Four iron and steel projects receive go ahead

Four iron and steel projects receive go ahead

China’s National Development and Reform Commission approved the following iron and steel projects: 1. Benxi Steel’s upgrade and renovation of its smelting system and 2.8-million-metric ton rolling system for high-quality flat products 2. Lingyuan Iron and Steel Company’s establishment of an H-beam plant 3. Jiangsu Huaigang Iron and Steel Company’s specialty steel bar project 4. Luzhong Metallurgy Mining Group’s two-phase expansion and processing project I. Benxi Steel’s upgrade and renovation of its smelting system and 2.8-million-metric ton rolling system for high-quality flat products The main tasks of this project include: 1. Getting rid of the existing five outdated 75-square-meter sintering machines and setting up a single 360-square-meter machine 2. Maintenance work on the existing two 4.2-million–metric ton annual production capacity blast furnaces 3. Establishing a new 180-metric ton converter with equipment for secondary steelmaking processes 4. Setting up a 2.8-million-metric ton continuous cast-rolling production line for sheet After these steps are completed, the pollution caused by the sintering system will be noticeably reduced. The comprehensive energy consumption to produce one metric ton of steel will be decreased to 770 kilograms standard coal from 930 kilograms. The water circulation rate will be improved to 95 percent from 92.46 percent. The water consumption for producing one metric ton of crude steel will be decreased to 8 cubic meters from 15.89 cubic meters. The production capacity of Benxi Steel will reach 7 million metric tons. The investment for the RMB 5.9-billion ($730 million), project will be provided by company capital and bank loans. The project will be carried out in Benxi Steel’s existing plant, thus they do not need to purchase new land. II. Lingyuan Iron and Steel Company’s establishment of an H-beam plant The project aims to establish a H-beam plant with an annual production capacity of 2.03 million tons of basic pig iron (BPI), 2.09 million tons of crude steel and 2 million tons of finished products. The plant will allow Lingyuan to produce 940’000 metric tons of large-size H-beams, 674’000 metric tons of medium-size H-beams, and 386’000 metric tons of other sizes. The RMB 6.303-billion ($780 million) investment will be provided by both company capital and bank loans. After the completion of the project, the comprehensive energy consumption to produce one metric ton of steel will be 637.86 kilograms of standard coal. Water consumption will be 5.07 metric tons, and the water circulation rate will be 97 percent. Industrial refuse such as waste residue will be recycled. III. Jiangsu Huaigang Iron and Steel Company’s specialty steel bar project The aim of this project is to set up an 820’000-metric ton continuous cast-rolling billet line and an 800’000-metric ton bar products line. The RMB-1.447 billion ($180 million) investment will be provided by the company itself and bank loans. The project will be carried out at the company’s Huaigang plant, so there is no need to purchase new land. Huaigang and local governments will provide the water, electricity and gas supply. Meanwhile, Huaigang will eliminate the existing 25-square-meter circular sintering machine, two 100-cubic-meter blast furnaces and outdated production machines. IV. Two-phase iron ore project of Luzhong Metallurgy Mining Group Company The main tasks include expansion of the Xiao Guanzhuang, Zhang Jiawa and Gang Li iron ore mines. At the same time, a concentrating mill will be established. After completion of both projects, the company will be able to process three million metric tons of iron ore per year. Gang Li mine will provide 1.4 million metric tons per year, followed by Xiao Guangzhuang (1.2 million metric tons) and Zhang Jiawa (400’000 metric tons). The company will fund the RMB 457-million ($57 million) project entirely through its own capital. SteelOrbis Shanghai