United States Steel Corp. plans to reduce greenhouse-gas-emissions intensity across its global footprint by 20%, as measured by the rate of carbon dioxide (CO₂) equivalents emitted per ton of finished steel shipped, by 2030 based on 2018 baseline levels. This target will apply to U.S. Steel’s global operations. The company plans to achieve this goal through multiple initiatives, including the development of electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking at its Fairfield Works and at Big River Steel, in which U.S. Steel recently acquired a minority interest with an option to acquire the remainder over the next four years. 

Danieli has been selected to supply equipment for Nucor’s new greenfield plate steel mill in Brandenburg, Ky. Danieli will supply an electric-arc furnace (EAF) melt shop and plate/steckel mill, as well as an electrical and automation package provided by Danieli Automation. The EAF will be equipped with all modern mechatronic devices to improve its performance and safety. Danieli will also supply secondary metallurgy equipment, including a twin-station LMF and a twin-station VTD equipped with mechanical pumps. Both units will include with the latest automation and process models to ensure precise chemistry and temperature control.

Extractive metallurgy is an area of our science that deals with the process and methods of gathering and isolating metals from their ores (i.e., natural mineral deposits) and in some instances refining them.

Liberty Steel USA will invest up to $25 million in its liquid steel production facilities at Georgetown, S.C., to substantially boost output and secure the long-term future of the mill, which reopened just over a year ago. The company will install a modern electric-arc furnace (EAF) and extensively improve the infrastructure of the facility’s melt shop to increase wire-rod output to over 400,000 tons a year. Liberty Steel has already increased the versatility of its rolling mill at Georgetown in an effort to serve key markets for wire rod in the southeastern U.S.

United States Steel Corp. announced a joint-venture partnership agreement under which it has taken the first step toward acquiring Big River Steel through the purchase of a 49.9% ownership interest for approximately $700 million in cash, with a call option to acquire the remaining 50.1% within the next four years. U.S. Steel has committed financing to execute the transaction. Big River Steel operates an LEED-certified, Flex Mill in northeast Arkansas that is, according to the company, the most advanced EAF-based flat-rolled mill in North America. Big River Steel produces advanced automotive steels and electrical steels and provides services to customers in the automotive, energy, construction and agricultural industries. The company’s recently announced Phase II-A expansion is expected to double the mill’s hot-rolled steel production capacity to 3.3 million tons annually.

BlueScope, an Australian steel producer, has approved the expansion of its North Star facility in Delta, Ohio. The company will add an additional 850,000 metric tons per year of steelmaking capacity. The $700 million project is expected to begin in mid-2022 with full ramp-up scheduled for approximately 18 months later. In addition, the expansion has potential future growth of a further 500,000 metric tons per year. According to BlueScope, the expansion offers long-term sustainable earnings growth from a high-quality asset.

Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI selected Sinton, Texas, as the site for its state-of-the-art, electric-arc-furnace (EAF) flat-roll steel mill. The planned facility is expected to have an annual production capacity of approximately 3 million tons, with the capability to produce the latest generation of advanced high-strength steel grades. The project will include value-added finishing lines, including a galvanizing line with an annual capacity of 550,000 tons. SDI, which will invest approximately $1.9 billion in the project, expects to begin construction in early 2020. The company expects to create approximately 600 well-paying jobs.

Commercial Metals Company opened a 63,000-square-foot addition to its facility in Mesa, Ariz. The expansion will allow the company to produce hot-rolled, spooled steel rebar from mostly recycled scrap metal. The electric-arc furnace (EAF) micro-mill, which opened in 2009, uses a continuous technology and is the first of its type to be successfully operated in the U.S., according to CMC. More than 450,000 tons of scrap metal are recycled each year into steel bar products at CMC Steel Arizona for use in construction and fabrication. The facility produces straight and spooled rebar in a range of sizes and lengths. 

HarbisonWalker International (HWI) is investing to increase capacity by 25% at key steel refractory facilities. Most of the investment will be at its facility in White Cloud, Mich., which manufactures refractory products primarily for steelmakers. According to the company, approximately half of its capital investment dollars will have a direct positive impact on its steel industry customers. The investment will include expansion to accommodate new warehouse and shipping space, which is being constructed with American-made steel. Additional manufacturing space will house new technologies that improve production efficiency and worker safety.

Primetals Technologies received an order from Chinese steelmaker Wuzhou Yongda Special Steel Co. to supply an electric-arc furnace (EAF) and a ladle furnace for a greenfield project. The EAF is designed to handle scrap steel of varied composition and quality. The electrical energy requirement of the EAF is extremely low because the scrap is preheated. This reduces both the operating costs and CO₂ emissions. The furnaces are scheduled to be commissioned in early 2020. Primetals Technologies will also supply the complete mechanical and electrical process equipment and the automation technology.