STORY: Chinese firm starts production of pig iron in Zimbabwe
SHOOTING TIME: June 20, 2024
DATELINE: June 23, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:21
LOCATION: MANHIZE, Zimbabwe
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the production plant
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): WINSTON CHITANDO, Zimbabwe's Minister of Mines and Mining Development
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): WILFRED MOTSI, Project director
4. various of pig iron products

STORYLINE:

The Dinson Iron and Steel Company (DISCO), a subsidiary of the private company Tsingshan Holding Group in east China's Zhejiang Province, has started production of pig iron in Manhize, a town in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe, marking a milestone in the revival of the country's iron and steel industry.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): WINSTON CHITANDO, Zimbabwe's Minister of Mines and Mining Development
"This really is a very joyous occasion to see the first stage of production of iron from Manhize.
Zimbabwe and China have got long-standing political relationships, and here we now have economic relationships cementing that political relationship."

Chitando said DISCO is expected to produce 600,000 metric tons of carbon steel in the first phase of the project, rising to 1.2 million, then 3.2 million, and ultimately 5 million metric tons per year in the final phase.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): WILFRED MOTSI, Project director
"We are going back to our glory days when Zimbabwe was known as one of the industrial hubs in southern Africa because of the opening of the steel industry.
We are no longer talking about the steel industry being dead in Zimbabwe. Yes, there were some players, but (they) were producing at a small scale, but our coming in means that we have revived the iron and steel industry in Zimbabwe."

Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is the direct product of the blast furnace and yields steel, wrought iron, or high-purity iron when refined.

The production of pig iron, which commenced last week, sets the stage for steel billet production, which is expected to begin next month.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Manhize, Zimbabwe.
(XHTV)