2008 Minerals Yearbook

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

IRON AND STEEL, SLAG [ADVANCE RELEASE]

March 2010
IRON AND STEEL, SLAG—2008 [ADVANCE RELEASE] 69.1

SLAG—IRON AND STEEL

By Hendrik G. van Oss 

Sales of ferrous slag in the United States in 2008 totaled about 

18.8 million metric tons (Mt), down by about 4% from sales 

in 2007. Because of a signifi cant decline in sales of the most 

valuable type of slag, the overall value of slag sales fell 22% to 

about $332 million (table 1). 

Iron and steel slags are formed through the addition of 

slagging agents and fl uxes (chiefl y limestone or dolomite 

and silica sand) to blast furnaces and steel furnaces to strip 

impurities from iron ore, steel scrap, and other ferrous feeds. 

The slag forms as a silicate melt that fl oats on top of the 

molten crude iron or steel and is tapped from the furnace 

separately from the liquid metal. After cooling to solid form, 

the slag is processed and may then be sold and/or returned to 

the furnace. Most forms of processed slag have very low unit 

values compared with those of iron and steel products and, 

for this reason, iron and steel companies generally contract 

with outside slag-processing companies to cool the slag and to 

remove it. Although the fi nancial arrangements vary, typically 

the processing company receives the slag for free, crushes it to 

various marketable sizes, uses screens and magnetic separators 

to recover entrained metal from the slag (metal to be returned to 

the furnace for a low charge), sells the slag on the open market, 

and pays a small percentage of the net slag sales revenues or 

profi ts to the iron or steel company. Slag may be returned to the 

furnaces for use as fl ux and as a supplemental source of iron; 

this return of slag is typically not reported as a sale.

A list of slag processors, processing sites, and the iron and 

steel companies serviced is provided in table 4. Apparent 

duplication at some sites is because processing contracts may 

have been transferred to other companies during the year, and 

integrated iron and steel plants may have processing and/or 

marketing contracts with different companies for different slag 

types produced at the plant. In some cases, the slag is cooled by 

one company but is then further processed and/or marketed by 

another company or at another site.

Legislation and Government Programs

Consumption of slag in the construction sector is infl uenced 

by Federal and State programs that affect construction 

spending levels. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

(2008), under mandate from Congress, released a study 

that recommended increasing the use of “recovered mineral 

components” (including slag) in federally funded construction 

projects. In such projects and elsewhere, slags are promoted as 

“sustainable” construction materials, mainly on the basis that 

slags substitute directly or indirectly for virgin raw materials 

(for example, for natural stone aggregates in concrete and for 

natural raw materials in cement manufacture) or, in the specifi c 

case of ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), can 

partially substitute for portland cement in concrete. With respect 

to portland cement manufacture, substitution of slags for natural 

raw materials to make clinker can reduce the unit consumption 

of fuel and limestone in the kiln, which then reduces the 

overall and unit emissions of certain pollutants, most notably 

carbon dioxide. Use of granulated blast furnace slag (ground or 

unground) in the fi nish mill allows more fi nished cement to be 

made from the same amount of clinker. 

Production

Data on actual annual production of slag are generally 

unavailable because not all slag formed is tapped during a 

heat and the amount of slag tapped is not routinely measured. 

However, U.S. and world production of ferrous slags can be 

broadly estimated based on typical slag to metal production 

ratios, which in turn are related to the chemistry of the ferrous 

feeds to the furnaces. For typical iron ore grades (60% to 66% 

iron), a blast furnace normally will produce about 0.25 to 

0.30 metric tons (t) of slag per metric ton of crude or pig iron 

produced. For ores of lower than average grade, the slag output 

will be higher—sometimes as much as 1.0 to 1.2 t of slag per 

ton of crude iron. Steel furnaces typically produce about 0.2 

t of slag per ton of crude steel, but up to 50% of this slag is 

entrained metal, most of which is generally recovered during 

slag processing and returned to the furnace. The amount of 

marketable steel slag remaining after entrained metal removal 

is thus usually equivalent to about 10% to 15% of the crude 

steel output. Using these ratios and data for U.S. and world iron 

and steel production from the American Iron and Steel Institute 

(2008, p. 121–126), U.S. blast furnace slag production in 2008 

was estimated to be in the range of about 8 to 10 Mt, and world 

output, 230 to 280 Mt. Similarly, U.S. output of steel slag (after 

metal removal) in 2008 was estimated to be 9 to 14 Mt, and 

world output, 130 to 200 Mt. Apparent production of slag may 

differ from the sales of slag (table 1) because of a combination 

of undocumented returns of slag to the furnaces and stockpiling 

of slag by the processors.

