Foreword: As we all know, the most frequently searched commodity in March 2022 is nickel, and the "five consecutive breakthroughs" of nickel has shocked the global international financial market. Its industrial chain and supply and demand have attracted much attention and become a hot topic sought after by the market. . There are many varieties of nickel industry chain. The Mysteel team is deeply involved in the research of each link of the nickel industry chain and obtains the most real data information in the industry in time. Mysteel has compiled a special series entitled "Detailed Explanation of Various Species of the Nickel Industry Chain", in order to improve the Good service to the majority of Mysteel customer groups, so as to further understand the various varieties of the nickel industry chain.
This article is a comprehensive introduction to stainless steel in the middle and lower reaches of the nickel industry chain. The full text will focus on five chapters: stainless steel definition, stainless steel classification, smelting process, production capacity and distribution, and stainless steel application. Reference for people from all walks of life.
First, the definition of stainless steel
In my country's iron and steel industry, ordinary carbon steel and special steel coexist. Different from ordinary steel, special steel has higher strength and toughness, physical properties, chemical properties, biocompatibility and process properties, and has a wider range of applications. As an important branch of special steel, stainless steel has relatively more special application fields and higher performance requirements.
From the definition of stainless steel, stainless steel refers to the general term for steel with certain chemical stability in air, water, acid-base salt or other corrosive medium. The good corrosion resistance of stainless steel is due to the addition of chromium to the steel matrix, and the addition of nickel, molybdenum and other elements further improves the corrosion resistance and improves the processing performance.
2. Classification and characteristics of stainless steel
Stainless steel is often divided into: martensitic steel, ferritic steel, austenitic steel, austenitic-ferritic (duplex) stainless steel and precipitation hardening stainless steel according to the structure state. In addition, it can be divided into chromium stainless steel, chromium-nickel stainless steel and chromium-manganese-nitrogen stainless steel according to the composition.
1. Ferritic stainless steel
Generally, it contains 15% to 30% chromium. Its corrosion resistance, toughness and weldability increase with the increase of chromium content, and its resistance to chloride stress corrosion is better than other types of stainless steel. Crl7, Cr17Mo2Ti, Cr25, Cr25Mo3Ti, Cr28, etc. Because of the high chromium content, ferritic stainless steel has good corrosion resistance and oxidation resistance, but poor mechanical properties and process performance. It is mostly used for acid-resistant structures and oxidation-resistant steels with little stress. This kind of steel can resist the corrosion of the atmosphere, nitric acid and brine solution, and has the characteristics of good high temperature oxidation resistance and small thermal expansion coefficient. .
2. Austenitic stainless steel
Generally, it contains more than 18% chromium, and also contains about 8% nickel and a small amount of molybdenum, titanium, nitrogen and other elements. It has good comprehensive performance and is resistant to corrosion by various media. The commonly used grades of austenitic stainless steel are 1Cr18Ni9, 0Cr19Ni9, etc. This type of steel contains a large amount of nickel and chromium, which makes the steel in an austenitic state at room temperature. This type of steel has good plasticity, toughness, weldability, corrosion resistance and non-magnetic or weak magnetic properties. It has good corrosion resistance in oxidizing and reducing media. It is used to make acid-resistant equipment, such as corrosion-resistant containers and equipment. Linings, conveying pipes, nitric acid-resistant equipment parts, etc., can also be used as the main material of stainless steel watch accessories. Austenitic stainless steel is generally solution treated, that is, heating the steel to 1050-1150 °C, and then cooling it with water or air to obtain a single-phase austenite structure.
3. Austenitic-ferritic duplex stainless steel
It has the advantages of both austenitic and ferritic stainless steels, and has superplasticity. Austenitic and ferritic structures each account for about half of stainless steel. In the case of low carbon content, the chromium content is 18%~28%, and the nickel content is 3%~10%. Some steels also contain alloying elements such as Mo, Cu, Si, Nb, Ti, and N. This type of steel has the characteristics of both austenitic and ferritic stainless steels. Compared with ferrite, it has higher plasticity and toughness, no room temperature brittleness, and significantly improved intergranular corrosion resistance and welding performance. The 475 ℃ brittleness and high thermal conductivity of element stainless steel have the characteristics of superplasticity. Compared with austenitic stainless steel, it has high strength and significantly improved resistance to intergranular corrosion and chloride stress corrosion. Duplex stainless steel has excellent pitting corrosion resistance and is also a nickel-saving stainless steel.
