• Anti-bending technology will be installed
• Results in reliable, predictable production for the full campaign life of the blast furnace

ArcelorMittal South Africa has placed an order with Primetals Technologies to supply cast-iron staves for the blast furnace at the company´s Newcastle, KwaZulu Natal works. The new staves incorporate several key features like the well-proven fixing system which eliminates bolt pull-out, a common cause of over-stressing of the cooling pipes leading to failure and coolant leakage into the furnace, as well as a variation of the patented and established anti-bending solution. This eliminates premature failure of the staves by preventing of corner deformation due to thermal effects. The design will result in a reliable, predictable production for the full campaign life of the blast furnace. Equipment will be ready to be shipped to the Newcastle site by mid-September 2021. ArcelorMittal South Africa are planning to install the staves in the second quarter of 2022.

The Newcastle Works, located in the northern part of South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal Province, is the country’s foremost supplier of profile products. The single blast-furnace-based plant has the capacity to produce 1.8 million metric tons per annum. The profile products produced include low and medium-carbon commercial grades, low-carbon rimming steel substitutes, Sulphur containing free-cutting steels, micro-alloyed steels, high-carbon wire-rod steels and low, medium and high-alloy steels. Primetals Technologies previously supplied copper staves to ArcelorMittal South Africa’s Vanderbijlpark Works.

Primetals Technologies´ scope includes the engineering and supply of 5 full rows of cast-iron staves including refractory inserts, fixtures and fittings. ArcelorMittal South Africa is responsible for installing the staves.