Harsco to recycle 'slag' from Austrian steel mills

Harsco to recycle 'slag' from Austrian steel mills under agreements valued at up to $100M

• On 3:42 pm EDT, Thursday October 15, 2009

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Harsco Corp. said Thursday its minerals subsidiary will recycle the metal-making byproducts of two steel mills in Austria under agreements valued at a total of up to $100 million over 10 years.

The industrial services company said Harsco Minerals will recycle the material, commonly known as "slag," at Bohler Edelstahl and Breitenfeld Edelstahl so that it will not harm the environment and can be sold commercially.

Harsco said it will assume full responsibility for recovering the slag's high-value metallic content for resale to commercial markets while generating aggregate materials for use in applications such as road construction and civil works.

It will perform the work in collaboration with Germany-based Scholz Recycling AG.

Harsco said the agreements automatically renew for successive five-year periods.

Harsco Minerals will build and operate a slag processing and metal recovery facility in Austria to handle the materials. The new facility is expected to be operational toward the end of 2010.

Shares of Harsco rose 37 cents, or 1 percent, to $36.69 in afternoon trading.