New Steel Production Plant Comes on Stream in Yazd

A new steel production plant has become operational in Ardakan, Yazd Province, in central Iran.

The plant belongs to Chadormalu Mining & Industrial Company and was built on technological supplies and engineering know-how provided by German industrial company Tenova in cooperation with Swiss firm SMS Concast.

The order to Tenova was placed by Engineering and Commercial Services GmbH, in partnership with Parsland Mines & Industries Development Company.

The plant, fed with DRI pellets, is equipped with a 170 short-term electric arc furnace and ladle furnace provided by Tenova and a six-strand continuous caster provided by SMS Concast. It has provision for future installation of a vacuum degasser that will allow production of special steel grades for both internal use and export, Dry Bulk magazine reported.

Tenova EAF, designed to produce 1.2 million tons per year of billet from cold DRI, is equipped with a 160 MVA transformer and a chemical package with a total rated flow of 10 000 Nm3/hr.

The EAF, currently processing a mix of cold DRI and scrap, was designed to process hot DRI directly charged from the plant’s iron reduction reactor at a temperature of up to 600°C, with an estimated productivity increase of 30% against the design target.

When the hot DRI charging system will be in place, Tenova EAF is expected to be the first furnace in Iran to produce steel through this process.

Beyond the supply of technological equipment, Tenova developed for CPG an extensive plant engineering package, including overall plant process, logistics, basic engineering of auxiliary plants and equipment.

This greenfield project was developed with a strong cooperation with local subcontractors, who supplied steel structures, distribution network and auxiliary equipment following Tenova basic engineering.

Parts of the EAF and LF were also built in Iran based on Tenova's detailed engineering.