US-based Cleveland-Cliffs to start HBI sales in June

Thursday, 27 February 2020 17:37:26 (GMT+3)   |   Istanbul
       

US-headquartered Cleveland-Cliffs, a major iron ore producer in North America, has announced that it will start selling hot briquetted iron (HBI) from its newly established plant in June this year as was initially planned. The company’s operations in the segment are likely to have an influence on the pig iron/HBI market balance, in the US specifically, some sources believe.

The new complex, located in Toledo, Ohio, has a capacity of 1.9 million mt per year of HBI with three percent carbon content and low silica, and with high metallization rates. As a feedstock for HBI production, the company will use its own iron ore pellets, coming from Cliff's Northshore Mining operation. At the beginning of commercial production, Cleveland-Cliffs will price HBI using pig iron as a reference, SteelOrbis understands. "We are going to have six or seven months between June and December of 2020 to be adjusting price parameters", Lourenco Goncalves, CEO of Cliffs noted during a recent conference call.

The launch of HBI production by Cleveland-Cliffs is expected to partially replace pig iron imports from Russia, Ukraine and Brazil, the CEO believes. Meanwhile, pig iron suppliers are somewhat skeptical regarding whether there will be any noticeable impact on their sales to the US, with one source referring to that fact that “HBI is used not as an alternative to scrap and pig iron, but as a supplement”. Others believe that the HBI sales by Cliffs will have more influence on the country’s HBI imports, rather than on pig iron purchases. “It is more likely that Metalloinvest will face issues with HBI supplies to the US rather than us having problems with pig iron,” one of the leading pig iron producers noted.

Still, it may be somewhat premature to estimate the possible impact of HBI sales by Cliffs, taking into account that the company is likely to acquire AK Steel Holding Corporation. As a result, some of the HBI volumes may be supplied in order to cover its own steel production requirements, SteelOrbis understands.


Similar articles

Ukraine’s Zaporizhstal completes first stage of BF No. 3 overhaul

29 Mar | Steel News

Ex-Brazil BPI exporters achieve slight rise in latest deals to US amid better scrap sentiment

28 Mar | Scrap & Raw Materials

Japanese crude steel output down 3.8 percent in February from January

27 Mar | Steel News

Price gap between low and high-phosphorus Brazilian BPI narrows in last deals

25 Mar | Scrap & Raw Materials

German crude steel output increases by 4.6 percent in January-February

25 Mar | Steel News

Ukraine’s ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih posts lower pig iron output due to Russia’s attacks on energy infrastructure

21 Mar | Steel News

Buyers from Turkey and Italy seek lower ex-Russia BPI prices even though scrap lacks direction

20 Mar | Scrap & Raw Materials

Turkey’s pig iron imports up 5.0 percent in January

20 Mar | Steel News

China’s crude steel output up 1.6% in Jan-Feb despite unexpectedly weak post-holiday demand

18 Mar | Steel News

Ex-Brazil BPI market at standstill due to high prices for buyers, ex-Russia sellers under strong pressure

15 Mar | Scrap & Raw Materials