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BY
Dr David A. Aderibigbe
i3M Power Systems Ltd Plot 1E, Ligali Ayorinde Street Victoria Island, Lagos
The major raw materials required for the Primary end of Iron making are Iron Ore and Limestone. NATIONAL IRON ORE MINING PROJECT (NIOMP)
The National Iron Ore Mining Project (NIOMP) at Itakpe is earmarked to supply the total 2.155 million tons per year iron ore requirement of the Ajaokuta Steel Project. In addition, it is contemplated that the project would also supply about 40% of the requirement of the Delta Steel Company for super-concentrate iron ore fines (grading 68% Fe) which were largely imported from Brazil. Also, contract for the provision of railway line from Ajaokuta to Warri was only executed over a portion of the over 200km distance. Thus, there is no existing provision for cost-effective bulk transportation of iron ore super-concentrate from Itakpe to Delta Steel Company. Some of the major constraints to full plant operation at NIOMP include: - Inadequacy and low availability of mining equipment, support facilities, spare parts and consumables, such as explosives. - Non-completion of the 4th beneficiation line that will produce super-concentrate for DSC.
When completed, the product mix of the plant is expected to cover the following:
Product I) Wire Rods (5.5mm - 12mm) ii) Bars (16mm - 32mm) iii) Light Section iv) Medium Section v) Billets (for sale to third parties) Tonnes (per annum) 130,000 200,000 200,000 560,000 95,000
RAW MATERIALS PREPARATION AND COKE MAKING (contd) Ajaokuta Steel Company Ltd. (contd.)
SINTER FEED The Itakpe Iron Ore Project can supply the Iron Ore Sinter feed requirement of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant especially with the commissioning of the 52km railway line between Itakpe and Ajaokuta. LIMESTONE The supply of Limestone from Jakura to Ajaokuta should also not be a problem if the 40km access road from Lokoja to the Jakura Hill is properly rehabilitated.
COKING COAL The major problem is the supply of Coking Coal to Ajaokuta. Coking Coal has not been found in Nigeria in both quality and quantity. Therefore about 1.3 million tons of coking coal required per year for the Phase 1 of Ajaokuta must be imported to produce Metallurgical grade Coke for the operation of its Blast Furnace.
RAW MATERIALS PREPARATION AND COKE MAKING (contd) Ajaokuta Steel Company Ltd. (contd.)
COKING COAL REQUIREMENT
It is important to emphasize the three basic functions of Metallurgical Coke in an Iron Blast Furnace: Fuel to provide the heat for melting; . Source of reducing agent and The provision of a permeable support bed for the charge and molten metal. The implication of these functions is that the amount of metallurgical coke required for the operations of the Blast Furnace is not dependent on the capacity utilization for iron ore sinter feed for the production of molten pig iron. Therefore, it may reasonably be seen that whether the furnace operates at 10%, 30%, 60% or 100% capacity utilization, the amount of metallurgical coke required may be about the same for all practical purposes. As a matter of fact the coke rate, which is the amount of Metallurgical Coke that is consumed per ton of liquid iron produced is a design parameter for the blast furnace. To do otherwise is to expect instability in the process metallurgy that takes place in the Blast Furnace.
RAW MATERIALS PREPARATION AND COKE MAKING (contd) Ajaokuta Steel Company Ltd. (contd.)
COKING COAL REQUIREMENT (contd.)
Also, it is important to note that coking coal blends of between 3 and 4 sources are usually combined after satisfactory pilot plant carbonization and other tests for feed in the coke oven battery to produce metallurgical coke. The storage life of coking coal is also very short with deterioration in properties common within four months of storage. On the other hand, availability of coke-oven product of metallurgical coke is very scarce in the world market. Thus, Nigeria needs a supplier that will guarantee the regular availability of quality Coking Coal in a long-term contract (10 15 years). Furthermore, both the Coke Oven Plant and the Iron Blast Furnace require continuous operations (24 hours per day) for at least five (5) years (i.e. one campaign Life of the Furnace). Any shut down within this period (as a result of unsustainable production) will result in the destruction of the two facilities. The overall consequence will be an enormous financial loss to the Nigerian government with the attendant set back in the Iron and Steel development in Ajaokuta.
RAW MATERIALS PREPARATION AND COKE MAKING (contd) Ajaokuta Steel Company Ltd. (contd.)
COKING COAL REQUIREMENT (contd.)
More importantly is the capacity of the Nigerian Government to sustain the provision of the necessary foreign exchange (every year for at least five years) to import the coking coal. Assuming that the Federal Government of Nigeria is able to identify two or more sources for the long term (10 15 years) supply of coking coal, Table 2-2 shows the sensitivity of the financial outlay for importing coking coal (alone) to the exchange rate of the Naira to the U.S. dollar.
Exchange Rate of Naira to U.S. Dollar ($) Annual Cost of importing Coking Coal for Ajaokuta (N billion)
0.60
1.0
5.0
50.0
100.0
120.0
130.0
0.117
0.195
0.975
9.750
19.500 23.400
25.350
Thus, for Nigeria to import coking coal alone for a landing cost at Ajaokuta of about U.S.$150/ton the country requires 23.400 billion Naira (at U.S.$1 = N 120.00) per year and for five (5) years, this amount is N 117.00 billion. This amount must be guaranteed by the Nigerian Government as part of the working capital of the plant( in foreign exchange) in order to have sustainable production of steel at Ajaokuta (in one campaign life of the blast furnace).
KATSINA
OSOGBO
230,000
230,000
210,000
210,000
Road Networks
Current Status and Concerns
In general, Nigeria has a reasonably good network of roads linking the major towns and cities. However, transportation of bulk steel-related materials by road may do damage to the roads and may not be the most efficient manner of moving the goods. For example, transporting 690,000 tonnes of billets per year by road from DSC to the Inland Rolling Mills requires a trailer to leave DSC every eleven (11) minutes around the clock. Of particular concern is the access road to the sites for some of the major mineral deposits that are required in the steel industry. The following access roads and concerns need to be given attention: Access Road to Jakura Limestone Deposit in Kogi state (45 km) Link Road from Osara Dolomite Deposit in Kogi state to Itakpe rail line (10km) Access Road to Onibode refractory clay deposit in Ogun state (20km)
Rail Transportation
Itakpe Ajaokuta Warri Rail Link
The status of the Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri standard gauge rail link may be summarized as follow: The 51km Itakpe Ajaokuta iron ore transfer rail line has been completed by Julius Berger, the contractor. The contract for the 270km Ajaokuta Warri rail line is under implementation. The line is expected to be extended to Warri port.
Concerns The specifications and the completion time for the Terminus facilities
within the DSC plant. The specifications and the completion time for the supply of the rolling stock. The connection and extension of the Itakpe Ajaokuta Warri rail line to the narrow gauge railway track of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC). For example:
the Ajaokuta to Oturkpo (Benue State) extension (~202km) the Itakpe to Baro (Niger State) extension (~115km)
The Delta Steel Company has two (2) electric arc furnaces (each 110 tonne capacity and each consuming about 40MW).
There is supply of natural gas to both the DSC and the Ajaokuta Steel Plants.