[Ferro-Alloys.com] Ground has been broken for a massive expansion project that will add an electric arc furnace to the AM/NS Calvert steel mill north of Mobile.

In a news release dated Tuesday, ArcelorMittal announced that “a small gathering of internal leadership” had held a groundbreaking on Feb. 2 for the project, which it valued at $775 million. That’s a significant escalation from the $500 million figure previously offered by the company. A company spokesperson said that news of the groundbreaking had been delayed until the company released its quarterly earnings report.

The Hoa Phat Group, Vietnam’s leading steel producer, produced more than 670,000 tonnes of crude steel in January, its highest output to date and representing an annual growth of 67 percent.

The conglomerate said the fourth blast furnace at its Hoa Phat Dung Quat iron and steel production complex came into operation in the opening month of the year, officially raising its total crude steel output to 8 million tonnes per year.

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