The market uses for ferrous slag are largely determined by 

how the slag is cooled. Marketed blast furnace slags are of 

three main types—air-cooled, granulated, and pelletized (or 

expanded). Air-cooled blast furnace slag is formed by allowing 

the molten slag to cool relatively slowly under ambient 

conditions; fi nal cooling can be accelerated with a water spray. 

Although it can have a vesicular texture with closed pores, 

the cooled slag is hard and dense and is especially suitable 

for use as construction aggregates. Granulated blast furnace 

slag (GBFS) is formed by quenching molten slag in water to 

form sand-sized particles of glass. The disordered structure 

of this glass gives the material inherent moderate hydraulic 

cementitious properties when the slag is very fi nely ground. 

However, if GGBFS can access free lime during hydration, 

then its cementitious properties become strong. Pelletized or 

expanded slag is cooled through a water jet, which leads to rapid 

steam generation and the development of innumerable vesicles 

within the slag. The vesicular texture reduces the overall 

density of the slag and allows for good mechanical binding 

with hydraulic cement paste. This slag type is most commonly 
69.2 [ADVANCE RELEASE] U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MINERALS YEARBOOK—2008

used as a lightweight aggregate, but if very fi nely ground it can 

have cementitious properties similar to GGBFS. Blast furnace 

slag (generally air-cooled) also can be made into mineral wool. 

Slag for this purpose is remelted and then poured through an air 

stream or jet of steam or other gas to produce a spray of molten 

droplets; alternatively, the droplets can be formed by passing 

the melt through a perforated or fast spinning disc. The droplets 

elongate into long fi bers that are collected and layered, and this 

material is suitable for use as thermal insulation.

Steel furnace slag is cooled similarly to air-cooled blast 

furnace slag, has similar properties to it, and is used for some 

of the same purposes. Steel slags containing large amounts of 

dicalcium silicate are prone to expansion and commonly are 

cured in piles for several months to allow for the expansion and 

for leaching out of lime. 

Consumption

Data in this report are based on an annual U.S. Geological 

Survey (USGS) canvass of slag processors and relate to sales of 

processed slag, not the amount of slag processed during the year 

or the actual production of slag by iron and steel companies. 

Processed slag is sold from stockpiles, and although most of 

the material is a byproduct of current or recent iron and steel 

output or is of imported material, some slag sales are of material 

mined from old slag piles (slag banks) produced by iron and 

steel plants now closed. In 2008, canvasses were sent to 28 

companies, covering 135 processing sites, and at least partial 

data (some as consolidated responses) were received for 122 

of the sites; the reported data accounted for slightly more than 

90% of the gross tonnage listed in table 1. For 2007, canvasses 

were sent to 27 companies, covering 143 processing sites, and at 

least partial data were received for 127 of the sites, accounting 

for 96% of the gross tonnages listed for the year. Owing to a 

wide range in the level of data detail reported to the USGS, and 

the need to estimate activities of the survey nonrespondents, the 

data in table 1 have been heavily rounded. For both years, data 

on pelletized blast furnace slag have been withheld to avoid 

disclosing company proprietary data, but the quantities sold 

were very small. Sales data for granulated slag in both years 

exclude material sold by importers who as yet do not take part 

in the USGS canvass.

About 83% of the total sales tonnage in 2008 and nearly 

78% of that in 2007 were of air-cooled blast furnace slag and 

steel slag (table 1). Data for both (and previous) years exclude 

most of the ferrous slag returned to the furnaces and exclude 

the weight of free metal recovered from the slag and returned 

to the furnaces; data on these returns are very incomplete. Sales 

of air-cooled blast furnace slag fell by about 7% during the 

year. In contrast, after a 10% decline in sales volumes in 2007, 

steel slag sales rose substantially in 2008. Although both slag 

types are used in the general construction sector, their market 

areas tend to be somewhat restricted geographically relative to 

natural construction materials, and sales are commonly based 

upon long-term contracts. This may partly explain why the slag 

sales fared better in 2008 than those for certain other, more 

widely consumed, construction materials canvassed by the 

USGS [cement (as a proxy for concrete overall), down by 16%; 

crushed stone, down by 13%; and sand and gravel, down by 

nearly 21%].

