The refractory industry includes 35 independent enterprises and organizations located in 7 regions of Ukraine. These enterprises include 12 refractory plants, 4 refractory material mining companies, 2 mechanical building pilot plants producing mechanizati
UKROGNEUPOR ASSOCIATION
The refractory industry includes 35 independent enterprises and organizations located in 7 regions of Ukraine. These enterprises include 12 refractory plants, 4 refractory material mining companies, 2 mechanical building pilot plants producing mechanization units and non-standardized equipment, 10 construction and maintenance directorates, 2 scientific research institutes, 1 geological exploration team, etc.
The industry satisfies refractory demands of all the Ukrainian industrial sectors with some 75% of refractory materials being supplied to mining and metalmaking companies. The refractory industry was among the first sectors of iron & steel industry to enter the 1993-1994 Privatization Program. In 1996, the privatization of this industry was actually over. The industry’s companies have now practically no state-owned property. Various firms and organizations including foreign ones have acquired controlling interests and blocking stakes in 9 leading refractory-making enterprises that account for 80% of the total refractory output in Ukraine. Owing to imperfection of previous property assessment approaches and unleashed inflation of 1992-1994, refractory enterprises were sold for next to nothing. This state of affairs in privatization had an extremely negative impact on the industry’s health and development.
Refractory enterprises manufacture aluminosilicate products, such as silica, magnesia, unshaped products; besides, they deal with extraction of refractory and metallurgical raw materials.
At the same time, metallurgists purchase magnesia-spindle refractory materials from foreign companies at higher prices than those set for domestic refractories.
Financial situation at all refractory plants is still very complicated. In spite of this, companies make efforts on their own to improve quality of products and start making new commodities.
For instance, the press workshop of open JSC ZaporozhOgneupor has been reequipped with three Leis-Bucher presses for production of crown and ladle periclasechromite refractory materials. At present, durability of ZaporozhOgneupor products is level with foreign competitors. This company has also launched production of corundum-graphite crucibles and attempts to arrange production of electric-smelted materials, which will be applied to make refractories for continuous casting and out-of-furnace vacuum degassing of steel.
OJSC Chasov-Yarsk Refractory Works has worked out a technology for production of cement, concrete mixtures to line casting ladles, and vacuum degassers’ nipples and has manufactured test samples of these products.
OJSC Krasnoarmeysk Silica Factory has organized production of fire-free quartzite ladle refractories, non-swirl nozzles, and other zirconium-based products for foundry.
The issues of introduction of new types of refractory products and of their quality were raised several times at meetings of refractory-makers and metallurgists with participation of representatives of scientific research institutes. There have been made respective recommendations, however, they have not been introduced into production, owing to lack of funding.
Development of raw material deposits remains a serious problem. The explored deposits make up the companies’ sources of raw materials. The total mineral inventories come to 320.0 million tonnes of refractory clay, 58.1 million tonnes of secondary kaolin, 122.8 million tonnes of quartzite, and 261.8 million tonnes of molding sands.
The available mining capacities of the industrial deposits are currently enough to meet the needs of refractory and metallurgical companies. However, without an increase in stripping works and capital investments in development of the operating and exploration of new deposits, ore-mining companies will fail to provide refractory plants with raw materials in the coming years.
Due to lack of funds, development of Block No.1 quarry of Chasov-Yarsk deposit, as well as of the Southern section of Novoseletsky deposit of Vatutinsk Works has been suspended.
Absence of magnesite and chromium deposits in Ukraine forces the country into purchsing of foreign raw materials for production of magnesia refractories, while their prices keep on increasing. Ukraine also has to import magnesite powders from China, Korea, Slovakia, Turkey, Russia, and import chromium ore from Kazakhstan.
Owing to introduction of new technological processes and units in metallurgy (continuous casters, out-of-furnace vacuum degassers, and ladle furnaces), it is necessary to build new capacities for production of periclasecarbonaceous, corundum, and high-alumina products, various trixotropous substances, and concrete mixtures. These problems cannot be resolved unless investments are involved.