[ferro-alloys.com]ArcelorMittal intends to build an electric arc furnace steelmaking facility at its AM/NS Calvert operations in Alabama, the global steelmaker said Aug. 12.

Once completed the planned facility will be capable of producing 1.5 million st of steel slabs for the hot strip mill and a broad spectrum of steel grades required for Calvert's end user markets, the company said. The facility currently has a hot strip mill, cold rolling mill and three hot-dip galvanizing lines.

Construction of the EAF is expected to take 24 months, according to the company, which did not disclose the cost of the project.

"An electric arc furnace at Calvert makes strategic sense as it allows our asset to be more reactive to the local market as well as being in line with the [US-Mexico-Canada Agreement]", ArcelorMittal CEO Lakshmi Mittal said.

AM/NS Calvert is a 50/50 joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel Corp. Purchased by ArcelorMittal and NSC in 2014, the plant has served the North American market since 2010 with the capacity to produce 5.3 million st of flat-rolled carbon steel products annually, according to the company's website.

Brad Davey, CEO of ArcelorMittal North America, noted the addition of an EAF at Calvert will optimize the facility's supply chain, particularly in light of the USMCA trade agreement.

"The USMCA trade agreement is a 'game changer' for former NAFTA and as a result, future steel supply chains for the automotive markets will be required to use steel that was created within North America," Davey said. "A new EAF at AM/NS Calvert will further secure ArcelorMittal's leadership in the North American automotive market."

AM/NS Calvert sources a portion of its slabs from ArcelorMittal's Indiana Harbor operations, but has needed additional slabs from ArcelorMittal's operations in Mexico, the company said in July 2018 when it requested an exclusion to the 25% Section 232 tariffs on steel imports implemented by the Trump administration in March 2018.

According to the company's estimates, US mills require at least 8.4 million st of slabs per year, which includes 3.4 million st needed from Brazil and Mexico, it said at the time.

(S&P Global Platts)

• [Editor:王可]