|
|
|
|
Amidst these times of financial uncertainty, we feel it’s important to use this time to strategise and adopt a forward-thinking growth mindset. For that reason, we put together a monthly package of articles in our Sassda GPD eNewsletter that provide market intelligence from both near and far because in the Age of COVID-19 information is power.
|
|
|
|
|
Six new projects will create more than 5 000 jobs in South Africa
|
|
|
|
 |
Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Nomalungelo Gina has announced that government’s Special Economic Zones (SEZ) programme has continued to prove successful with several developments expected to create more than 5000 jobs in the country. In a statement, the deputy minister said the programme has managed to attract a significant number of investors. “This has seen the value of operational investments increasing from R17.7 billion by the end of the third quarter of the 2019-2020 financial year to R19.5 billion by the end of the third quarter of 2020-2021 financial year," she reported.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Read More |
|
|
|
|
Tsingshan to Break Ground for Iron Mine & Steel Plant in Zimbabwe
|
|
|
|
 |
The world’s top producer of nickel and stainless steel Tsingshan Holdings Group Co’s local unit Afrochine will start construction on an iron ore mine, a carbon steel plant in Zimbabwe in May and fluorite and limestone production plant will also soon be set up. Zimbabwe’s Information Minister Ms Monica Mutsvangwa said “The ground-breaking ceremony for the iron ore mine and carbon steel plant is scheduled for May 2021 at Manhize in Mvuma, south of Harare.” Afrochine signed a $1-Billion agreement in June 2018 to build the plant with a capacity for 2 million tonnes of steel annually. It currently produces ferrochrome after building furnaces in 2020 and plans to construct additional furnaces in May
|
|
|
|
|
|
Read More |
|
|
|
|
Manufacturers reporting constrained supply chains
|
|
|
|
 |
Global restrictions implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19 have had a direct impact on manufacturing supply chains with constraints still evident across many manufacturing subsectors a year after the country first went into hard lockdown, according to the Q1 Absa Manufacturing Survey. It states; “Currently, a major problem globally appears to be the supply of shipping containers and vessels across routes, including to and from South Africa. Whilst manufacturers remain hopeful that this will be resolved within the quarter, the risk of successive Covid-19 waves around the globe and further lockdown restrictions is a major concern.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
Read More |
|
|
|
|
Baowu TISCO Eying 18 Million Tonne Stainless Steel Output
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
China’s second-largest stainless steelmaker Shanxi based Baowu’s Taiyuan Iron & Steel (Group), known as TISCO, will seek joint projects with local and international companies to help meet its goal of tripling production to 15 million tonnes by the end of 2023 from 4.19 million tonnes last year, rising to 18 million tonnes by end-2025. Taiyuan Chairman Mr Gao Xiangming told Reuters; “We will further communicate with domestic and international players and jointly invest in stainless steel projects under the premise of a win-win situation.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
Read More |
|
|
|
|
|
STAINLESS PRICES CONTINUE TO RISE DESPITE FALLING NICKEL COSTS
|
|
|
|
 |
With nickel prices down by almost 20% over the space of around ten days during late February and early March, one might have expected sharply lower prices of stainless steel, at least for the most common nickel-containing grades of stainless steel.
This is not the case, at least in Europe and the United States, and is due, in part, to the pricing dynamics in these regions, with stainless steelmakers passing on changes in alloy costs with a delay via the alloy surcharge mechanism.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Read More |
|
|
|
|
SOIL CORROSION TEST FOR STAINLESS STEEL WATER SUPPLY PIPES
|
|
|
|
 |
There is a significant amount of corrosion resistance data on carbon steel or cast-iron pipes used as water or gas supply pipes buried in the soil. However, for stainless steel pipes that can replace these pipes, the amount of corrosion behaviour/ resistance data in the soil is limited. To evaluate the corrosion resistance of stainless steel water supply pipes in the soils of various regions in Japan, the Japan Stainless Steel Association established the Soil Corrosion Test Committee for Stainless Steel Water Supply Pipes and has based on those findings the Nickel Institute produced an in-depth report outlining its findings
|
|
|
|
|
|
Read More |
|
|
|
|
BUILT TO LAST: STAINLESS STEEL'S CONTRIBUTION TO ARCHITECTURE
|
|
|
|
 |
During the 1930s, the American economy was prospering and there was fierce competition for the construction of the largest skyscraper in the world. The dispute between the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building was marked by huge financial contributions and changes in the project during the work to reach the highest possible height. Both utilize stainless steel and highlight this technological material, which at the time was very new. In fact, until recently, stainless steel was reserved for very exclusive applications, due to its high cost. Today, it is still considered an expensive material, but it is much more accessible in architecture and construction, whether for mechanical or aesthetic purposes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Read More |
|
|
|
|
Statue of Sir Henry Bessemer planned for Workington railway station
|
|
|
|
 |
A plan to install a statue honouring the life and achievements of a key figure in Workington’s industrial history has been revealed by the county council.
Cumbria County Council plan to put up a sculpture outside Workington railway station heralding the achievements of steel-making pioneer, Sir Henry Bessemer .
Henry Bessemer was an important figure in the steel industry, most notably as the inventor of the ‘Bessemer process’ – the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass-production of steel from molten pig iron.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