4. Precipitation hardening stainless steel
The matrix is austenite or martensite, and the commonly used grades of precipitation hardening stainless steel are 04Cr13Ni8Mo2Al and so on. It is capable of hardening stainless steel by precipitation hardening, also known as age hardening.
5. Martensitic stainless steel
High strength, but poor plasticity and weldability. The commonly used grades of martensitic stainless steel are 1Cr13, 3Cr13, etc. Due to the high carbon content, it has high strength, hardness and wear resistance, but the corrosion resistance is slightly worse, and it is used for high mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. Some general parts are required, such as springs, turbine blades, hydraulic valves, etc. This type of steel is used after quenching and tempering, and needs to be annealed after forging and stamping.
3. Characteristics of China's stainless steel industry pattern
The development of my country's stainless steel industry is roughly divided into two stages. The first stage is dominated by large state-owned factories, which has created several firsts in the history of stainless steel. During this period, the stainless steel industry has achieved rapid development, and actively built stainless steel under the guidance of the state. Production base, stainless steel output has increased significantly. The second stage is the rise of private giants. Domestic private steel mills account for more than 50% of the domestic production capacity of crude stainless steel, opening a new chapter in the stainless steel industry.
On the other hand, the growth of production capacity and output must be inseparable from the change of equipment and technology. After the growth of domestic production capacity and output has gradually slowed down, more and more companies are optimistic about the raw material advantages of Indonesian nickel mines, and have gone out one after another to build ferronickel production lines and stainless steel plants in Indonesia. In summary, the pattern of my country's stainless steel industry presents the following characteristics:
With the development of China's stainless steel industry and the increasing demand, stainless steel production enterprises have also broken the pattern of two state-owned enterprises, Baosteel in the south and Taigang in the north, and a number of new private stainless steel production enterprises have emerged. Due to the flexibility of the mechanism of private enterprises and the faster innovation and development than traditional state-owned enterprises, they are more able to meet market demands and have become a force that cannot be ignored in China's stainless steel market.
The distribution of steel mills in mainstream production bases shows that in Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi, Jiangsu, Shandong, Shanxi and other places in my country, the production capacity of stainless steel is relatively concentrated, and the production capacity of steelmaking is relatively large. Private steel mills occupy half of the country.
Under the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese companies have deployed overseas
In 2013, China proposed the "One Belt, One Road" cooperation initiative. In 2014, Indonesia implemented a ban on the export of nickel ore. Under the "stimulation" of the above policies, the pace of Chinese stainless steel enterprises began to accelerate, and a large number of domestic enterprises went to Indonesia to build ferronickel plants and stainless steel. factory. As of 2021, Indonesia has built a stainless steel crude steel production capacity of 5.5 million tons. In addition, considering the potential new production capacity of stainless steel brought by the industrial chain extension of a number of nickel-iron production enterprises such as Xinxing Casting Pipe, Indonesia Jinchuan, Indonesia Yilian, Indonesia Xinhualian, and Liqin, Indonesia will be another new force for the growth of global stainless steel production in the future. .
Fourth, the main smelting process of stainless steel
At present, the smelting process for producing stainless steel is mainly divided into one-step method, two-step method and three-step method.
4.1 One-step smelting process
The early one-step stainless steel smelting process refers to the completion of scrap melting, decarburization, reduction and refining processes in an electric furnace, and the charge is smelted into stainless steel in one step. This one-step smelting production process that only uses electric furnace to smelt stainless steel is gradually eliminated due to long smelting cycle, low operation rate and high production cost. With the continuous development of the off-furnace refining process and the wide application of AOD furnaces, many stainless steel production enterprises currently use some low-phosphorus or dephosphorized molten iron to replace scrap steel, and use molten iron and alloys as raw materials to enter the AOD furnace for stainless steel smelting. New one-step smelting process.
Compared with the earlier one-step smelting process, the new one-step smelting process eliminates the smelting link of the electric furnace in the production process. Its advantages include: first, lower investment; second, lower production costs; consumption, and improve the purity of molten steel; fourth, the scrap ratio is low, which is suitable for the existing scrap market; fifth, it is especially economical for smelting 400 series stainless steel.