Air-cooled blast furnace and steel furnace slags are used 

primarily for a variety of aggregate applications (table 3). 

Because of potential expansion problems, steel slag fi nds little 

use in applications requiring maintenance of a fi xed volume 

(for example, concrete). Both slag types also fi nd signifi cant 

use as a raw material for cement (clinker) manufacture (the 

slag contributes aluminum, calcium, iron, and silicon oxides), 

but steel slag has proven to be especially suitable for this use. 

Differences evident among the usage breakout percentages for 

these two slag types in table 3 are diffi cult to evaluate because 

the data incorporate estimates, and much of the plant-level data 

reported in recent years have revealed only the dominant use(s) 

for the slag. Thus, the less common uses are likely understated.

Because of the incorporation of estimates and a lack of 

response detail on many canvasses, the modest changes in 

average selling prices for air-cooled blast furnace and steel slags 

listed in table 2 may not be statistically signifi cant. Because of 

generally low unit sales values, slag sold for aggregate generally 

cannot be economically transported over long distances, 

particularly overland. Thus, the major factors affecting the sales 

volumes and prices of these two slag types are dominated by 

local competition from natural aggregates, the overall level 

of construction activity (particularly that for roads), and the 

existence of long-term supply contracts. Air-cooled and steel 

furnace slags sold for uses other than aggregates can command 

higher prices than do the aggregate applications. Pelletized slag 

(not revealed in tables 1–3) can sell for prices well above those 

for air-cooled slag. 

Sales of GBFS slag fell 27% to 3.2 Mt. Although accounting 

for less than 25% of total ferrous slag sales tonnages, sales of 

GBFS dominate the slag market in terms of value. In 2008, 

sales of GBFS accounted for 82% of the total value of blast 

furnace slag sales and about 71% of all ferrous slag sales 

combined (table 1). These percentages were lower than those 

in 2007, owing to declines in both tons sold and in average unit 

sales value (table 2). For both years, it is likely that the GBFS 

tonnages listed in table 1 understate the true market for this 

material owing to incomplete data. Of total GBFS sales, about 

86% was of GGBFS and the rest was of unground material. 

The high unit sales value of GBFS relative to the other major 

slag types (table 2) refl ects the fact that the dominant use of 

GGBFS is as a partial substitute for portland cement in blended 

cements and in concrete. In concrete containing a proportion 

of GGBFS, hydration of portland cement releases the lime 

needed to fully activate the slag. Concretes incorporating 

GGBFS generally develop strength more slowly than concretes 

that contain only portland cement but can have similar or even 

superior long-term strength, release less heat during hydration, 

have reduced permeability, and generally exhibit improved 

resistance to chemical attack. Despite its relatively high unit 

price, GGBFS still sells at a 20% to 25% discount to portland 

cement. Unground GBFS was sold primarily to cement plants, 

to dedicated slag-grinding plants for conversion to GGBFS, 

or to cement plants to be used as a grinding aid (for portland 

cement) in their fi nish mills. Overall sales for cementitious uses 

of GBFS and GGBFS totaled 2.8 Mt in 2008, down by 25%. A 
IRON AND STEEL, SLAG—2008 [ADVANCE RELEASE] 69.3

small fraction of the unground GBFS on the market has been 

sourced from old slag piles and lacks cementitious character as a 

result of weathering; this material still has use in concrete (as a 

fi ne grain aggregate), but sells for much lower prices than those 

indicated for the cementitious material in table 2. 

