Steelinvest, Delong establish JV for exports

: Metals
25/02/19

Steel trader Steelinvest and Chinese producer Delong Steel have established a joint venture (JV) to market mill export sales.

The venture, Ziming SG Global, will be located in Dubai and headed by Fred Hayrapet of Steelinvest Group.

The company will focus on semi-finished and finished steel across long and flat products. Hayrapet told Argus the company will focus on markets where Chinese steel is welcomed, in response to a question on the increasing trade barriers facing the country's exports. The JV aims to scale up to 5mn t/yr of exports over time.

Delong has a production capacity of 30mn t/yr across 11 mills, five of which are fully integrated, and intends to "increase the export efficiency and global marketing" of its production through the organisation. It also holds a majority stake in Indonesia's Dexin Steel Group, which has recently started exporting hot-rolled coil into some major markets, such as Europe, as well as slab.

Steelinvest currently markets more than 3.5mn t/yr of steel and raw materials.

By Colin Richardson

Related news posts

Argus illuminates the markets by putting a lens on the areas that matter most to you. The market news and commentary we publish reveals vital insights that enable you to make stronger, well-informed decisions. Explore a selection of news stories related to this one.

25/03/21

Australia's Simcoa may buy carbon credits until 2028

Sydney, 21 March (Argus) — Australia's silicon producer Simcoa will likely need to buy and surrender Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) until 2028 for safeguard mechanism compliance obligations before it completes a key decarbonisation project, it told Argus today. The project was awarded federal funds on 20 March. Australia's federal Labor government granted Simcoa A$39.8mn ($25mn) under its Powering the Regions Fund (PRF) to expand charcoal production at its Wellesley facility in Western Australia (WA) and remove the use of coal in silicon production. The project is expected to reduce the company's scope 1 emissions by around 90pc, or approximately 100,000 t/yr of CO2 equivalent (CO2e). Simcoa is Australia's only silicon manufacturer, which is a key component of solar panels. The funding will help maintain silicon manufacturing capability in the country in addition to cutting emissions, energy minister Chris Bowen said. The company currently uses 35,000 t/yr of metallurgical low ash coal in its operations, and anticipates usage will drop to zero after it doubles its charcoal production capacity by 25,000 t/yr to 50,000 t/yr. The completion date for the expansion is not expected before 2028. The firm may continue to buy [ACCUs] as it must use coal as a reducing agent for part of its production for calendar years 2025-27, or until the expansion project can be commissioned, the company told Argus on 21 March. Simcoa surrendered 22,178 ACCUs in the July 2022-June 2023 compliance year as it reported scope 1 emissions of 122,178t of CO2e with a baseline of 100,000t CO2e at its Kemerton silicon smelter. Figures were lower for the July 2023-June 2024 compliance period, the company said, without disclosing details. Australia's Clean Energy Regulator (CER) will publish 2023-24 safeguard data by 15 April . Simcoa anticipates scope 1 emissions at the Kemerton smelter to be "considerably below" the baseline once the charcoal expansion is completed and could make it eligible to earn and sell safeguard mechanism credits (SMCs), which traded for the first time in late February . "We will take whatever opportunity is available to us," the company said on potentially holding or selling SMCs in future. By Juan Weik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Upper Mississippi River reopens for transit

25/03/20

Upper Mississippi River reopens for transit

Houston, 20 March (Argus) — The first towboat arrived at St Paul, Minnesota, today, marking the start of the 2025 navigation season on the upper Mississippi River, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). The Neil N. Diehl passed through Lock 2 at Hastings, Minnesota, with nine barges, crossing into St Paul on 19 March. Tows reaching St Paul signify the unofficial start of the navigation season, as St Paul is the last port to open on the Mississippi River after winter ice thaws each year. This is considered an average start time for the navigation season, which typically opens the third week of March. The first tow to reach St Paul in 2024 arrived on 17 March. The Corps released the final Lake Pepin ice measurements of 17in on 12 March and was unable to take new measurements this week since the ice had melted significantly. Lake Pepin measurements help determine when the ice will be thin enough for barges to transit up river. By Meghan Yoyotte Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