However, the new one-step method has certain requirements for raw material conditions and product solutions: First, the phosphorus content of the molten iron in the AOD furnace is required to be less than 0.03%, so the dephosphorization of the molten iron must be added to the smelting process; second, the alloy is used as the raw material in the new one-step method. It is added to the AOD furnace, and the excessive amount of high-carbon alloy added to the AOD furnace will affect the heat balance of the entire smelting process, and is not suitable for stainless steel varieties with complex compositions and high alloy content.
The new one-step stainless steel production process is currently widely used in the production of 400 series stainless steel. As a developing country, China lacks scrap steel resources and is extremely nickel-poor. In addition, 400 series stainless steel is widely used in daily life and industrial production. These objective conditions make the new one-step stainless steel smelting more and more popular. Many manufacturers use it.
4.2 Two-step smelting process
The two-step process route is EAF→AOD, EAF→VOD (electric arc furnace→VOD vacuum refining furnace). The production capacity of the EAF→AOD process accounts for about 70% of the world's stainless steel production capacity. The EAF furnace is mainly used to melt scrap steel and alloy raw materials to produce stainless steel pre-melt, which is then smelted into qualified stainless steel molten steel in the AOD furnace. .
In the two-step process, if the phosphorus content of the raw materials entering the electric furnace is relatively high, a link of dephosphorization of stainless steel pre-melt needs to be added between the electric furnace and the AOD furnace. The most commonly used pre-melt dephosphorization processes are converter dephosphorization and hot metal tank top spray dephosphorization. When the two-step method uses blast furnace molten iron as the main raw material for stainless steel smelting, if the blast furnace phosphorus content is high, it is also necessary to add a dephosphorization link.
The two-step stainless steel smelting process is widely used in the production of various series of stainless steel. 95% stainless steel variety.
However, the two-step method still needs to pay attention to the following three points in terms of medium consumption and variety plan: First, with the progress of the smelting process and the improvement of the operation level in recent years, the consumption of argon and other media in the two-step smelting process has been significantly reduced. However, compared with the one-step method and the three-step method, the consumption of argon and other media is still slightly larger; second, when the AOD furnace decarburizes to the end, the oxygen content in the molten steel is relatively high, and ferrosilicon must be added to reduce the oxygen in the molten steel, so the ferrosilicon consumption The third is that it cannot be used to produce ultra-low carbon and nitrogen stainless steel at present, and the gas content in the steel is relatively high.
4.3 Three-step smelting process
The basic process flow of the three-step method is: primary smelting furnace → double blowing converter/AOD furnace → vacuum refining device. The three-step method is an advanced method for smelting stainless steel, and the product quality is good, which is suitable for professional manufacturers and stainless steel production in joint iron and steel enterprises.
The three-step method of stainless steel adds a step of deep decarburization on the basis of the two-step method. The advantages of its smelting process are: first, the division of labor in each link is clear, the production rhythm is fast, and the operation is optimized; The content of oxygen and inclusions is low, and the range of products that can be produced is wide; the third is that molten iron can be used for smelting, the requirements for raw materials are not high, and the selection of raw materials is flexible.
However, the three-step stainless steel smelting process realizes the metallurgical function step by step, which will have the following impacts on the production investment: first, the process links are increased, and the investment and production costs are relatively high; second, the vacuum equipment system is complex and the maintenance amount is large.
At present, the smelting process for producing stainless steel in the world mainly adopts the two-step method and the three-step method. Among them, the two-step method of EAF+AOD or EAF+VOD is the most widely used, accounting for about 70%, and the three-step method accounts for about 20%. As low-phosphorus molten iron is widely used in stainless steel production, the new one-step stainless steel smelting process is also adopted by more and more stainless steel production enterprises. In order to adapt to the fierce competition in the stainless steel market, improve product quality and reduce production costs, various enterprises in my country choose appropriate stainless steel smelting processes according to their actual conditions.
4.4 RKEF+AOD double smelting process
Tsingshan Group took the lead in building and putting into operation the first RKEF production line in China in Dingxin, Fujian in 2010. Using the RKEF (rotary kiln + electric furnace) process to produce nickel-containing pig iron (nickel-iron) from nickel-rich and iron-rich nickel oxide ore has significant advantages over the general traditional process (sintering + electric furnace). The entire production process is fully enclosed, and its energy consumption and dust emissions are minimal. The electricity consumption per ton of iron in the production process is reduced by 1500 degrees, and the dust emission is reduced by 80%.