The USGS slag survey does not distinguish between GBFS 

sold directly to cement companies and that sold directly to 

concrete companies, but data from recent USGS cement surveys 

indicate that cement producers consume about 15% of the total 

granulated slag sold. Sales in the United States of GGBFS under 

the designation “slag cement” are promoted by the Slag Cement 

Association (SCA), whose members accounted for much of 

the country’s GGBFS output. The SCA reported sales by its 

members of 3.0 Mt of GGBFS in 2008, a decline of 11% (Slag 

Cement Association, 2009). This percentage decline was lower 

than that (about 16%) noted above for cement (as a proxy for 

concrete), indicating that GGBFS is gaining market share in 

concrete construction. Although the USGS has in most years 

reported somewhat higher tonnages of GGBFS sold than has 

the SCA, in 2008, the USGS tonnage was the lower volume 

(2.8 Mt, down by 25%). Importantly, the USGS data show a 

sales decline in 2008 signifi cantly larger than that for cement, 

indicating—in contrast to the SCA—a signifi cant loss of market 

share. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that any loss or 

gain in GGBFS market share in 2008 was likely not large. It 

thus appears that the USGS data for 2008 may be incomplete or, 

possibly, that some GGBFS data reported to the USGS were in 

metric rather than the requested short ton units. 

Foreign Trade

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau list imports of ferrous slag 

(excluding iron scales) totaling about 1.3 Mt in 2008, down 

by about 32% from levels in 2007. Apart from refl ecting the 

weak construction market, the 2008 decline also refl ected the 

permanent closure at midyear of a large, dedicated slag-grinding 

plant in New Orleans, LA. Nearly all of the imported slag was 

coded as granulated slag, but the exact amount of granulated 

material is unclear because the tariff code, although specifi c to 

slag, seems to include some imports of unrelated “recovered 

mineral materials” such as some shipments of fl y ash, 

cenospheres (an extract from fl y ash), and silica fume. The 

leading sources of granulated slag imports were Japan (57%), 

Canada (36%), and Italy (4%). With the principal exception of 

some GGBFS coming into the San Francisco customs district, 

nearly all of the granulated slag imported was unground 

material. Exports of granulated slag in 2008 were listed as just 

0.007 Mt.

Comparison of the U.S. Census Bureau import data for slag 

with data from the Journal of Commerce’s Port Import Export 

Reporting Service (PIERS), suggests that the U.S. Census 

Bureau import data for 2008 are substantially incomplete but 

less so than for previous years. For 2008, the PIERS data show 

total waterborne (alone) imports of granulated slag of about 1.56 

Mt (or a bit less, subtracting those imports noted as being of 

other materials). This difference (about 0.26 Mt) has large, but 

essentially, offsetting differences (relative to Census data) for 

Canada and Japan, and a large residual difference for Italy. The 

difference in 2007 between Census and PIERS was about 0.4 

Mt.

Outlook

Consumption of ferrous slags for use as aggregates will 

continue to refl ect trends in the consumption of natural 

aggregates and cement, and thus will depend on overall 

construction spending levels. Demand for slag is expected 

to benefi t from Government programs to promote the use of 

recovered mineral components in public sector construction 

projects but may not be able to capture a large share of this 

market because of limited slag availability. The relatively 

small (and declining) number of operating blast furnaces in 

the United States makes the future supply of air-cooled blast 

furnace slag highly vulnerable to even temporary closure 

of integrated iron and steel complexes. Such closures were 

expected to be widespread in 2009. Steel slag supplied from 

basic oxygen furnaces was also vulnerable to closures, although 

slag availability from electric arc furnaces was more assured. A 

growing constraint on steel slag availability is a recent tendency 

for steel plants to retain more slag for return to the furnaces 

at times of high prices for iron ore and scrap. The short-term 

effects of increased returns to the furnace are hard to quantify, 

however, because of the tendency of slag processors to stockpile 

slag so as to be able to bid on large projects.

Slags are useful alternative raw materials for clinker 

production, and such use reduces a cement plant’s output of 

carbon dioxide. Availability of suffi cient slag nearby the cement 

plant will continue to be a major determinant of demand for this 

purpose.

Growing acceptance of GGBFS as a component of fi nished 

cement and concrete would seem to assure a steady demand 

for this slag type, contingent on overall construction levels. 

The supply of GBFS from domestic blast furnaces is severely 

constrained by the fact that granulation cooling is currently 

installed at only four blast furnaces in the United States. 

