-(220-x-200-px)-(130-x-130-px)-(220-x-200-px).jpg?lang=en-US&ext=.jpg)
Veolia.gif?width=200&height=200&mediaprotectionhash=4deca34a0d5a00013b5a0ccdc2dcf98fd2c17aabb57eb7bbb27200552f29c247&ext=.gif)
ArcelorMittal South Africa’s Newcastle Works Completes Blast Furnace Reline
07/25/2008 - ArcelorMittal South Africa has completed the reline of its Newcastle Works blast furnace and sinter plant ahead of plan and within budget, at an approximate cost of R300 million.
ArcelorMittal South Africa has completed the reline of its Newcastle Works blast furnace and sinter plant ahead of plan and within budget, at an approximate cost of R300 million. The steel plant, certain mills and the water treatment plant were also refurbished during the reline.
The sinter plant and blast furnace projects were successfully completed within 42 and 44 days, respectively. The company had initially allocated 50 days to each project.
Repair work on the blast furnace included a partial repair of the carbon refractory in the furnace’s hearth, and replacement of the water-cooled staves, together with repairs to the steel sidewalls higher up in the furnace. The gas scrubbing plant and the hot blast stoves were also refurbished.
The reline was an in-kind reline, with no additional capacity created. However, an increase in tonnage is expected due to the removal of production-limiting factors such as hearth hot spots and shell cracks. ArcelorMittal South Africa aims to produce 5132 tonnes/day by the fourth quarter of 2008, up from the pre-reline level of 4660 tonnes/day. New oxygen-enrichment capacity to blast air coming online at Air Products by year-end will help to further increase tonnage to 5440 tonnes/day. The previous blast furnace campaign had produced almost 25 million tonnes of hot molten iron over the past 14 years.
Refurbishment of the sinter plant included repairs to the main sinter ducting, bulkheads, bellows, elbows, cuff and stubs, and replacement of the support under the main ducting. These supports had been in operation since 1975. On the raw material handling plant, repair work was done on the tipplers, stacker and drum and stacker reclaimers. All the electrical equipment had also been replaced on the plant. These repairs will extend Sinter Plant operations until the planned 2011 expansion project (estimated at R10 billion) commences. The company last upgraded the sinter plant in 1993.
The sinter plant and blast furnace projects were successfully completed within 42 and 44 days, respectively. The company had initially allocated 50 days to each project.
Repair work on the blast furnace included a partial repair of the carbon refractory in the furnace’s hearth, and replacement of the water-cooled staves, together with repairs to the steel sidewalls higher up in the furnace. The gas scrubbing plant and the hot blast stoves were also refurbished.
The reline was an in-kind reline, with no additional capacity created. However, an increase in tonnage is expected due to the removal of production-limiting factors such as hearth hot spots and shell cracks. ArcelorMittal South Africa aims to produce 5132 tonnes/day by the fourth quarter of 2008, up from the pre-reline level of 4660 tonnes/day. New oxygen-enrichment capacity to blast air coming online at Air Products by year-end will help to further increase tonnage to 5440 tonnes/day. The previous blast furnace campaign had produced almost 25 million tonnes of hot molten iron over the past 14 years.
Refurbishment of the sinter plant included repairs to the main sinter ducting, bulkheads, bellows, elbows, cuff and stubs, and replacement of the support under the main ducting. These supports had been in operation since 1975. On the raw material handling plant, repair work was done on the tipplers, stacker and drum and stacker reclaimers. All the electrical equipment had also been replaced on the plant. These repairs will extend Sinter Plant operations until the planned 2011 expansion project (estimated at R10 billion) commences. The company last upgraded the sinter plant in 1993.
The refurbishment project was led by ArcelorMittal South Africa’s Newcastle project team, which supervised various sub-contractors and artisans from South Africa, Germany, Portugal, the Philippines, Zimbabwe and Holland. A total of 1292 contractors were recruited to reline the Newcastle N5 Blast Furnace.
The company said the reline was characterized by excellent safety achievements, with only 2 lost-time injuries and 7 minor injuries affecting both permanent staff and contractors, earmarking a remarkable achievement.
“The Newcastle Works management team truly appreciates the dedicated efforts of our employees and contractors,” said Jaco Stapelberg, General Manager of the Newcastle Works, commenting on the reline project. “Their commitment transformed the N5 blast furnace into a masterpiece. It is clearly one of our proudest achievements.
“The relined blast furnace allowed us to demonstrate our corporate values—we have shown great leadership by pooling global skills and resources to complete the project ahead of schedule, raised the quality of the furnace so that we can produce more efficiently and secured jobs by ensuring the plant’s sustainability,” concluded Stapelberg.