EU delays retaliatory tariffs on US goods to mid-April

25/03/20

EU delays retaliatory tariffs on US goods to mid-April

Brussels, 20 March (Argus) — The EU has decided to delay its countermeasures to US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports until mid-April, allowing extra time for negotiations with Washington and consultation on which goods to include in its retaliatory levies, EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic said today. The EU had planned to impose its tariffs in two phases, the first on 1 April and the second on 13 April, but it has now decided that both sets of measures will be brought in together on 13 April. The first round of EU tariffs is a reinstatement of levies that the bloc imposed during President Donald Trump's first term in office in 2018 and 2020 on goods "ranging ranging from boats to bourbon to motorbikes". The second round is a new package of additional measures to reflect the fact that Trump's tariffs this time around are broader in scope and affect a higher value of trade. The European Commission needs to review with stakeholders the list of US products to be included, Sefcovic said. "We are now considering to align the timing of the two sets of EU countermeasures so we can consult with member states on both lists simultaneously," he said. Sefcovic noted that a US trade investigation into copper and wood, including derivatives, could lead to additional tariffs against EU products and that the US is considering measures on shipbuilding that could have negative effects on EU maritime firms. By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Australia's Arafura secures new NdPr oxide offtake deal

25/03/20

Australia's Arafura secures new NdPr oxide offtake deal

Sydney, 20 March (Argus) — Australian producer Arafura Rare Earth will supply between 100-300 t/yr of neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) oxide to Dutch trader Traxys Europe, bringing the company closer to its offtake target of 3,552 t/yr. Arafura has agreed to supply at least 100 t/yr of NdPr oxide to Traxys for five years, but can choose to sell up to 300 t/yr of the material. The deal is priced in terms of NdPr ex-works China prices, the company said on 20 March. Arafura indicated that it planned to link offtake deals to equity agreements , it said in an investor call in January. But the offtake deal with Traxys does not appear to include an equity component. Arafura is currently developing the 4,400 t/yr Nolans project, a combined mine and NdPr refinery in Western Australia (WA). The company is aiming to secure offtake deals accounting for 80pc of the project's capacity. German manufacturer Siemens has already agreed to buy 520 t/yr of NdPr from Arafura, with South Korean firms Hyundai and Kia taking an additional 1,500 t/yr of the material. Arafura has committed to sell 2,320 t/yr of oxide from the Nolans project since 2023. Arafura is continuing to negotiate offtake agreements with Asian, European, and US consumers. Firms have expressed interest in buying up to 4,740 t/yr of NdPr oxide from the company, beyond the 2,320 t/yr already committed to customers and above Nolans' production capacity. The rare earth developer has received extensive government support on its Nolans project. Australia's federal Labor government agreed to invest A$200mn ($126mn) into the project in mid-January. It previously committed A$840mn to the project in March 2024. But Arafura is not alone. Australian officials have backed other rare earths projects over recent years, including Iluka Resources' Eneabba refinery in WA. Argus ' praseodymium-neodymium oxide min 99pc fob China price has been rising over the last three months. The price reached $61,850/t on 19 March, when it was last assessed, up from $54,500/t three months earlier. By Avinash Govind Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Canberra backs Li battery projects in Western Australia

25/03/20

Canberra backs Li battery projects in Western Australia

Sydney, 20 March (Argus) — Australia's federal government will partly underwrite four lithium-ion battery projects in Western Australia (WA), boosting the state's energy storage capacity by 2.6GWh from late 2027. Canberra is supporting the projects through its Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS), which sets a revenue floor on big battery projects for up to 15 years. The government has not revealed the specific revenue floors linked to the newly underwritten projects. Australian renewable energy developer PGS Energy will build the largest of the four newly-underwritten batteries, a 1.2GWh energy storage system in Marradong. The company's Marradong battery will be co-located with a solar farm and connected to WA's South West Interconnected System (Swis), a grid stretching across its most populous regions, once it becomes operational. French energy producer Neoen is also developing a 615MWh project just outside Perth, under the scheme. The company has been building large batteries across Australia, with public support, for multiple years. Its Collie Battery Energy Storage System is connected to Swis, and has been storing and discharging 877MWh of energy since October 2024. The two other batteries underwritten on 20 March are smaller, with a combined capacity of 780MWh, and located in rural parts of the state. The Australian government's latest funding announcement comes just months after it on 11 December 2024 underwrote eight other Australian battery projects capable of storing 3.6GWh of power under the CIS. Those projects were scattered across the country, covering three states but excluding WA. Canberra will also underwrite another set of batteries, with a combined capacity of 16GWh, in September. Over 100 projects, with a combined capacity of 135GWh, have applied to be part of CIS' September funding round. By Avinash Govind Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Business intelligence reports

Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.

Learn more