Tsingshan Group has opened up the production of ferronickel and stainless steel smelting process, and created a set of RKEF+AOD dual stainless steel smelting process. →Smelting →Continuous casting →Hot-rolled stainless steel strip, the nickel molten iron is directly sent to the AOD steelmaking furnace without cooling, and hot-loaded and sent twice, which changes the traditional mode of stainless steel production, saves a lot of energy, and greatly improves the The steelmaking speed of stainless steel reduces the loss of raw materials and produces great economic benefits. It has achieved a historic breakthrough in the continuous and integrated production of stainless steel, greatly reduced pollutant emissions, and reduced energy consumption per ton of steel by about 50%. This technology was awarded a national invention patent in 2014, which is the world's first.
5. Application of stainless steel
200 series stainless steel applications
Features: It has the characteristics of acid resistance, alkali resistance, high density, no bubbles and no pinholes in polishing.
Uses: Mainly used for decorative pipes, industrial pipes and some shallow stretched products.
300 series stainless steel applications
Characteristics: As one of the most widely used steel grades, it has good corrosion resistance, heat resistance, low temperature strength and mechanical properties. Good hot workability such as stamping and bending, no heat treatment hardening phenomenon (non-magnetic, operating temperature -196℃~800℃)
Uses: Mainly used for home appliances, tableware, kitchenware, water heaters, boilers, food machinery, etc.; currently in the field of stainless steel decorative welded pipe manufacturing in Guangdong Province, it has also been widely used, such as Haili, Great Wall, Yuehua, Xingzhongcheng, Jian Yuan, Baocheng, Wanjiahong, Lion King, Hongguan, Yunsheng, Minggao and many other member companies of Guangdong Stainless Steel Materials and Products Association are 304 stainless steel products.
400 series stainless steel applications
Characteristics: As a representative steel grade of ferritic steel, it has low thermal expansion rate, excellent formability and oxidation resistance.
Uses: Mainly used for heat-resistant appliances, burners, home appliances, Class 2 tableware, kitchen sinks, exterior decoration materials, bolts, nuts, CD rods, screens, etc.
DMCI Mining Corporation (DMCI Mining) contributed P499 million in core earnings in the first quarter, up 20 percent from P415 million in 2021, despite zero production at its subsidiary Berong Mine. Mainly the following factors have contributed to the growth of its benefits:
1) Shipment volume increased. BNC's ample nickel inventory of 332,510 MWt and ZDMC's higher production translated into higher total shipments, resulting in a 26% increase in total shipments in the first quarter from 494,000 MWt to 620,000 MWt. Most of this (59%) came from ZDMC, whose shipments surged from 259,000 wet tons to 365,000 wet tons, an increase of 41%. Shipments of BNC increased by 9%, from 235,000 wet tons to 255,000 wet tons.
2) Favorable exchange rate. The Philippine peso fell 6 percent against the U.S. dollar from 48 to 51 to the dollar, boosting earnings for Philippine exporters.
3) The price of medium grade is increased. The global nickel supply shock pushed up the selling price of medium-grade nickel from $53/wet tonne to $72/wet tonne, an increase of 34%. At the same time, the selling price of lower-grade nickel fell by 10%, from $39/wet tonne to $35/wet tonne. No high-grade nickel (above 1.80%) was sold in the first quarter.
Additionally, DMCI reported the following:
1) Weak production. Nickel mine production plummeted from 555,000wt to 318,000wt, a drop of 43%, due to the depletion of the Berong mine in the fourth quarter of 2021. Production at ZDMC increased by 5%, from 303,000 wet tons to 318,000 wet tons.
2) Sold lower grades of ASP and nickel. The average nickel grade sold fell from 1.37% to 1.30% due to a 13% drop in BNC's sales nickel grade from 1.42% to 1.24%. Nickel grades sold by ZDMC were unchanged at 1.33%. As a result, the average selling price decreased by 6%, from $47/wet ton to $44/wet ton.
3) Inventory drops. Total nickel mine inventories fell 72% from 543,000 wet tons to 154,000 wet tons due to lower production and higher shipments.
