2018-Sustainable Industrial Processing Summit
SIPS2018 Volume 1. Afonso Intl. Symp. / Iron and Steel Making
| Editors: | F. Kongoli, M.-C. Gomez-Marroquin, M. Contrucci, N. Lacerda, F. V. Cancado, M. de Souza, R. Valladares |
| Publisher: | Flogen Star OUTREACH |
| Publication Year: | 2018 |
| Pages: | 184 pages |
| ISBN: | 978-1-987820-82-9 |
| ISSN: | 2291-1227 (Metals and Materials Processing in a Clean Environment Series) |
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The Rise and Fall of the Northern Brazilian Pig Iron Production
Paulo Afonso Gomes1;1CONSULTANT, Belo Horizonte, Brazil;
Type of Paper: Plenary
Id Paper: 370
Topic: 2
Abstract:
In July of 1967, an unexpected landing of a Vale's helicopter was the cause of the discovery of the minerals in the province of Carajas. The mines of Carajas, located in the Para State, are today among the biggest iron ore deposits in the world, that contain also manganese, copper and gold minerals. In 1985, Vale made its first transportation of iron ore through the railroad of Estrada de Ferro Carajas and exported it by shipping it out from the port of Ponta da Madeira.
Aided by the incentives given by the Brazilian Government and Vale to develop this region of Brazil, many companies from Minas Gerais state came to Para and Maranhao states and started producing pig iron using mini Blast Furnaces, Vale granulated iron ore, and charcoal made out of the sawmill wood residues that were previously exported. These factors created perfect conditions for pig iron production. As a result, the installed capacity reached more than 5 million tons of pig iron per year, and the production reached its peak between 2006-2008.
Today, less than 30 years later, only one company is producing pig iron for export, while only two others are producing pig iron to use solely in their own steel plants without selling it in the market. The questions of what happened with this boom and bust, and what should be done to remedy this situation remains unanswered. Did the pig iron production using Mini Blast Furnaces that was dominant in this area became unfeasible with high Capex and Opex? Can the production of pig iron resume in a feasible way? Can this be done through a new, more feasible technology that might able to replace the mini blast furnaces with lower Capex and Opex? In the latter case, what should be done with existing Eucalyptus forests planted by the pig iron producers to produce charcoal for mini blast furnaces? And in general: what does the future look like for this region of Brazil? This paper responds to these questions and proposes some solutions which are submitted for a wider discussion.