【SMM Steel】New Zealand accelerates 200,000-t/y EAF steel plant

Dalian iron ore futures exhibited a volatile but firm upward trend today, with the most-traded I2605 contract concluding the session at 819 RMB per tonne, marking a 0.92% increase from the prior trading day.

[SMM Steel] Tata Steel and Hindustan Zinc (HZL) announced a partnership on March 23, 2026, to integrate EcoZen, a low-carbon zinc solution, into steel production. Produced using renewable energy, EcoZen has a carbon footprint below 1 tonne of CO₂e per tonne of zinc—75% lower than the industry average. Tata Steel will initially deploy this "green zinc" at its Sahibabad plant for galvanizing processes, aiming to reduce Scope 3 emissions and strengthen its sustainable supply chain across the automotive and infrastructure sectors.

[China Iron Ore Brief Review: Iron Ore in Shandong May Continue to Edge Higher] This week, at mines and beneficiation plants in Shandong, the ex-mine quote for 64 grade alkaline fines on a dry basis, before tax and settled by bank acceptance, was 899, up 17 yuan/mt. Steelmakers raised prices in tandem, most miners maintained normal production, and some mines slightly increased output. Steel mills showed moderate willingness to purchase, mainly under long-term contracts, while shipments from small plants and traders were also relatively good, with overall transactions improving; after a large mine in Zaozhuang resumed production