Installation of granulators at other blast furnaces is possible but 

expensive and would hinge on the perception of the specifi c 

furnace’s future viability. Further, some blast furnaces produce 

a slag that, while suitable for aggregate use, is chemically 

unsuitable for use as GBFS. It is likely that signifi cant future 

growth in the domestic market for GGBFS will hinge on 

increased availability of imported material.

References Cited

American Iron and Steel Institute, 2008, Annual statistical report: Washington, 

DC, American Iron and Steel Institute, 126 p.

Slag Cement Association, 2009, U.S. slag cement shipments: Woodstock, GA, 

Slag Cement Association. (Accessed September 10, 2009, via http://

 www.slagcement.org/.)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2008, Study on increasing the usage 

of recovered mineral components in federally funded projects involving 

procurement of cement or concrete to address the Safe, Accountable, 

Flexible, Effi cient Transportation Equity Act—A Legacy for Users: U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency Report to Congress, EPA530–R–08–007, 

June 3, 222 p. 
69.4 [ADVANCE RELEASE] U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MINERALS YEARBOOK—2008

GENERAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION

U.S. Geological Survey Publications

Iron and Steel Slag. Ch. in Mineral Commodity Summaries, 

annual.

Other

National Slag Association.

Portland Cement Association.

Slag Cement Association.

Steel Total iron Steel Total iron

Air-cooled Granulated Total2 furnace slag and steel slag2 Air-cooled Granulated Total2 furnace slag and steel slag2

Quantitye, 3 7.4 4.4 11.8 7.8 19.6 6.9 3.2 10.1 8.7 18.8

Valuee, 4 54 332 386 43 428 53 236 288 43 332

4

Values are rounded to reflect the inclusion of a large component of estimated or reported consolidated data.

e

Estimated. 

1

Excludes expanded (pelletized) slag to protect company proprietary data. The quantities are very small (about 0.1 unit or less). 2

Data may not add to totals because of independent rounding.

3

Quantities are rounded to reflect inclusion of some estimated data and to reflect inherent accuracy limitations of reported data.

Blast furnace slag1 Blast furnace slag1

TABLE 1

IRON AND STEEL SLAG SOLD OR USED IN THE UNITED STATES

(Million metric tons and million dollars)

2007 2008

Slag type Range Average Range Average

Blast furnace slag:

 Air-cooled 2.77 – 16.53 7.26 1.84 – 19.84 7.64

 Granulated2 17.08 – 93.70 84.89 r 24.65 – 100.50 82.64

Steel furnace slag 0.47 – 11.90 5.48 0.20 – 15.39 5.02

r

 Revised.

2

Values are for material reported for use as a cementitious additive in cement or concrete manufacture. 

Material at or near the low end of the range was sold in unground form. Sales other than for cementitious 

use were generally at unit values below the ranges shown.

2007

TABLE 2

SELLING PRICES FOR IRON AND STEEL SLAG IN THE UNITED STATES1

(Dollars per metric ton)

2008

1

Data contain a large component of estimates and some respondents provide values only on their total 

sales of a slag type, not value by type of use. Thus, the value ranges shown are likely too restrictive.

Steel Steel

Use Air-cooled Granulated slag Air-cooled Granulated slag

Ready-mixed concrete 15.2 -- -- 18.1 -- --

Concrete products 4.2 -- -- 3.2 -- --

Asphaltic concrete 11.8 -- 14.4 13.4 -- 10.9

Road bases & surfaces 41.4 6.3 51.5 40.2 9.4 60.3

Fill 13.0 -- 13.3 12.7 -- 10.8

Cementitious material -- 86.1 -- -- 87.1 --

Clinker raw material 4.9 5.0 6.7 2.8 2.5 5.0

Miscellaneous3 6.7 0.7 2.3 8.2 -- 0.5

Other or unspecified 2.7 2.2 12.0 1.3 1.0 12.7

-- Zero.

TABLE 3

SALES OF FERROUS SLAGS IN THE UNITED STATES, BY USE1

(Percentage of total tons sold)

1

A number of respondents provide breakouts that represent only the dominant use(s) of their slag; 

accordingly, the minor use categories are likely underreported. The data also incorporate some estimates 

and thus should be viewed as good to no more than 2-significant figures.

2

Excludes expanded or pelletized slag; this material is generally sold as a lightweight aggregate.

3

Reported as used for railroad ballast, roofing, mineral wool, or soil conditioner.

