In the smelting of stainless steel, there are three main sources of nickel metal: nickel pig iron, pure nickel, and scrap stainless steel. According to the fluctuation of raw material prices in different periods, steel mills adopt different proportions to produce in order to maximize profits. This article will focus on the comparison of production costs of various stainless steel raw materials in the current period.
I. cost comparison between high nickel iron and nickel plate
The superiority of high nickel pig iron to pure nickel is mainly reflected in its ability to provide steel making pig iron. At present, the price of steel-making pig iron is 2,530 yuan / ton. Taking 12% grade of high nickel pig iron as an example, the current price in Jiangsu is 1,380 yuan / nickel. For high nickel iron, the value of steel pig iron donated by each nickel point is 181 yuan. That is to say, the quoted price of high nickel pig iron is higher than that of nickel plate within 181 yuan / nickel, so high nickel pig iron still has cost advantage. As far as the current situation is concerned, the spot nickel price of the Yangtze River is 12640 yuan / ton, and the price difference between the two is 116 yuan / nickel, less than 181 yuan. Therefore, for smelting stainless steel raw materials, high nickel iron is more cost advantage than nickel plate.
Two. Cost comparison between waste stainless steel and high nickel pig iron
Compared with high nickel pig iron, scrap stainless steel contains not only nickel but also chromium. The main components of waste stainless steel are as follows: nickel metal mass fraction is 8%, chromium metal mass fraction is 17%, iron mass fraction is 73%, other mass fraction is 2%. For nickel metals in scrap steel, the bidding price of scrap steel in June was 13900 yuan / ton, converted into 8% of scrap iron nickel value of 1120 yuan, scrap iron nickel price of a single nickel point is 1390 yuan / nickel, and the current 12% of high nickel pig iron in Jiangsu Province 1380 yuan / nickel price is basically the same.
Due to the lack of stainless steel scrap resources in China, high energy consumption in smelting and the bad quality of scrap, the production mode of all-scrap stainless steel is generally not adopted when the scrap price advantage is not enough to attract. According to 51bxg Industrial Research Center statistics, in the smelting of stainless steel, the proportion of scrap stainless steel raw materials reached 60% has approached the line, for the whole society, the average proportion of scrap stainless steel utilization is about 18%.
Three. Low nickel pig iron + pure nickel mode.
For low nickel pig iron and pure nickel, assuming that low nickel pig iron (1.6%) and pure nickel are equipped with the same composition of high nickel pig iron (12%), 0.8943 tons of low nickel pig iron and 0.1057 tons of pure nickel are required. At present, the price of low-grade ferronickel in Shandong market is 3400 yuan / ton, and that of spot nickel in Yangtze River is 126400 yuan / ton. Therefore, the price of 12% pig nickel iron is 16401.1 yuan, which is equivalent to 1366.8 yuan / nickel. At present, 12% of the high nickel iron price is 1380 yuan / nickel, compared with the advantage is not obvious.
Four. Medium nickel iron + pure nickel mode.
For the medium nickel iron plus pure nickel production mode, assuming the "medium nickel iron pig iron (5%) + pure nickel" mode, equipped with high nickel pig iron (12%) of the same composition, then the need for medium nickel iron 0.926 tons, pure nickel 0.074 tons. At present, the taxable price of ferronickel is 1340 yuan / nickel, and the spot price of nickel in the Yangtze River is 12640 yuan / ton. Therefore, if the ratio is used, the price of 12% ferronickel is 15557.8 yuan, equivalent to 1296.5 yuan / nickel. In contrast, the medium nickel iron + pure nickel production mode has a greater advantage over the high nickel iron production mode, with a single nickel point being 84 yuan lower.
For the above several kinds of stainless steel production raw material ratio model discussion, not only for the steelworks to control production costs have a certain guiding significance, but also through different periods, various raw material price differences, the different rate of rise and fall, to judge the trend of the following rise and fall.