In today's [SMM Analysis] India's Vraj Iron & Steel Ltd has approved the first phase of a 450 crore rupees ($52 million) greenfield integrated steel project in the eastern state of Chhattisgarh, adding 201,000 tonnes per year (tpy) each of sponge iron and mild steel billets. The company expects the first phase to be commissioned within 30 months of the groundbreaking ceremony.

Every major aluminum player made a rational bet in H1 2026, Indonesia's smelter wave, the US's Inola project, India's Adani-IHC deal, Alcoa's South32 buy, the Gulf's post-strike rebuild, none of it needing the Middle East war to justify itself, though the war's price spike (LME to $3,546, premiums to multi-year highs) accelerated all of it at once.

The Board of Directors of VMS TMT Limited has approved a Scheme of Amalgamation to merge Aditya Ultra Steel Limited into the company, subject to necessary statutory and regulatory approvals. Both Gujarat-based manufacturers produce premium-quality thermo-mechanically treated (TMT) steel bars within the Kamdhenu brand ecosystem. This proposed amalgamation will combine their businesses into a single listed entity, forming a larger steel manufacturing enterprise with expanded scale and integrated operations.

Indian rebar producer VMS TMT has approved a merger with Aditya Ultra Steel to build a more integrated manufacturing base and improve operational efficiency. The deal remains subject to statutory approval. The merged entity will consolidate its Gujarat operations and “Kamdhenu”-branded rebar ecosystem, with combined annual capacity of around 300,000 tonnes and a dealer network of about 300, supporting procurement, production, logistics and distribution synergies.

Legacy Minerals has commenced ground geophysical surveys at its Battery and Mascotte prospects within the Mt Carrington Project in New South Wales, Australia. Fender Geophysics has begun a dipole-dipole induced polarization (DDIP) survey across six priority lines, aimed at identifying extensions to high-grade gold-silver zones at Mascotte and locating potential higher-grade copper mineralization at Battery. The project boasts significant polymetallic potential; in previous drilling campaigns, drill-hole MSDD003 returned a high-grade intercept of 18.7% lead, 8.7% zinc, and 43g/t silver over a 1-meter interval. Data from this three-week geophysical program will be integrated with ongoing surface sampling and mapping to refine geological models. Concurrently, work is underway towards a new 2026 mineral resource estimate to inform an upcoming scoping study, with follow-up drilling at Mascotte scheduled to commence shortly after the geophysical analysis is complete.

At 4:15 PM on June 8, 2026, a ladle explosion at the SMS-1 steelmaking shop of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) — operated by Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) — unleashed molten metal at over 1,500°C onto the working platform below Caster-2. According to a preliminary report by India's Chief Inspector of Factories, the cause was a sudden release of gas entrapped within the liquid steel, which ruptured the ladle seal before the sliding gate was opened, triggering a catastrophic spill.