2007 2008

Blast furnace slag2 Blast furnace slag2
IRON AND STEEL, SLAG—2008 [ADVANCE RELEASE] 69.5 Slag Processing Company Plant Location Steel Company Serviced2, 3 AC GG Exp BOF OHF EAF Alexander Mill Services Inc. Hollsopple, PA North American Höganäs, Inc. X Barfield Enterprises, Inc. LaPlace, LA ArcelorMittal USA4 X Do. Lone Star, TX U.S. Steel Corp.5 X Beaver Valley Slag Aliquippa, PA Old slag pile site X X X Beelman Truck Co. Granite City, IL6 U.S. Steel Corp. X Beemsterboer Slag Corp. East Chicago, IN ArcelorMittal USA (East side) X Do. Gary, IN7 U.S. Steel Corp. X Blackheart Slag Co. Muscatine (Montpelier), IA SSAB North America8 X Buzzi Unicem USA, Inc. New Orleans, LA9 Foreign, some domestic. X Dragon Products Co., Inc. Thomaston, ME Miscellaneous domestic & foreign X Edward C. Levy Co. Decatur (Trinity), AL Nucor Corp. X Do. Butler, IN Steel Dynamics, Inc. X Do. Columbia City, IN do.

X

Do. Crawfordsville, IN Nucor Corp. X

Do. East Chicago (Indiana Harbor), IN ArcelorMittal USA (West side) XDo. Detroit, MI Severstal North America, Inc. X XDo. do. U.S. Steel Corp. X XDo. Columbus, MS Severstal North America, Inc. X

Do. Delta, OH North Star Bluescope Steel LLC X

Do. Canton, OH The Timken Co. X

Do. Huger, SC Nucor Corp. X

Do. Seattle, WA10 do.

X

Essroc Corp. Middlebranch, OH Miscellanous domestic & foreign XFritz Enterprises, Inc. Fairfield, AL11 U.S. Steel Corp. X X X

Do. Sparrows Point, MD12 Severstal North America, Inc.13 X

Gerdau Ameristeel Corp. Jacksonville, FL Gerdau Ameristeel Corp. X

Do. Charlotte, NC do.

X

Holcim (US) Inc. Birmingham (Fairfield), AL11 U.S. Steel Corp. X

Do. Gary, IN do. X

Lafarge North America Inc. South Chicago, IL ArcelorMittal USA X

Do. East Chicago (Indiana Harbor), IN14 do. X X

Do. Sparrows Point, MD Severstal North America, Inc.13 X

Do. Cleveland (Cuyahoga Co.), OH6 ArcelorMittal USA X

Do. Lordstown, OH Old slag pile site XDo. McDonald, OH do. XDo. Salt Springs (Youngstown), OH do. XDo. Warren, OH Severstal North America, Inc.15

X

Do. West Mifflin (Duquesne), PA U.S. Steel Corp. (ET Works) XDo. Seattle, WA10 Foreign X

Lehigh Cement Co. Evansville, PA do. X

Lehigh/Hanson Slag Cement, Inc. Cape Canaveral, FL do. X

Lehigh Northeast Cement Co. Cementon, NY do. X

See footnotes at end of table.

TABLE 4

PROCESSORS OF IRON AND STEEL SLAG IN THE UNITED STATES IN 2008

Slag and furnace types1

Blast furnace slag Steel furnace slag
69.6 [ADVANCE RELEASE] U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MINERALS YEARBOOK—2008 Slag Processing Company Plant Location Steel Company Serviced2, 3 AC GG Exp BOF OHF EAF The Levy Co., Inc. Burns Harbor, IN ArcelorMittal USA X X Do. Gary, IN7 U.S. Steel Corp. X Mountain Enterprises, Inc. Ashland, KY6 AK Steel Corp. X MultiServ Birmingham, AL SMI/CMC Steel Group X Do. Blytheville, AR Nucor Corp. X Do. Blytheville (Armorel), AR Nucor-Yamato Steel Co. X Do. Pueblo, CO Evraz Inc. NA X Do. Wilton (Muscatine), IA SSAB North America8 X Do. Riverdale, IL16 ArcelorMittal USA X Do. Indiana Harbor, East Chicago, IN do. X Do. Pittsboro, IN Steel Dynamics, Inc. X Do. Ghent, KY Gallatin Steel Co. X Do. do. North American Stainless X Do. Sparrows Point, MD12 Severstal North America, Inc.13 X Do. Ahoskie (Cofield), NC Nucor Corp. X Do. Canton, OH Republic Engineered Products, Inc. X Do. Mansfield, OH AK Steel Corp. X Do. Warren, OH Severstal North America, Inc.15

