlocking working capital and enabling more trade to be done between countries.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 22 april 2021 09:47

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Severstal’s Karelsky Okatysh Cuts Sintering Emissions using ML

Russian steel giant Severstal’s iron ore mining and processing plant Karelsky Okatysh has tested a digital model for controlling the roasting machine. It helps to save fuel oil and reduce emissions of carbon and sulfur oxides during pellet burning, while maintaining the high quality of the finished product. The solution was developed by the specialists of Severstal Digital, together with the employees of the concentrate and pellet production department and the technological automation and metrology department of Karelsky Okatysh. Large amounts of data from Data Lake and the plant's archives were used to train the model. The system analyses the parameters of the raw pellets and predicts what the cold strength will be after firing. The information goes to the operator's screen. If the planned quality of the pellets is predicted, the model controls the calcining machine independently, ensuring the optimal operation of the burners. At the same time, it takes into account the current parameters of the operation of other machine units. In the event of an emergency or deviation in the predicted quality of the finished product, the operator turns off the digital assistant and controls the processes manually.

Experts launched the control model on the roasting machine No 1 for the production of non-fluxed pellets. The pilot ran from December 2020 to March 2021. The specific consumption of fuel oil during the operation of the model decreased by 6.4%, which means a reduction in emissions of carbon and sulfur oxides.

Now there is an active replication of the digital solution. A model for controlling the firing of fluxed pellets is already ready, which will be tested on the roasting machine No 1. In the development of a control model for the firing of non-fluxed pellets on the roasting machine No 3.

Karelsky Okatysh is actively introducing digital technologies, and for these purposes in 2021 we plan to allocate 215 million rubles.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

Bijlage:

voda 22 april 2021 09:48

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Danieli Scrap to Melt to Improve Meltshop Performance

Danieli Scrap to Melt, DSTM, is the Danieli answer to reduce operating costs and CO2 emissions by processing and controlling the scrap before the direct loading into the EAF. The innovative and patented DSTM technology, developed by Danieli Centro Recycling, is the result of combining and integrating three processes of scrap treatment: densification, cleaning and chemical control. The combination of these processes makes it possible to separate the processed scrap into batches, based on the meltshop chemical composition requirements.

1. In the first step, densification, incoming scrap is processed using shears and/or shredders to achieve the proper charge density prior to melting. The solution designed for the ABS meltshop foresees installation of a new, Danieli Inclined Shear to provide high production rates and the capability to cut special steel returns.

2. Next, the sheared material is cleaned, and inert elements are removed by in-line vibrating conveyor. Non-ferrous contents are separated from the charge material by the action of a drum magnet.

3. In the final step, to control the furnace charge chemistry the Danieli Analyzer detects the chemical concentration of the alloys like Cu, Ni, Cr, or Mn, and integrates the feedback to categorize the scrap by its chemical concentration, thereby improving melting efficiency and reducing CO2 emissions.

The production cycle is automatic and continuous, and no operator control is required after charging of the scrap, ensuring high performances and reliability.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 22 april 2021 09:57

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MMK Group Announce Financial Results for Jan-Mar Quarter

Russian Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works announced that MMK Group's revenue in January-March 2021 increased by 18.0% QoQ to USD 2,185 million due to higher steel prices in Russia and worldwide, EBITDA increased by 53.2% QoQ to USD 726 million reflecting revenue growth on the back of favourable market dynamics and net income was USD 477 million up 52.4% QoQ due to improved profitability. MMK'S CEO Mr Pavel Shilyaev said “The gradual recovery of Russia's economy that took shape at the end of the last year continued into the first quarter of 2021. The government's stimulus package launched last year continued to support all sectors of the economy, which in turn had a positive impact on apparent steel use and helped us demonstrate strong financial performance, corroborating once again that we are on a right track in our strategic development.”

The Russian steel segment's revenue for Q1 2021 increased by 21.4% to USD 2,105 million driven by the growth in global prices for metal products and the continuing strong demand. The increase in revenue by 31.2% YoY was caused by the global business recovery and favourable pricing. The segment's EBITDA for Q1 2021 grew by 58.2% QoQ to USD 707 million, as a result of growing sales margins amid an increase in global prices for metal products. EBITDA grew by 67.9% YoY, following the increase in revenue. The Group's Q1 2021 profitability saw a positive boost to the sum of USD 11 million for the quarter from the operational efficiency and cost optimisation programmes under our updated strategic initiatives. The slab cash cost in Q1 2021 increased by 19.3% to USD 340 per tonne, mainly reflecting the rising prices for key raw materials. The slab cash cost grew by 27.3% YoY.

The Turkish steel segment's revenue for Q1 2021 almost remained flat QoQ to USD 166 million, as higher steel prices fully offset lower sales. Revenue grew by 46.9% YoY, reflecting higher sales volumes and a favourable market environment. The favourable environment coupled with measures to improve business efficiency increased the segment's EBITDA for Q1 2021 by 28.6% to USD 27 million. Year-on-year, the Turkish steel segment's EBITDA grew nine fold to USD 27 million due to the last year's low base caused by the pandemic and lockdown restrictions.

OUTLOOK

1. The favourable conditions in global markets coupled with seasonal growth in demand in Russia will positively impact the Group's sales in Q2 2021. In May 2021, the reverse Cold-Rolling Mill 1700 is expected to be commissioned. Given 100% utilisation rate of our premium products facilities, we expect to see a further improvement in the structure of the Group's sales portfolio.

2. The start of the construction season in Russia along with positive dynamics of global steel prices on the back of the remaining deficit in international markets will support the growth of MMK Group's steel product prices in Q2 2021.

3. CAPEX for Q2 2021 is expected to grow q-o-q, in line with the implementation schedule for projects pursued under the Group's strategy.

4. Operational excellence initiatives under our updated strategy will further boost the Group's profitability in Q2 2021.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

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