-
The steady commissioning of new and advanced coal capacity across China has lifted the number of mega coal mines in operation with capacities exceeding 10 million tonnes/year to 52 as of early July, a large increase on the 44 mega mines working as at end-2019, according to a report by China National Coal Association (CNCA) published on July 9.
-
Despite the COVID-19 wreaking havoc across much of China during the first half of 2020, steel enterprises had been steadily progressing with the 38 ongoing new steel projects including installing new steelmaking and rolling facilities, adding on environmental protection facilities and upgrading assorted technology, according to a Mysteel report checking on the status of ongoing projects by the end of H1.
-
China is steadily installing more clean energy houses as part of its energy evolution efforts, and China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG) just commissioned two of the 12 generators in Wudongde Hydropower Station, the country’s fourth largest hydropower house, on June 30, according to a CTG release.
-
The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed a devastating impact worldwide including the ASEAN region, but with the prompt and effective coping measures, the prognosis for the steel industry in the region in the post-pandemic era might not be as bleak as expected, Yeoh Wee Jin, secretary general of the South East Asia Iron & Steel Institute (SEAISI), shared when presenting at the 2020 SEAISI e-Conference on June 30.
-
A process is underway in Xuzhou city, the largest independent coking base of East China’s Jiangsu province, to remove excess coking capacity in the city as scheduled by the end of June. Two of the four coking plants on the elimination list had received orders to stop operations as of June 28, according to Mysteel’s survey the same day.
-
Guangxi Liuzhou Iron & Steel Group (Liugang), headquartered in Liuzhou city, Southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, commissioned the first phase of its two-phase greenfield steelworks on June 28 in Fangchenggang, a coastal city in Guangxi, according to a video of the commissioning ceremony posted by the company on the same day.
-
Japan’s crude steel output including carbon and special steel dropped more substantially in May, down 31.8% on year to about 5.9 million tonnes, as against the 23.5% on-year fall in April, which was mainly due to the negative impact of the pandemic on steel demand, according to the latest data released by the Japan Iron & Steel Federation (JISF) on June 22.
-
Japan’s Yamato Kogyo is selling 51% of its wholly owned subsidiary YK Steel Corporation, the Japanese mini-mill’s South Korean plant making rebars, to leading local mini mill Daehan Steel to strengthen its Korean rebar business, the company announced on June 19. West Japan-based Yamato said that, subject to regulatory approvals, it expected the sale to be completed and its new joint venture with Daehan to start by this September.
-
Unlike the previous years, Japan’s electric-arc-furnace (EAF) mills will not stock up much finished steel for sales in July-August, even though their plants will be shut down for about one or two weeks to reduce power usage as usual during the country’s peak power consumption in summer, as demand in 2020 has been too stagnant, mini-mill sources confirmed on June 19.
-
China is determined to complete its campaign of cutting excessive capacity in certain industries including steel and coal in 2020, the final year of the capacity reduction campaign started 2016, the country’s top economic planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), announced in a notice on June 18. The campaign is proceeding, even though the country is still threatened by a reoccurrence of COVID-19, according to the notice.
-
Japan’s crude steel output for the fiscal 2020 (April 2020-March 2021) may decline to around 80 million tonne from the 98.43 million tonnes for FY19, predicted Eiji Hashimoto, the newly-appointed chairman of the Japan Iron & Steel Federation (JISF) on June 16 after the first press conference as chairman.
-
Local government authorities in North China’s Shanxi province responsible for pollution control held a meeting on June 10 to discuss the recent air pollution issues, with several cities in the province, including Fenyang, being ordered to put forward solutions for recent air-quality issues, Mysteel Global has learnt.
-
Export offer prices for Japanese hot-rolled coil (HRC) have been rising but the mills are not aggressively selling their coils because of production cutbacks, Mysteel Global has learned. Trading company officials in Tokyo suggest that actual bookings are unlikely to increase for a while.
-
Six Chinese steel producers including China Baowu Steel Group (Baowu) and Hebei Iron & Steel Group (HBIS) are listed among the world’s top ten steel producers in terms of their 2019 crude steel production, the same number included in the 2018 ranking, according to tables released by the World Steel Association (WSA) on June 3.
-
As part of the efforts to reduce local pollutant emissions, Anyang city government in Central China’s Henan province plans to curtail the utilization of the local coking ovens with the chamber height below 4.3 metres within 50% of their designed capacities starting July 1, market sources said.
-
Nippon Steel, Japan’s largest integrated mill, has delayed the banking of No.2 furnace at its Kimitsu works near Tokyo by about a month until mid-June, as it has not been able to fulfill the signed contracts by mid-May, the company’s spokeswoman explained on June 4.
-
China’s core coal mining province, Shanxi, plans to eliminate all coal mines under 600,000 tonnes/year capacity by the end of 2020, as part of the province’s three-year campaign over 2020-2022 to enhance safety in the industry, according to the plan recently released by the provincial government.
-
Despite a formal government notice circulated in the market on May 30, none of the 21 steel mills in Tangshan of North China’s Hebei province have been carrying out a range of 20%-50% cuts on their sintering, pelletizing and blast furnace capacities as speculated by June 2, local industry sources confirmed.
-
Between now and year’s end, coking plants in East China’s Shandong can expect to have their operations squeezed as part of the province’s campaign to slash coal consumption, according to a recent government notification, and the production cuts, if strictly enforced, will see the province’s total coke output capped at 32 million tonnes in 2020, or down sharply by 35% on year.
-
Japan’s crude steel production in April hit a new monthly low since May 2009 of 6.62 million tonnes, down by a huge 23.5% year on year, according to the latest data released by the Japan Iron & Steel Federation (JISF) on May 22.