X

Do. Brackenridge, PA Allegheny Ludlum Corp. X

Do. Butler, PA AK Steel Corp. X

Do. Coatsville, PA ArcelorMittal USA X

Do. Koppel, PA TMK IPSCO17

X

Do. Latrobe, PA Allegheny Ludlum Corp. X

Do. Natrona Heights, PA do.

X

Do. Steelton, PA ArcelorMittal USA X

Do. Midlothian, TX Gerdau Ameristeel Corp. X

Do. Geneva (Provo), UT Old slag pile site X XDo. Seattle, WA Nucor Corp. X

Phoenix Services LLC Riverdale, IL16 ArcelorMittal USA X

Do. Wilton, IA18 Gerdau Ameristeel XDo. Sparrows Point, MD Severstal North America, Inc.13 X

Do. Latrobe, PA Latrobe Specialty Steel Co. X

Do. Vinton (El Paso), TX ArcelorMittal USA X

Do. Roanoke, VA Steel Dynamics, Inc. X

Do. Weirton, WV Old slag pile site X X

Recmix of PA, Inc. Ghent, KY North American Stainless LP X

Do. Sarver (Brackenridge), PA Allegheny Ludlum Corp. X

Rinker Materials Corp. Miami, FL Foreign XSt. Lawrence Cement Inc. Camden, NJ do. X

St. Marys Cement Inc. Detroit, MI do. X

Do. Milwaukee, WI Domestic and foreign X

Stein, Inc. Alton, IL Alton Steel Inc. X

See footnotes at end of table.

TABLE 4—Continued

PROCESSORS OF IRON AND STEEL SLAG IN THE UNITED STATES IN 2008

Slag and furnace types1

Blast furnace slag Steel furnace slag
IRON AND STEEL, SLAG—2008 [ADVANCE RELEASE] 69.7 Slag Processing Company Plant Location Steel Company Serviced2, 3 AC GG Exp BOF OHF EAF Stein, Inc.—Continued: Granite City, IL6 U.S. Steel Corp. X X Do. Sterling, IL Sterling Steel Co. X Do. Ashland, KY6 AK Steel Corp. X X Do. Cleveland, OH6 ArcelorMittal USA X X Do. Loraine, OH Republic Engineered Products, Inc. X X Do. Georgetown, SC Georgetown Steel Corp. X Tube City IMS, LLC Axis, AL SSAB North America8 X Do. Birmingham, AL Nucor Corp. X Do. Tuscaloosa, AL do. X Do. Fort Smith, AR GerdauMACSTEEL X Do. Rancho Cucamonga, CA TAMCO Steel X Do. Claymont, DE Evraz Inc. NA X Do. Cartersville, GA Gerdau Ameristeel Corp. X Do. Wilton (Muscatine), IA18 do. X Do. Kankakee, IL Nucor Corp. X Do. Peoria, IL Keystone Steel & Wire Co. X Do. Gary, IN U.S. Steel Corp. X Do. Portage, IN Beta Steel Corp. X Do. Ashland, KY Kentucky Electric Steel LLC X Do. Jackson, MI GerdauMACSTEEL X Do. Monroe, MI do. X Do. St. Paul, MN Gerdau Ameristeel Corp. X Do. Jackson, MS Nucor Corp. X Do. Norfolk, NE do. X Do. Perth Amboy, NJ Gerdau Ameristeel Corp. X Do. Sayreville, NJ do. X Do. Auburn, NY Nucor Corp. X Do. Marion, OH do. X Do. McMinnville, OR Cascade Steel Rolling Mills, Inc. X Do. Middletown, OH AK Steel Corp. X X Do. Mingo Junction, OH Severstal North America, Inc.19 X XX Do. Youngstown, OH V&M Star X Do. Sand Springs, OK Gerdau AmeriSteel Corp. X Do. Bethlehem, PA Old slag pile site X X Do. Braddock, PA U.S. Steel Corp. X Do. Bridgeville, PA Universal Stainless & Alloy Products Inc. X Do. Midland, PA Allegheny Ludlum Corp. X Do. New Castle, PA Ellwood Quality Steels X Do. Park Hill (Johnstown), PA Old slag pile site X X Do. Pricedale, PA do. X Do. Reading, PA Carpenter Technology Corp. X Do. Cayce, SC SMI/CMC Steel Group X See footnotes at end of table. TABLE 4—Continued PROCESSORS OF IRON AND STEEL SLAG IN THE UNITED STATES IN 2008 Slag and furnace types1 Blast furnace slag Steel furnace slag
69.8 [ADVANCE RELEASE] U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MINERALS YEARBOOK—2008 Slag Processing Company Plant Location Steel Company Serviced2, 3 AC GG Exp BOF OHF EAF Tube City IMS Corp., IMS Division—Continued: Darlington, SC Nucor Corp. X Do. Jackson, TN Gerdau Ameristeel Corp. X Do. Knoxville, TN do.

