Chollima Steel Complex
The Chollima Steel Complex in Chollima District, Nampho, is a metallurgical giant of the DPRK with an annual output of millions of tons of steel.
The complex has main shops including steel, alloyed steel, wire rope, rolled steel shops; ancillary shops for the supply of raw and other materials and electric power, repairs and maintenance of equipment; and an industrial laboratory.
It is furnished with such modern equipment as UHP electric arc furnace, electric furnace, blooming mill, drawing machine, machine of reeling wire rope, 10 000-ton and 6 000-ton presses, large-size oxygen plant and continuous casting machine.
It has steadily upgraded the major production lines and kept them in a good state of repair to boost the production.
It has also normalized iron and steel production on a high level by relying on the UHP electric arc furnace and adjusted the size of furnaces and the designs for the systems of machines, power supply, hydraulics and automatic control processes to suit its actual conditions. Thus, it has reduced investment and tapped its production potentials to the full.
The process for continuous casting was built and the technology of high-temperature air combustion was applied to set up a new rolling process. As a result, casting has become a continuous process, providing a favourable condition for increased steel production.
It has not only invented and manufactured an intermediate ladle heating device, square steel cutter and other equipment but also built a production base of high-quality fireproof materials which consumes less electrodes and is fully equipped with melting, crushing, shredding, moulding and calcinating processes.
A steel-making system which relies on the materials and fuel abundant in the country has been developed, and Juche iron melting and refining processes integrated, thus establishing an advanced steel production line. This system that combines all processes ranging from melting to refining is advantageous in that it saves a colossal amount of equipment and electricity, maximizes cost-effectiveness and helps boosting production radically.
The complex has developed an operating system for the 10 000-ton press to turn out with a single keystroke any kind of massive forging that weighs hundreds of tons; it adjusts the shape, pressure, precision and way of forging according to the state of workpieces.
As it has materialized the Juche-based gasification of anthracite and built a large, modern base for producing alloyed steel, it can supply sufficient alloyed steel needed in manufacturing machinery.
By relying on its solid material and technical foundations it is increasing the output of rolled steel and its range, and turning out such secondary products as steel tubes and wire ropes.
Its chrome-free bearing steel, nickel-free alternative steel, special drawn pipes, rails for narrow-gauge railway and lifts make a great contribution to developing the national economy.
It focuses on enhancing self-sufficiency in steel production, building up its internal structure and introducing latest scientific and technological achievements.