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Carbon Steel News

AMSA welcomes move to Level 3 in nationwide lockdown

By: Simone Liedtke 25th May 2020 Steel company ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) has welcomed the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa that the country will be moving to Level 3 in the risk-adjusted approach to the easing of the nationwide lockdown. At Level 3, AMSA will be able to operate with 100% of its workforce, but... →

Global steel production down 13% y/y

By: Donna Slater 22nd May 2020 World crude steel production for the 64 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) decreased by 13% year-on-year to 137.1-million tonnes in April. Africa's output decreased by 55.7% year-on-year to 603 000 t, with South Africa's output having decreased by 99.5%. →

Pandemic, economic challenges to shape industry direction

By: Mamaili Mamaila 22nd May 2020 Industry trends are likely to take a new direction because of the global Covid-19 pandemic and a severely constrained local economy, says steel and value-added steel products merchandiser and distributor Macsteel. →

MIKE BENFIELD The construction and steel sectors – including the larger manufacturing industry – are “hand-in-glove”

Fitch Solutions expects most metal markets to move into a surplus this year

By: Simone Liedtke 13th May 2020 Most metals markets are expected to move into a surplus this year, says research firm Fitch Solutions, noting that consumption is likely to decrease more than the decreases in production capacity, as a result of the spread of Covid-19. Although some operational hurdles, owing to government... →

Kogi appoints Nigerian contractor to start trial iron-ore mining

By: Marleny Arnoldi 8th May 2020 ASX-listed Kogi Iron and its Nigerian subsidiary KCM Mining have started small-scale trial mining at the Agbaja Cast Steel project, in Nigeria. The companies have appointed a local Lokoja-based civil engineering contractor to start the trial mining on a 30 m by 30 m by 5 m deep pit, owing to... →

EU reviewing steel imports in view of possible glut - trade chief

By: Reuters 22nd April 2020 The coronavirus crisis could lead to massive stockpiling of steel that could then flood the European Union when demand returns, the EU trade chief said on Tuesday, adding this was something the bloc would seek to guard against. The EU put in place safeguards in 2018 to control incoming steel to... →

Organisation calls for govt assistance to ‘reshape’ steel industry post-lockdown

By: Simone Liedtke 17th April 2020 The decision to put South Africa under lockdown as part of its response to Covid-19 “has put further pressure on the steel industry”, says research organisation Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (Tips). In a policy brief, it elaborates that, depending on the length of the lockdown and the... →

Kogi Iron sees ongoing interest in Nigeria-based cast steel project

By: Simone Liedtke 7th April 2020 ASX-listed Kogi Iron is seeing ongoing interest from potential new investors in its Agbaja cast steel project, in Nigeria, where Kogi is starting to see global capital flows to the commodity sector. Owing to the rapid escalation and global impacts of the coronavirus, or Covid-19, Kogi and KCM... →

A location map of Kogi Iron's Nigerian cast steel project.

Opinion: South African steel industry is an industry in distress

6th March 2020 In this opinion piece, South African Iron and Steel Institute secretary-general Charles Dednam outlines the difficulties being faced by the domestic steel industry and calls for the creation a ‘level playing field’ to enable the steel industry to contribute more fully in stimulating value-added... →

South African Iron and Steel Institute secretary-general Charles Dednam

Companies urged to gear up for gas revolution in Mozambique

By: Kim Cloete 3rd March 2020 Key players in the gas industry have urged the South African government and companies to gear up for the tremendous opportunities that the gas resources uncovered in Mozambique will offer. A final investment decision (FID) has been taken for two projects, while the FID for a third project is... →

Germany moves into hydrogen with lessons from Opec, Russia

By: , Bloomberg 3rd March 2020 Germany is taking its first steps to build an economy based on hydrogen instead of fossil fuels, seeking to deliver both green growth and to avoid being trapped by a small cartel of suppliers. Ministers have been quietly lining up deals with nations including Nigeria that might produce hydrogen... →

Iron-ore soars as China port stocks dip, stimulus hopes grow

By: Reuters 2nd March 2020 China's iron-ore futures hit the upside limit on Monday as declining stockpiles at ports indicated steel mills' improving appetite for the raw material, while expectations grew Beijing will roll out further support for its paralysed economy. iron-ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange ended up 5.8%... →

Market feels project pinch

By: Mamaili Mamaila 28th February 2020 The lack of significant public infrastructure spend to boost steel consumption and construction activity are some of the challenges that the local steel tube market has to deal with, says steel industry association the Association of Steel Pipe Manufacturers (ASTPM). →