X

Do. Beaumont, TX do.

X

Do. Jewett, TX Nucor Corp. X

Do. Longview, TX LeTourneau Technologies Steel Products X

Do. Seguin, TX SMI/CMC Steel Group X

Do. Plymouth, UT Nucor Corp. X

Do. Petersburg, VA Gerdau Ameristeel Corp. X

Do. Saukville, WI Charter Steel X

Uniserve LLC Newport, AR Arkansas Steel Associates, LLC X

Do. Gallatin, TN Hoeganaes Corp. X

Vulcan Materials Co. Tampa, FL Foreign X

1Blast furnace slag type abbreviations: AC = air-cooled; GG = granulated; Exp = expanded. Steel furnace slag types: BOF = basic oxygen furnace; OHF = open hearth furnace;

Steel furnace slag

TABLE 4—Continued

(Cleveland, OH), and Mountain Enterprises, Inc. (Ashland, KY), respectively.

8SSAB North America purchased the Axiz, AL, and Montpelier, IA, and facilities of IPSCO Steel, Inc. in June 2008.

PROCESSORS OF IRON AND STEEL SLAG IN THE UNITED STATES IN 2008

Slag and furnace types1

Blast furnace slag

12The processing contract for air-cooled slag at Sparrows Point, MD, was transferred to Fritz Enterprises in 2008.13Severstal North America, Inc. purchased the Sparrows Point, MD, iron and steel complex from ArcelorMittal USA in 2008.14Lafarge grinds some of the granulated slag from East Chicago, IN, at various of its cement plants located elsewhere.

Do., do. ditto.

7Beemsterboer Slag Corp. captured the air-cooled slag contract for U.S. Steel at Gary, IN, in early 2008.9The New Orleans slag plant was closed permanently in mid-2008.3Currently operating iron and/or steel company. Company is not shown for old slag pile sites.

 EAF = electric arc furnace.

2“Foreign” refers to the fact that the facility imports unground granulated blast furnace slag and grinds it onsite to make ground granulated blast furnace slag—commonly 

now refered to as “slag cement.” “Domestic” implies grinding slag sourced from the domestic market, not a service contract.

4ArcelorMittal USA purchased Bayou Steel Corp. in July 2008.5U.S. Steel Corp. purchased Lone Star Corp. in June 2007.10The processing contract for Nucor Corp. at Seattle was transferred to Edward C. Levy Co. at about mid-2008.6For the air-cooled slag, Stein was responsible for the cooling but the processing and marketing were handled by Beelman Trucking (Granite City, IL), Lafarge Corp.17TMK IPSCO purchased Koppel Steel Corp. in June 2008.19Severstal North America purchased Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel Corp. in 2008.15Plant was formerly owned by WCI Steel, Inc., but was purchased by Severstal in 2008.16The contract for the Riverdale, IL, plant was transferred to Phoenix Services LLC in April 2008.18The contract for the Wilton, IA, plant was transferred to Phoenix Services LLC in August 2008.11For granulated slag, Fritz Enterprises operates the granulator but Holcim owns the apparatus and markets the slag.