en.Wedoany.com Reported - Since 2026, China Baowu Steel Group Co., Ltd. has been steadily advancing multiple key projects across Shanghai, Zhanjiang in Guangdong, Wuhan in Hubei, Ma'anshan in Anhui, and other locations in China, involving digital transformation, high-end capacity construction, and overseas expansion. On April 3, Baosteel, a subsidiary of China Baowu, globally launched and put into operation its AI Smart Blast Furnace at the Baoshan base. This project is driven by both data and artificial intelligence, integrating large model and cloud computing technologies to build an intelligent management and control system covering the entire process from raw material sintering to blast furnace ironmaking. The AI Smart Blast Furnace achievements have been applied to No. 4, No. 3, and No. 2 blast furnaces at the Baoshan base, with the core model's prediction hit rate and control adoption rate both exceeding 90%, leading to a continuous decrease in fuel consumption. A relevant person in charge at Baosteel stated: "Currently, the AI Smart Blast Furnace achievements have been successively applied to No. 4, No. 3, and No. 2 blast furnaces at the Baoshan base, yielding breakthrough results in process optimization, energy consumption reduction, quality improvement, and operational stability."

In the field of high-end metallurgical equipment, multiple projects under China Baowu have achieved substantial progress. On January 9, the No. 5 extra-thick slab continuous caster at Baosteel Zhanjiang Iron & Steel's steelmaking plant was fully completed and put into operation in Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China. With a cross-section of 2700mm, this caster can stably produce 460mm extra-thick slabs, making it the largest cross-section equipment of its kind nationwide. Upon reaching full capacity, the project will have an annual production capacity of 3.5 million tons of high-quality extra-thick slabs, used for producing high-strength structural steel such as wind power steel and bridge steel, with a localization rate of 95% for key equipment. On March 25, the Baowu JFE Silver Bright Bar production line was completed and put into operation in Shaoguan, Guangdong, China, adding an annual capacity of 50,000 tons for grinding wheel peeling. On March 25, the construction of the new No. 4 continuous caster project for Ma Steel Limited, a subsidiary of China Baowu, commenced. This caster adopts a curved, twin-strand slab continuous caster design, with a metallurgical length of approximately 40 meters and an annual capacity of up to 2.37 million tons.

China Baowu is also actively promoting overseas projects and international cooperation. By the end of 2026, the company plans to jointly build a 1.5 million tons/year green heavy plate project in Saudi Arabia, utilizing a hydrogen-based shaft furnace process. In the Western Range iron ore project in Australia, Baowu has a joint venture with Rio Tinto, holding a 46% stake, with a total investment of US$2 billion; this iron ore project has an annual capacity of 25 million tons. On the afternoon of April 9, Hu Wangming, Chairman of China Baowu, met with a visiting delegation from BHP at Baowu Tower, including CEO Mike Henry and CEO-elect Ross Bagley. The two sides conducted in-depth exchanges on the long-term stable supply of iron ore and the transformation and upgrading towards low-carbon metallurgy. On February 28, China Baowu's 2026 Overseas Work Conference was held at the Baowu (Changshu) Leadership Development Center, outlining the internationalization development direction for the "15th Five-Year Plan" period and key tasks for 2026. In 2025, the company's overseas business achieved a "threefold increase" in total overseas assets, number of overseas employees, and total overseas profits.

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