Vietnam Starts Steel Additive Production, Striving not to Rely on Imports

Vietnam has recently started operating its first factory to produce feromangan, a key additive in steel production, in the northern mountainous region with an aim to reduce steel additive imports, Vietnam News Agency reported on October 9.

 

The US$8.1-million facility, located in Cao Bang province, is expected to produce 15,000 tons of feromangan a year, said the newspaper, noting that the facility will churn out international standard products, including mainly fero silico Magan 60-14 and fero silico magan 65-17.

 

The province is scheduled to start production of another feromangan with the same capacity in December. Local analysts expect that the country will be self sufficient in feromangan in the near future and expand for export.

 

Vietnam is now rich in metal minerals with estimated reserves at 224 million tons. In the 1995-2003 period, the country processed about 300,000-450,000 tons of mineral ores each year. However, from 2003-2004, to feed China’s growing iron mineral demand, Vietnam raised its output to roughly 1 million tons a year. (VNA)