Gerdau Special Steel North America announced an additional $40.4 million capital investment at its Monroe, Mich., special bar quality (SBQ) mill. This final phase of the project will include upgrades to the rolling mill, including a new bundler table, bundler area and the installation of a third saw. Including these rolling-mill upgrades, Gerdau has invested nearly $400 million over the past decade to transform the Monroe mill into a world-class SBQ production facility. This phased investment plan has involved several projects, including installation of a new continuous caster; a new twin-tank vacuum degasser; a new walking-beam reheat furnace; a new electric-arc furnace (EAF) transformer; EAF control and mechanical upgrades; and a new twin-ladle furnace and material-handling system.

Tenova was awarded a contract from Tosyali for the supply of an electric-arc furnace (EAF) for its plant in Bethioua, Algeria. This will be the second EAF that Tenova has supplied to this site and is a key component of Tosyali’s current expansion project. The new EAF will be designed to be almost identical to the current EAF, which was supplied in 2016. It will process 2.5 million metric tons of DRI pellets per year to produce hot-rolled coil (HRC). A charging system will allow charging and melting of more than 12 tons of HDRI (hot DRI) per minute. The composition of the DRI produced and processed at the Bethioua site is adjusted by blending iron concentrates from different sources to achieve the most profitable balance between cost of raw materials and energy.

ArcelorMittal confirmed with the government of Ontario its plan for a $1.4 billion investment in decarbonization technologies at ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s plant in Hamilton. The investment will reduce annual CO₂ emissions at the facility by approximately 3 million metric tons, which represents approximately 60% of emissions. This means the Hamilton plant will transition away from the blast furnace/basic oxygen furnace (BOF) steelmaking production route to the direct reduced iron (DRI)/electric-arc furnace (EAF) production route. The project is scheduled to be complete by 2028.

Algoma Steel Group Inc., a Canadian producer of hot- and cold-rolled steel sheet and plate products, will construct two new electric-arc furnaces (EAFs) to replace its existing blast furnace and basic oxygen steelmaking operations. The transformation is expected to reduce Algoma’s carbon emissions by approximately 70%. Following the transformation to EAF steelmaking, Algoma’s facility in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, is projected to have an annual raw steel production capacity of approximately 3.7 million tons. The facility will also include new vacuum degassing capability to expand Algoma’s offering of steel plate grades.

BlueScope entered into a binding agreement to buy the ferrous scrap-steel recycling business of MetalX LLC, the leading supplier of scrap feed to BlueScope’s Ohio-based mini-mill business, North Star BlueScope Steel. BlueScope will pay $240 million to acquire two of MetalX’s operating sites in Indiana and in Ohio. The Ohio facility is immediately adjacent to the North Star facility in Delta. According to BlueScope, North Star will soon move from a capacity of 2 million metric tons per year to almost 3 million metric tons per year. The acquisition is expected to complete by the end of the year.

Nucor Steel has an extensive special bar quality (SBQ) steel program that dates back to the conversion of its plants in South Carolina, Tennessee and Nebraska to handle the product decades ago. In 2002, the company purchased an idled plant in Tennessee that was dedicated to SBQ production.

ArcelorMittal announced its intention to build an electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking facility at AM/NS Calvert in Alabama. Once completed, the planned facility will be capable of producing 1.5 million tons of steel slabs annually for the hot-strip mill. It will also produce a broad spectrum of steel grades required for Calvert’s end-user markets. Construction is expected to take 24 months, and the new facility is anticipated to create 300 new jobs.

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.

Steel Dynamics Inc. awarded SMS group an order covering the supply of a complete steel production line for its new mill in Sinton, Texas. Germany’s SMS group will supply two direct-current electric-arc furnaces (DC-EAF) having a capacity of 190 tons each, two twin-ladle furnaces and a double vacuum tank degasser. The line, which is scheduled to be commissioned in mid-2021, will enable SDI to produce thin slabs with thicknesses of up to 5.2 inches (130 mm) and slab widths of up to 84 inches (2,134 mm). SMS group will also supply electrical and automation systems as well as technical support during installation and commissioning, which is scheduled for mid-2021.

JSW Steel announced its proposal to invest $500 million to acquire and upgrade Acero Junction Inc. of Mingo Junction, Ohio, an integrated steel manufacturing plant with a potential annual capacity of 3 million tons. India’s JSW Steel says the investment will be made in two phases, the first of which will be to recondition and restart the electric-arc furnace (EAF) and slab caster and modernize the hot-strip mill. The second phase will depend on economic conditions, but it could include the addition of another EAF and other assets.