Kobelco finds a new home

January 17, 2011 | 18:00

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The billion-dollar steel facility development, Kobelco Iron Nugget Vietnam is set to relocate to a more convenient base .

The agreement signed by Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai will allow the leading Japanese steel maker Kobe Steel to move its project from Hoang Mai Industrial Park to Dong Hoi Industrial Park in central Nghe An province’s Quynh Luu district.

On March 31, 2010, Kobe Steel received an investment certificate to develop the steel facility, which would produce and market 2.4 million tonnes of iron nuggets per year. Kobe Steel also said production at this plant would use the next-generation ITmk3® iron-making process that it developed.

One month later, Kobe Steel signed a $44 million contract with Petro Vietnam V.I.P Investment Joint Stock Company (PVCOM) to rent 40 hectares of land in Hoang Mai Industrial Park and planned to start building its facility in July, 2010.

Kobe Steel said it would use iron ore from the Thach Khe mine for its facility. However, the company said Thach Khe’s iron ore also contained a lot of zinc, which makes it difficult to use in blast furnaces.

The ITmk3® Process will enable Vietnam to make effective use of its mineral resources, and the use of relatively inexpensive raw materials will help improve the profitability of the project, said Kobe Steel.

By Song Ngoc

vir.com.vn

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