4) Higher operating expenses and non-cash items. Operating expenses grew more than revenue due to higher fuel costs, marketing expenses, excise taxes and royalties. The former surged from PHP 193 million to PHP 263 million, an increase of 36%, while the latter rose from PHP 1.14 billion to PHP 1.42 billion, an increase of 25%. Non-cash items rose 65 percent from PHP 113 million to PHP 186 million due to higher shipments and depreciation of new equipment acquired last year.
5) Higher debt and cash levels. The company used the PHP300 million additional debt to refinance the previous loan at a lower interest rate. As a result, the debt level increased by 75%, from PHP 400 million to PHP 700 million, while the cash balance increased by 70%, from PHP 800 million to PHP 1.4 billion.
According to data released by the State General Administration of Customs (STS), the import volume of nickel ore and concentrate in Ukraine from January to April 2022 decreased by 22.9% year-on-year to 285,900 wet tons; in currency terms, the import value of nickel ore fell by 24.1% to 1307.2 Ten thousand U.S. dollars. Its ore is mainly imported from Guatemala (100% of deliveries are denominated in currency).
According to reports, compared with 2020, Ukraine's nickel ore and concentrate imports in 2021 decreased by 20.6% to 1.236 million wet tons. In currency terms, the value of nickel ore imports fell 22.2% to $58.929 million.
Pobuzhsky Ferronickel Plant (PFP, Kirovohrad region, part of Solway Group) imports nickel ore into Ukraine. PFP processes approximately 1.2 million wet tons of ore per year.
Horizonte Minerals has begun construction of its Araguaia nickel mine in northern Brazil, which will produce 29,000 tonnes of battery metal a year, mainly for the stainless steel market.
The project, which will take about two years to complete, will initially produce 14,500 tonnes of nickel per year. Construction includes an open pit and a processing plant that is expected to produce ferronickel within 28 years.
Araguaia is considered a key project in the diversification of Brazil's mining industry, which is centered on iron ore.
Horizonte is also advancing a feasibility study for the Vermelho nickel-cobalt project, also in the state of Pará. Vermelho expects to produce about 15,000 tonnes of nickel and 6,000 tonnes of cobalt annually in the first phase.
Over the 38-year mine life, Vermelho's capacity could increase to 24,000 tonnes of nickel per year.
Brazil, with estimated nickel reserves of 16 million tonnes, is currently the world's eighth-largest nickel producer, with production of 100,000 tonnes in 2021.
Global nickel use surged 16.2% last year, driven by soaring demand from stainless steel and battery end-use industries. The result is a nickel supply shortfall of 168,000 tonnes, the largest production shortfall in at least a decade, according to the latest statistics on the market from the International Nickel Research Organization.
Silkroad Nickel Ltd. is planning to build a nickel processing and refining (smelting) industry in the Palu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is estimated that the smelter needs to supply 3 million wet metric tons of nickel ore per year, which will be processed into 280,000 tons of ferronickel products per year.
Silkroad Nickel Ltd. plans to use Rotary Kiln Electric Furnace (RKEF) technology to build a nickel smelter with a capacity of 4 x 36 MVA for the first phase of the 100-hectare smelter project in Palu Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Central Sulawesi .
Silkroad Nickel Ltd. has also successfully completed an integrated exploration drilling program at the mine, aimed at updating the resource base.
Silkroad Nickel Ltd. said that with the construction of the 4 x 36 MVA smelter, it can support the government's desire to meet domestic market demand as well as future demand in the international market. The Phase II smelter project will continue to reach 8 x 36 MVA. The Silkroad Nickel Ltd. smelter construction project will add about $300 million to the value of the investment in Indonesia.
At present, Silkroad Nickel Ltd. has reached an agreement with the Central Sulawesi Provincial Government and the Palu Municipal Government on the construction of the smelter. These relate to regional companies, cooperatives, MSMEs and empowerment programmes that employ local workers.
Silkroad Nickel Ltd. is a holding company with several nickel mining subsidiaries.
According to the Bureau of Mines and Geosciences (MGB), the value of Philippine metal mine production jumped 36.21% to P48.61 billion in the first quarter of 2022 from P35.69 billion in the same period of 2021.
Rising metal prices and higher production of gold, silver and copper were the main drivers of growth during the period, MGB said.
