VietNamNet Bridge - Zincox Resources Plc from the UK plans to spend $115 million to build a plant to treat the dust produced by electric arc furnaces from the steel mills in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. 

 

The investment license for the dust treatment plant with the capacity of 100,000 tons per annum was granted to the investor February 16.

A representative of the company said the Phu My Industrial Zones in Ba Ria-Vung Tau is the ideal place for the British investor to set up dust treatment plant, because this is the area where the steel industry develops. The steel mills churn out the output amounting to 2/3 of total capacity, while some new projects of Posco-Vina and Vina-Kyoei would run at full capacity in the time to come.

Zincox Resources Plc believes that its dust processing technology is suitable to the current conditions. The steel mills in Phu My Industrial Zones (Phu My 1, 2 and 3) still don’t have the solutions to the treatment of dust from electric arc furnace to harmonize steel production development and environmental protection.

There are seven steel mills in operation in Ba Ria-Vung Tau with the capacity of 5 million tons of ingot steel a year.

Like the other dust processing plants in the world, the plant to be run by Zincox Resources Plc in Ba Ria-Vung Tau will put out zinc oxide with high purity which can be used in the rubber and ceramics industries.

The representative said it would take the investor several months to negotiate with the steel mills in the area on the supply of arc furnace’s dust, make the report on the possible impact on the environment, and consider solutions to arrange capital for the project.

The investor committed to provide to steel mills the services of treating and processing dust, thus allowing the mills operate with no waste. It will also provide zinc oxide, the input material for the rubber and tyre industry.

A steel expert noted that the dust from steel mills now cannot be processed.

In principle, steel is galvanized to prevent rust, and once scrap steel is melted, the process will produce zinc oxide in the dust.

Zinc oxide is the waste of the steel industry, but it can be the input material for the rubber and porcelain industry. It is estimated that every tyre product contains 2-5 percent of zinc oxide.

There are seven steel mills in operation in Ba Ria-Vung Tau with the capacity of 5 million tons of ingot steel a year.

Environmental experts said that when churning out millions of tons of steel, the steel mills in the province produce about 800 tons of furnace dust and waste. 

Besides the toxic substances such as arsenic, lead and cadmium, the furnace dust also contains 30 percent of zinc.


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