KEITUMETSE MOUMAKOE The influx of cheap small-bore steel tube imports has not aided the industry

Digitalisation beneficial for steel producers

By: Mamaili Mamaila 28th February 2020 Digitalisation will become an increasingly important strategy for steel producers to achieve a competitive advantage in the market, says metallurgical industry plant and integrated systems provider SMS group MD Pieter Bezuidenhout. →

Local steel industry still holds much potential

By: Mamaili Mamaila 28th February 2020 The current capacity and capabilities of the local steel industry are still largely understated, says export trade promotion agency the International Steel Fabricators (ISF). →

International Steel Fabricators CEO Neels van Niekerk discusses the South African steel sector. Camerawork: Creamer Media’s Nicholas Boyd. Editing: Creamer Media’s Nicholas Boyd. Recorded: 30.01.2020

Global steel output rose 2.1% y/y in January – worldsteel

By: Reuters 26th February 2020 Global crude steel production rose 2.1% to 154.4-million tonnes in January from the same month a year ago, figures from the World Steel Association showed on Tuesday. Crude steel output from China, the world's top producer and consumer of the alloy, gained 7.2% to 84.3-million tonnes in January. →

Record stash of steel in China as demand slammed

By: , Bloomberg 25th February 2020 The world’s largest steel industry just sent out another warning flare as producers grapple with the coronavirus outbreak: nationwide stockpiles of reinforcement bar have swelled to the most on record. The surge is a reflection of the dislocation caused by the disease and efforts to fight it.... →

Kumba pays out 92% of HEPS to shareholders as iron-ore prices lift earnings

By: Marleny Arnoldi 18th February 2020 JSE-listed miner Kumba Iron Ore delivered a payout ratio of 92% of headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the year ended December 31, exceeding its 50% to 75% dividend payout policy. The company declared a final cash dividend of R15.99 apiece, which, combined with the interim dividend of R30.79... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Donna Slater
Kumba Iron Ore CEO Thamba Mkhwanazi

Bushveld sees battery storage potential beyond EVs

By: Simone Liedtke 17th February 2020 While the energy transition is gaining a lot of traction, integrated primary vanadium producer Bushveld Minerals CEO Fortune Mojapelo laments that the battery storage narrative is “still dominated by electric vehicles (EVs)”. He tells Engineering News & Mining Weekly that there is still a lack of... →

Bushveld Minerals CEO Fortune Mojapelo chats to Engineering News & Mining Weekly about the energy transition, how vanadium plays a role in this as well as how this fits into the company's growth plans. Video: Creamer Media's Kutlwano Matlala. Editing: Nicholas Boyd.

Metals, engineering sector set for ‘unremarkable’ growth this year

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 14th February 2020 Last year was generally challenging for both the domestic and global economy, as weakening demand, manufacturing and trade and investment restrained progress, with extended negative implications for the metals and engineering (M&E) sector, which is poised for “unremarkable” growth this year.... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Donna Slater
Dr Michael Ade

Vedanta sets sights on zinc, silver, iron-ore output growth

By: Kim Cloete 12th February 2020 CAPE TOWN (miningweekly.com) – Natural resources company Vedanta Resources is aiming to become the world's biggest producer of zinc, as well as to double its production of silver and increase its iron-ore output from 10-million to 15-million tonnes a year. Vedanta has a presence in steel,... →

Vedanta Resources executives tell Mining Weekly correspondent Kim Cloete about the group's growth plans and its corporate social investment initiatives. Video and editing: Nicholas Boyd.

Patel asked to brief lawmakers on government’s response to ongoing steel job cuts

By: Terence Creamer 11th February 2020 The opposition Democratic Alliance has written a letter to Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel calling on him to brief lawmakers about developments at steel group ArcelorMittal South Africa, which recently warned of additional job cuts at the company. AMSA confirmed on February 6 that,... →

AMSA says regulatory changes could open way for 100 MW Vanderbijl solar farm

By: Terence Creamer 6th February 2020 Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) believes there is potential to develop a 75 MW to 100 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant adjacent to its Vanderbijlpark mill, in Gauteng. The JSE-listed company is also convinced that such a project could proceed relatively quickly should South... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Donna Slater
AMSA CEO Kobus Verster

AMSA slumps to R3.3bn loss amid ‘exceptionally difficult’ conditions

By: Terence Creamer 6th February 2020 Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) slumped to a R3.3-billion headline loss in 2019, which the JSE-listed group described as an exceptionally difficult one for the South African economy and also the most challenging for the world steel industry since the global financial crisis of... →

