Primetals Technologies to supply new staves for blast furnace of ArcelorMittal South Africa in Newcastle

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.