MWI Bureau

The flow characteristics in the mold are determined by the condition of the jet entering the mold cavity which is again affected by the amount of gas injection. The time-averaged flow pattern gets affected by the section size, nozzle geometry, submergence depth, casting speed, electromagnetic forces, etc.

After reviewing the UK business in response to the challenging market condition and lingering reduction in demand for steel products Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty House has decided to cut 355 UK jobs across its steel making plants in Yorkshire and Wales as part of a cost-cutting drive. However, the group sees opportunities to prosper through home-grown manufacturing of steel products, investment in new metals technology and through the application of its GREENSTEEL strategy. The bulk of lay-offs, 280, will be at the Stocksbridge plant, which focuses on producing specialty steels.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave an ‘in principle’ approval for strategic disinvestment in Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL). Commenting on the decision, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said that this will be a strategic disinvestment without the transfer of management control and it would also create employment opportunities.

Steel Authority of India Ltd registered an iron ore production growth of about 5 percent in the calendar year 2019. The total production from eight iron ore mines of SAIL was 43.67 million tonnes.

The corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited and South Korean conglomerate POSCO have jointly proposed to set up a second steel plant in Vizag. Reportedly, the Ministry of Steel is in talks with the Andhra Pradesh State Government regarding the establishment of this new plant.

Hebei Province, China’s leading producer of iron and steel will continue with overcapacity cuts in 2020 amid an ongoing industrial upgrading, said Hebei Province governor Xu Qin.“The province plans to cut production capacity of iron and steel by 14 million tonnes this year.”, he added.

The recent auctions in Karnataka that witnessed mines disruptions, elevated inventory levels, and high bid premiums is likely to have an effect on the bid premiums and are expected to get higher in the upcoming mine auctions. New auction rule that is being implemented as part of the amendments in the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act may result in an escalation in price between 30-40 percent for nonintegrated steel makers.

According to the British media report, Tata Steel’s UK losses increased to GBP 371 million in 2019 and Tata Steel has warned that the steelworks must become self-sustaining or face closure. Tata Sons group chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran told, “I need to get to a situation where at least the plant [Port Talbot] is self-sustaining. Whether it is in the Netherlands or here, we can’t have a situation where India keeps funding the losses just to keep it going. If you’re not going to be performing, who is going to be interested?”.

Platts reported A new US high-vol A coking coal mine project in West Virginia, close to Arch Coal's flagship Leer mine, has found backing from Japan's Itochu Corp., as the trader joins AMCI and South Korean steelmaker Posco with plans to support coal demand in Asia.

Australian coal mining giant BHP believes that the long term demand growth of the emerging economy in India supported by the rising output could help offset the flattening demand from China feared in the 2020s. Australian exporters of metallurgical coal which are to used to make steel are increasingly looking to the rapid growth of India's steel sector to help to fill the looming demand gap and cushion the blow.