Ferro Alloy Plant To Decrease 2011 Output

Posted in Industry News on 11th January 2011

The Nikopol Ferro Alloy plant (NZF) located in the Dnepropetrovsk region of Ukraine is situated close to large manganese ore deposits, and is one of the largest global ferro alloy suppliers, particularly manganese alloys.

One of the main products from NZF is ferromanganese which has a high manganese content made by heating oxides with carbon. The oxides are heated in furnaces and undergo carbothermal reduction to produce ferromanganese. It is one of the most fundamental and basic alloy additions in steel and iron production, and is used as a desulfurizer and deoxidizer. The addition of manganese to steel will improve its hardenability, shock and wear resistance. Another benefit, albeit less dramatic, will be some improvement in corrosion resistance.

The NZF plant have announced that in 2010 they produced more than 914,000mt of manganese ferro alloys and this was up 39% from the previous year. In 2011 they plan to decrease their output to 878,000mt. In 2010, NZF invested $37.6 million for the implementation of the development plan, whereas for the forthcoming year the total financing is planned at $39.4 million.

The largest producers of manganese ore in the world are Australia, Brazil, China, Gabon, Kazakhstan, South Africa and the Ukraine. Manganese also occurs abundantly on the ocean floor in the form of large nodules of metallic ores. They usually contain cobalt, nickel, copper, iron and manganese. Scientists have estimated that up to 1.5 trillion metric tons of manganese nodules may lay on the floors of the world's oceans and large lakes.

William Rowland Ltd are ferro alloy suppliers, and if you would like to find out how we can meet your requirements, please contact us using the Quick Enquiry Form on the right-hand side of this website.

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