daniel chigunwe
Freedom Mupanedemo
Midlands Bureau
IT’S all systems go at the giant $1,5 billion Dinson Iron and Steel Company (Discosteel) plant at Manhize near Mvuma following the successful switching on of its furnaces, marking the historic start of the production of pig iron, the major raw material in the production of steel.
When The Herald visited the giant plant on Thursday, the blast furnaces were running.
Officials said pig iron was the major raw material from the blast furnace which will be used for the processing of steel billets.
“On the afternoon of June 12, 2024, Discosteel’s blast furnace successfully began pig iron production.
“Today marks a monumental milestone as our cast iron machine produces its very first batch of pig iron,” said Disco on its X handle on Wednesday.
Disco spokesperson Mr Joseph Shoko said the company would soon invite the media for a press conference once the final tests were complete.
Mvuma District Administrator, Mr Jorum Chimedza, said the community was very excited about the switching on of furnaces to mark the start of production at the giant steel plant.
“It’s exciting news and we are very proud of the successes of the Second Republic as this giant project has come to reality now, its game on,” he said.
Chief operations officer at the Zimbabwe Institute of Foundries, Mr Dosman Mangisi, said the start of pig iron production at Manhize was a great milestone for resuscitating the defunct iron and steel industry in the country.
“We are excited with the news that they have started pig iron production this week.
“Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate good used by the iron industry in the production of steel and we are happy that Disco has started making the product.
“It is developed by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace,” he said.
The giant steel plant is touted to become Africa’s biggest integrated steelworks when operating at full throttle.
A subsidiary of Tsingshan Holdings Group Limited, Disco is expected to have up to 3 000 workers during the first phase of production with the workforce expected to double in the second phase.
Disco is projected to produce 600 000 tonnes of products in the first phase rising to 1,2 million tonnes in the second phase then 3,2 million tonnes in the third phase and ultimately five million tonnes per year in the final phase.
Other products that the company will eventually produce include pipes, bolts and nuts, smaller slags, rolled tubes, fences, shafts, wires, and bars.
Preliminary estimates suggest that net annual revenues are expected to hit US$10 million during the first phase and will rise to US$4,25 billion under phase four of production.
Disco has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government to undertake refurbishment and construction of a 1 000km long railway line to provide a dedicated, reliable, uninterrupted and efficient railway line to carry the company’s products for local sales and for the export routes through Mozambique.
Following the closure of once Zimbabwe’s largest integrated steel plant north of Limpopo, Zimbabwe Steel Company (Zisco) in 2008 due to financial challenges, the local industry has been heavily relying on imported steel.
The establishment of the steelworks will see the launch of a number of infrastructural projects such as road and rail networks, and a dam to provide water for domestic use, irrigation and industrial operations at the plant.
An irrigation project is also on the cards in line with the Second Republic’s thrust of stimulating production across all sectors of the economy as enshrined in the NDS1 towards an upper middle-income economy by 2030.
Online Reporter