I do n’t know Kalu Aja’s area of speciality (discipline/profession) but certainly he is not a Metallurgist, neither am I. But for the benefit of interested but gullible Nigerian populist, I crave to make the following observations/misconceptions inorder to strictly correct some technical blunders.
A) BLAST FURNACE; Yes, in laymans language it is the Steel Plant’s ‘giant cooking pot’, but it is designed, constructed & refractory lined strictly for the production of PIG IRON, also known as Molten Iron or Lquid Iron & NOT MOLTEN OR LlQUID STEEL.
B) The basic materials required for the production of the Molten iron in the Blast furnace are; Iron/Metal scraps, Iron ore & Fluxes.
C)The Coking coal is meant for the Coke oven for the purposes of generating energy to blast or power the Blast Furnace. Thus the terminology ‘Coke oven battery’, Its BF’s battery. An independant rectangular ‘honeycomb like’ structure/medium, intrernally interlocked with over 300 pcs of straight and hollow (pipes) refractory bricks configurations.
D) The products (Pig iron) of the BF are tapped in to laddle containers with a capacity of 2-5 tonnes each.and railed on a cart to the Mixer furnaces located at the Steel making shop.
E) Overhead cranes are therefore used to empty the laddles contents inside the Mixer where lime (calcined limestone) & pure oxygen (O) are super-injected to convert the Molten iron in to what will now be termed as MOLTEN STEEL,which is concasted in to INGOTS and taken to storages for cooling.The Ingots can further be converted to Billets & Billets to Steel rods, Stanchions, Beams Rail tracks etc.
F) Therefore the most suitable anology to best describe the processes of Iron making in the BF & the Steel conversions in the Mixer is ‘rice & beans porridge’ and not ‘jollof rice’, wheres; Iron/Steel scraps can be considered as the rice, Iron ores as the beans, the fluxes can take the role of ‘pinch of potash’, while the lime and oxygen added in the Mxer to complete the buffet; are the onga/salt and oil. Perfect! Is nt it?
F) It was not only unfortunate & scary that Nigerians looked over their shoulders & allowed some foreign concessioneers to stripped some parts of the plants in the past, but it was more PAINFUL to watced as hundreds of thousands tonnes of the BF raw materials (Scraps); also known as BF BURDENS located in the Sraps yards, Iron making bunkers & even Random scraps (scaps scattered all over the site) were excavated, evacuated & carted away.The implication is that, there is no more ‘rice the store’ to feed into the cooking pot.
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G)Finally, the backward Integration executed by TPE in the 1980s/90s is one of the best achievements Nigera ever attained since Independence. Without backward Intergration the entire Steel plant & the Township housing estates would nt have been feasible within the stipulated period. Why? Now listen! The concept of the backward Integration was a deliebrately designed as an intergral condition of the signed Gllobal Contract. Therefore TPE or Russian did n’t shortchange Nigeria at all!. They merely adhered strictly to Contractual Agreement/Terms.
The Benefits;
i) For the period of 5 to 6 yrs the two Rolling Mills (Light sections & Wire rod) were producing, Ajaokuta Steel Plant did n’t only fed several down streams industries within the Country, but the major Contractors on site, like Julius Berger, Dumez & Forgerolle sourced 80% of reinforcements required for the constructions of the remaining 41 units of the Plant & the housing estates from Plants own Rolling Mills. Can someone reason now? Ok, let me distill further, The backward Intergration of Ajaokuta had saved precious time & huge foreign exchange during the construction/Erection of the Ajaokuta Steel Coy.
Can you image the time loss and foreign exchange involved if all the reinforcements for such a gigantic Plant/Township housings were to be imported?
ii) Massive employment opportunities were created & huge experiences garnerd by Nigerians during the period.
iii) Locally manufactured house hold wares like buckets, headpans, electric coil cooking stoves (also known as June 12), electric coils, trays, knives etc & Agricultural equipments like corn thrashers, cutlasses/machetes etc abound everywhere for just a token.
iii)Then comes the MAJOR INTENDED BENEFIT OF PLOUGHING BACK THE PROCEEDS TO COMPLETE THE SECONDARY & PRIMARY UNITS (Steel Making & Iron Making) & Auxiallary Shops if the Productions were sustained.
Here, own goal is an advantage?. Is n’t it?
CONCLUSION; AJAOKUTA STEEL COMPANY (The ‘Supposed’ Bed Rock Of Nigeria’s Industrialization) IS STILL VERY VIABLE & CAN PRODUCE OPTIMALLY!!!!
If There Is a Will There Will Always Be a Way!
The Way Forward.
1) Get the right technically reputable Investors such as the Russians/Ukraineans.
2) Enter & sign an EXECUTABLE CONTRACTUAL PARTNERSHIP Agreement.
3) Resustate NIOMCO at Itakpe.
4) BUY OFF all the abandoned car carcasses, abound in every nooks, crannys & highways.
Pool all comatosed train wagons and wrapped tracks scatterd all over the Nations old railway stations/workshops to be used as burden in the BF.
H) Its also a MYTH to say that Blast furnace cannot be put off once powered. There are always planned & emergency maintainance schedules.The only major condition is that it Must be empty (not containing burdens) at the time of shutdown//lowering of temperature regimes.This is simply to avoid solidification of the tonnages of burdens inside the Furnace. As extrication of such is Never a Tea Party.
4)Ajaokuta Steel Coy Is Good To Go & Nigeria is set to be relaunch into Industrialisation!!!!!!
Mamman Dahiru Lawal Biu,
Refractory Expert.
O8139344022