Wind-down of the Saldanha Works, in the Western Cape, to be largely completed by the end of the first quarter

Coronavirus hurts base metals, iron-ore prices

By: Simone Liedtke 5th February 2020 The outbreak and contagion of a new strain of the coronavirus – which began in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December – has contributed to renewed concerns over economic growth prospects, particularly in China. China, which is a major supplier and consumer of base metals as well as a major... →

Fallout from coronavirus expected to have a ripple effect on coal, iron-ore

By: Kim Cloete 31st January 2020 The fallout from the coronavirus in China is expected to have a ripple effect on many sectors in the Chinese economy, slow down its economic growth and impact on its coal industry and imports. Coal trader Noble Resources research head Rodrigo Echeverri says the impact had been severely... →

Global crude steel output increased 3.4% in 2019

By: Schalk Burger 28th January 2020 Global crude steel production increased by 3.4% year-on-year to 1.87-billion tonnes in 2019, despite output having contracted in all regions, except Asia and the Middle East, industry association, the World Steel Association (worldsteel), reports. Asia produced 1.34-billion tonnes of crude steel... →

Global sights set for export association

By: Mamaili Mamaila 24th January 2020 Steel industry association the Steel Tube Export Association of South Africa (Steasa) and some of its members will participate at the national pavilion at the International Wire and Tube Trade Fair 2020. →

SOARING HIGHER Exports of high-carbon and low-alloy steel tubes and pipes remain on an upward trajectory and are resilient amid export competitiveness challenges

AMSA warns of big 2019 loss, as it sheds more than 1 000 jobs

By: Terence Creamer 23rd January 2020 JSE-listed steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) warned on Thursday that it would swing back into a large lossmaking position following an “exceptionally difficult” 2019 financial year, which the company described as the most challenging for the steel industry since the Global... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Wind-down of Saldanha Works (pictured) anticipated to be largely completed by the end of the first quarter

Iron-ore demand to slow, while seaborne supply rises

By: Simone Liedtke 21st January 2020 Slower demand growth, especially in China, and a decent recovery in seaborne supply is expected to continue to feature prominently in the iron-ore industry this year, says global energy, chemicals, renewables, metals and mining research and consultancy group Wood Mackenzie (WoodMac). Prices are... →

World risks 'disaster' as reuse of natural resources declines

By: Reuters 21st January 2020 The proportion of raw materials the world is reusing has fallen, researchers said on Tuesday, warning of a "global disaster" as annual consumption of natural resources rose to 100-billion tonnes for the first time. Just 8.6% of the 100-billion tonnes of materials – including minerals, metals,... →

Glencore, Merafe to retrench Rustenburg Smelter employees

By: Simone Liedtke 17th January 2020 Global miner Glencore Alloys and Merafe Resources have started a Section 189A process. The companies confirmed on Friday that written notice had been given to its employees at its joint venture (JV), the Rustenburg Smelter, in the North West. →

Seifsa welcomes lower repo rate

By: Simone Liedtke 17th January 2020 The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) has welcomed the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB’s) decision to reduce the repo rate by 25 basis points, thereby “providing another boost to the stagnant economy”. The federation’s economist Marique Kruger is of the... →

Despite IRP gaps, the outlook for solar in SA has strengthened

By: Terence Creamer 17th January 2020 One of the first questions posed to Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe after Cabinet finally approved the 2019 edition of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP 2019) in October related to the ongoing capacity addition gaps for solar photovoltaic (PV). While the IRP 2019 envisages... →

Top gold sector investor demands more action on carbon emissions

By: Reuters 11th December 2019 South Africa's biggest money manager has written to 22 gold mining companies asking them to disclose data on the emissions they cause, adding to pressure on the resources sector to tackle climate change. Investec Asset Management, which manages around £111-billion, including over $1-billion in... →

Edenville inks two key coal supply contracts

By: Simone Liedtke 11th December 2019 Aim-listed Edenville Energy has signed two new significant contracts to supply washed coal from the company’s flagship Rukwa coal project, in western Tanzania. The two contracts are for the supply of up to 6 000 t and up to 3 000 t, respectively, of washed coal a month to industrial customers in... →

Heat exchangers market value to grow by 2026

29th November 2019 The global heat exchangers market accounted for revenue of about $16.62-million in 2018 and is anticipated to generate about $29.31-million by 2026, according to a report published by global market research firm Allied Market Research. The market is projected to grow at a compound yearly growth... →

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