Global Steel Dust Gulf LLC

Project description

This summary covers equity and shareholder loan investments, as well as loan guarantees, provided for Global Steel Dust Gulf LLC in support of the establishment of a steel dust recycling facility in Saudi Arabia. The investor has applied for MIGA guarantees of up to $23.0 million for a period of up to 10 years against the risks of transfer restriction, expropriation, and war and civil disturbance.

The steel dust recycling facility will produce Waelz Zinc Oxide (WZO) and Waelz Iron Product (WIP) by recycling and using Electric Arc Furnace Flue Dust (EAFD) as main feedstock. EAFD is an environmentally hazardous waste generated during the recycling of metal scrap and direct reduced iron into secondary steel. Off-site disposal of EAFD without proper treatment or on-site storage for lengthy periods would create significant environmental issues.

The recycling of EAFD through this project will not only prevent pollution and contamination by the heavy metals contained in EAFD, but will also recover valuable metal resources (zinc in WZO and iron in WIP) from the hazardous wastes. This will be the first EAFD recycling facility in both Saudi Arabia and all of the MENA region.

Environmental Categorization

The proposed project is a category B under MIGA’s Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability. Click here to view the Environmental and Social Review Summary.

Development Impact

The proposed project is expected to have significant development impacts, notably in terms of positive long-term sustainable environmental effects derived from recycling hazardous EAFD. The project uses Waelz Kiln technology that is a best practice and an energy-efficient technology for recycling EAFD.

In addition, the proposed project will transfer new technology and build local capacity for producing WZO and WIP from the recycling of EAFD. It will also provide an example that could potentially be replicated by other countries in the MENA region, which are not currently able to utilize EAFD for production purposes in an environmentally sustainable manner. The proposed project will also establish business linkages for procurement of goods and services with local small and medium enterprises in the packaging, logistics, and maintenance industries. Besides on-the-job training, the proposed project will build partnerships with local engineering universities and offer traineeships to master’s degree students, as well as summer training programs for undergraduate students.

The proposed project is aligned with MIGA’s strategic priorities of facilitating investments that have a positive impact on energy efficiency.

Project description text modified on 2/26/2016.