The MGB report showed that gold accounted for the largest share of total output value at 22.24 billion pesos, accounting for 45.74%; followed by direct transportation of nickel ore and its nickel products, mixed nickel-cobalt sulfide and scandium oxalate with a total output value of 19.27 billion Peso, accounting for 39.64%. Copper followed with 6.31 billion pesos, or 12.98 percent; while silver, chromite and iron ore combined contributed 800 million pesos or 1.64 percent.
In terms of production, all metals production rose, with gold up 15% to 7,137 kg from 6,214 kg; silver up 126% to 12,673 kg from 5,603 kg; copper up 47% to 64,841 dry tons from 44,050 dry tons; chromite 282% to 18,036 dry tons from 4,720 dry tons; iron ore up 177% to 44,133 dry tons from 15,898 dry tons.
Direct shipping of nickel ore was the only production cut during the period, down 9% to 3.7 million dry tons from 4.08 million dry tons in 2021. The average price of nickel over the same period surged 59% to $28,089.77 a tonne from $17,625.46 a tonne; copper rose 18% to $9,986.01 a tonne from $8,478.58 a tonne; and gold rose more than 4% to a troy ounce from $1,801.86 a troy ounce An ounce of $1874.91.
MGB said it currently plans to sustain the development of the mining industry by developing an 18-year roadmap aimed at: increasing investor confidence in the mining industry from 2022 to 2024; expanding domestic ore production from 2023 to 2030 and mineral assets, to move the domestic industry towards the global mineral market in the field of semi-finished and fully processed mineral products from 2026 to 2040.
1. Technical characteristics of cold-rolled stainless steel industry
(1) High-end production equipment. Stainless steel is a kind of high alloy steel with high rolling deformation resistance and high degree of work hardening, which is 2-3 times that of ordinary carbon steel. Therefore, in order to ensure the high precision and high efficiency of rolling, a rolling mill with high rigidity is required. In addition, the equipment of the entire cold rolling production line is complex, and the high-precision equipment in the unit accounts for a large proportion, involving various aspects such as electromechanical and instrument automation.
(2) The production process is complicated. The production process of cold-rolled stainless steel strip includes raw material quality inspection and welding lead of the preparation unit, multi-pass rolling of the cold-rolling unit, pickling annealing or bright annealing, strip cleaning, leveling or straightening, frosting, anti-fingerprint treatment , Rolling, slitting or cross-cutting, packaging, warehousing and other processes, any problems in any process will seriously affect the quality of the final product.
(3) Strict quality requirements. The continuous expansion of stainless steel application fields and the industrial upgrading of downstream application industries have put forward higher and higher requirements on the quality of stainless steel, not only requiring further reduction of thickness specifications, but also requiring more optimization of dimensional accuracy, flatness and surface quality. Therefore, the requirements for total quality control of the cold rolling production process are becoming more and more stringent.
(4) High management level requirements. The production of cold-rolled stainless steel plate and strip is a multi-unit joint operation. The production process is complex, and the process balance and management are very important. A good production organization and management ability is the fundamental guarantee for improving the production level and product quality.
2. Technical level of cold-rolled stainless steel industry
Although my country's cold-rolled stainless steel industry has a short development time, it has developed rapidly in the past ten years. With the rising market demand for high-end cold-rolled products, many traditional and backward four-high, six-high, eight-high and other rolling mill equipment and processes have been gradually eliminated. Among the newly added cold rolling capacity of stainless steel production enterprises in my country in recent years, the introduction and production of many high-end unit equipment such as 20-high single rolling mill or continuous rolling mill has improved the technology and equipment level of my country's cold-rolled stainless steel industry as a whole. .
In recent years, with the continuous adjustment of the global stainless steel industry structure, the new capacity of the global cold-rolled stainless steel plate and strip is mainly concentrated in China. Overall, my country's technology and equipment in the cold-rolled stainless steel industry have been at the world's advanced level.
Guangdong Yongjin 350,000-ton wide-width precision stainless steel strip technical transformation project
The Guangdong Provincial Energy Bureau recently announced that the main technical standards and construction plans adopted by Guangdong Yongjin Metal Technology Co., Ltd. for the annual processing of 350,000 tons of wide precision stainless steel plates and strips meet the requirements of relevant national energy-saving regulations and energy-saving policies. Project energy saving report. The project is designed to produce 350,000 tons of 300 series 2B precision stainless steel strips per year.
