$1 Billion Nugget Plant To Start Production In 2013
Japan’s Kobe Steel Ltd. has been granted permission to build a $1 billion steel factory in Vietnam. The plant will use Kobe’s technology to produce nuggets from low-grade iron ore providing feedstock for electric-arc furnaces that usually use scrap steel.
It is envisaged that the plant will serve Vietnam and the rest of south-east Asia.
In a statement on Friday, Kobe said that the factory will be built in the northern province of Nghe And. Construction will begin in January 2011 with production scheduled to commence in 2013. On completion of the secondary phase of construction the plant will have a capacity of 2.4 million metric tonnes of nuggets. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Kobe will conduct a feasibility study for the project.
Iron ore for the plant will be sourced from Vietnam’s Thatch He mine which has a high zinc content and isn’t suitable for blast furnaces.
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