TISCO: The acquisition of Xinhai Industrial shares passed the anti-monopoly review
TISCO Stainless announced that on June 2, 2022, the company received the “Decision on No Further Review of the Anti-monopoly Review on Concentration of Business Operators” issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation (Anti-Zheng Second Review Decision [2022] No. 332), The specific content is "According to the provisions of Article 25 of the "Anti-Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China", after preliminary examination, it is hereby decided that no further examination shall be carried out on the case of Shanxi Taigang Stainless Steel Co., Ltd.'s acquisition of the equity of Shandong Xinhai Industrial Co., Ltd. The company can implement concentration from now on. This case involves other matters other than the anti-monopoly review of the concentration of business operators, and it will be handled in accordance with relevant laws.”
Walsin Lihwa expands global presence in stainless steel
On May 31, the board of directors of Walsin Lihwa Co., Ltd. decided to acquire a 70% stake in European stainless steel bars and Panyuan steel mill Cogne Acciai Speciali (hereinafter referred to as CAS) from the Italian Marzorati family for 225 million euros, combining the product, technology and market advantages of both parties. , become a global stainless steel enterprise, and is expected to complete the merger and acquisition process by the end of 2022.
Baosteel Co., Ltd. plans to achieve 80 million tons in the first step and 100 million tons in the second step in the future
Recently, Baosteel replied on the investor platform that the absorption and merger of Wuhan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. has achieved remarkable results! Through the successful experience of Baowu integration, the company is confident and looking forward to the benefits of future mergers and acquisitions. To further develop and expand, realize the production capacity plan of 80 million tons in the first step and 100 million tons in the second step.
Indonesia seeks to complete 53 30 nickel smelters by 2024
The Indonesian government aims to complete the construction of 53 smelters by 2024. As many as 21 smelters were operating in Indonesia by the end of 2021. These nickel smelters are being built to provide added value to nickel mines after the government introduced a policy to ban the export of mineral raw materials, starting from 2020. To support this policy, the government aims to build 53 smelters, including 30 nickel smelters, by 2024.
The first phase of the Indonesian CNI ferronickel project jointly contracted by China ENFI officially started
From June 1st to June 7th, the first phase of the Indonesian CNI ferronickel project, which was jointly contracted by China ENFI and PT PP, a large-scale engineering construction enterprise in Indonesia, held a kick-off meeting, marking the official start of the first phase of the project. After the project is fully completed, it will process 3.78 million tons of dry base ore and produce ferronickel with a grade of 22%, equivalent to an annual output of 55,600 tons of nickel metal.
Huayou Cobalt stated on the investor interaction platform that the planned construction of the 120,000-ton (nickel metal content) nickel-cobalt hydroxide wet process project has now fully started construction, and it is expected to be ready for the first half of 2023.
Huafei Nickel-Cobalt Project is located in Weidabe Industrial Park, North Maluku Province, Indonesia. It is the second hydrometallurgical smelting project undertaken by China 20th Metallurgical Company in Indonesia after the Huayue Project. It is a perfect integration of Indonesian resources and Chinese technology. . The project adopts the most advanced high-pressure acid leaching process in the world today, that is, the nickel-cobalt hydroxide is extracted from laterite ore, which has multiple advantages such as low cost and green environmental protection. It will have an epoch-making impact on the global nickel production industry pattern and nickel consumption field.
Recently, Dow Technology said in an investigation by an agency that the company is currently planning to build a laterite nickel ore project with an annual output of 20,000 tons of nickel metal and a high nickel matte project in the Indonesian base.
Previously, Dow Technology stated that Indonesia is one of the countries with the most abundant laterite nickel ore resources in the world. The ultimate purpose of the company's establishment of PT.JIANAENERGY in Indonesia is to provide a reliable nickel resource guarantee for the development of the company's lithium battery material business, and to open up and further optimize it. The company's raw material supply, thereby reducing the raw material cost of the company's high-nickel ternary precursor products, and enhancing the company's core competitiveness. In the follow-up, the company will choose an opportunity to build a nickel resource smelting project in Indonesia. This measure will help the company to build a complete new energy material industry chain, which is in line with the company's development strategy.
