The origin and development of Panzhihua construction
Gaoyangwen
Panzhihua Iron and Steel Company is a key project for the construction of the third line of the Southwest from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s in my country. Now Panzhihua Market, formed with this company as the main body, is like the heroic flowers standing on the Panzhihua tree standing in the mountains and by the road, emitting dazzling brilliance and converging with the steel flowers, reflecting the Jinsha River, reflecting the red of the hills, and reflecting a corner of the southwest sky of our country.
The achievements in Panzhihua’s construction, production and scientific research are the pride of the people of Panzhihua, the pride of the people of Sichuan and Yunnan, and the pride of the Chinese people. Its glorious achievements have surpassed national boundaries and attracted the attention of foreign friends.
I was thinking hard about what words to use to summarize Panzhihua’s new image. Suddenly, I remembered the story of “the finishing touch” in a speech in Panzhihua in 1973, comparing the Panzhihua Iron and Steel Plant to a one-stop, hoping that this dragon can take off quickly. More than ten years have passed, and Panzhihua has become a golden dragon, soaring from the Jinsha River. I was born in the old society. When I was a child, every household burned incense and paper on the street, then took off their clothes and slapped them into the air, hoping to make a "money dragon" and sprinkle a bunch of " ocean " (silver coins). This is of course a superstition of poor children, and they talk about masturbating. Now Panzhihua is indeed a "money dragon", and it is scattering a "ocean" every moment; many ordinary people who were unable to feed or wear clothes in remote areas in the past have become rich and live a happy life.
I have the honor to contribute a little to the development and construction of Panzhihua, and have visited this magical and rich place many times. In 1958, I participated in the preliminary preparations for the development of Panzhihua. In the turbulent era of the "Cultural Revolution", I was wearing the hat of "supervising labor and continuing to review". In 1973, I was sent to Panzhihua to investigate the technology and research the new process, and worked hard with the comrades on the scene. From 1977 to 1979, I participated in the second phase construction planning of Pangang and the site selection of the second base many times. I have also been criticized by the "Gang of Four" and the rebels of the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry for participating in the production and construction of Panzhihua. When I was criticized, although the slogans were shouted loudly and the sewage was poured a lot, I did not feel sad or wronged, but felt proud. I despised the gang and did not bow to them. Although I did not participate in the entire process of Panzhihua construction, I think I still have a better understanding of Panzhihua’s mountains and rivers, the factories and workshops of Panzhihua, and the heroic spirit of Panzhihua people. I know that every achievement of Panzhihua is created by ambition and wisdom, by conquering poor mountains through blood and sweat, and by bad water . The modern factories and mines built by the heroes of New China and the tall buildings built make Panzhihua a vibrant and ever-changing place where the sound of machines and the singing of Orchestra are blended together. Think about the past and look at the present, how hard-won everything is! The hardships of starting a business here are indeed rare in the world!
Panzhihua base was launched for the first time
At the Chengdu meeting of the CPC Central Committee held in March 1958, Minister Wang Heshou of the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry wrote two reports to the CPC Central Committee and Chairman Mao Zedong, one of which was "Can the development speed of the steel industry be imagined faster." The report finally mentioned that in the later stage of 's "Second Five-Year Plan" , several larger and medium-sized steel plants in Gansu Jiuquan, Sichuan Panzhihua, Hubei Changyang, and Guangdong Shaoguan. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China approved this report and since then put the construction of Panzhihua on the agenda.
In July 1958, the National Steel Office began to reach its climax. I went to Chengdu, Sichuan to hold a Southwest Steel Planning Conference. Li Jingquan, the head of the Southwest Cooperation Zone, Liao Zhigao and Yang Chao, the Secretary of the Sichuan Provincial Party Committee, Zhou Lin, the First Secretary of the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee, and Xie Fuzhi, the First Secretary of the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee, all participated.At that time, it was learned that the exploration team of Ministry of Geology started in the mid-1950s. According to the data surveyed by geological experts in the 1940s, several large iron ores were found on the banks of the Jinsha River from Xichang, Sichuan in the north to the banks of the Sichuan-Yunnan border, and on both sides of the Anning River Valley that is 200 kilometers long, mainly including the Panzhihua Mine of Yanbian HTML (this is the village name of the geological team, the scientific name of Panzhihua Tree Kapok Tree), the Taihe Mine of Xichang , and the Baima Mine of Miyi , with large reserves and can be mined open-pit. Coal mines with considerable reserves were also found nearby. In order to further understand the situation, after the meeting, Comrade Li Jingquan, Liao Zhigao, Yang Chao and I took a plane to Xichang and inspected the area around Huili . It was rainy season at that time, and the road to Panzhihua was difficult to walk, so I couldn't get to the scene. At that time, the economy in this area was very backward, and Xichangcheng did not even have a small machinery factory, and the people lived a very poor life. Comrade Li Jingquan said with emotion that he did not expect that the people would still be covered in clothes for so many years after liberation. So we decided to develop the iron ore here, build steel plants and other industrial projects to develop the economy here. It was immediately decided to establish the Xichang Construction Committee and Xichang Steel Company, with Comrade Yang Chao also serving as the director of the Xichang Construction Committee. I listened to the report of the geological team and further learned that the iron ore here is magnetite ore containing vanadium titanium . Because the titanium content is very high, it is still unknown whether iron can be smelted and tests must be carried out. Therefore, it is recommended to build a small steel plant in Xichang for experiments first. At the same time, Xichang Airport, which is very close to Taihe Mine, was initially selected as the site of Xichang Steel Company in the future, and the preliminary preparations for Panzhihua construction were started. However, in 1962, due to adjustments and financial difficulties, preparations were stopped, Xichang Iron and Steel Company was dismissed and the test plant was dismissed. This is the first stage.
Battle of wilderness ridges
Key projects for the construction of third-line
From 1964 to the mid-1970s, a climax of third-line construction was set off on the land of China. Chairman Mao Zedong personally divided the land of China into first, second and third lines, which is an important strategic measure and is considered from the needs of preparing for war. The southwest is the third line. The reality facing our country at that time was that it was surrounded by a large circle. Chairman Mao always considers how to deal with the enemy's invasion. He imagined that once the war broke out, the coastal areas might be destroyed or occupied by the enemy, and we must have a rear with economic strength as a base to win the war and defend the independence of the country. The strategic concept and deployment of the third-line construction are supported by people of all ethnic groups across the country. In 1964, my country's national economic adjustment has achieved great results, and the difficulties caused by the "Great Leap Forward" have been basically overcome. Chairman Mao proposed the construction of the third line, starting with the restoration of the construction of steel, military enterprises, and railways suspended in southwest . In May 1964, he clearly pointed out: "Panzhihua Iron and Steel Plant still needs to be done. If I don't do it, I am always worried. What should I do when fighting a war?" He also said: "Our industrial construction must have in-depth configurations to build the Panzhihua Iron and Steel Plant. If it cannot be built, I can't sleep well." Criticized "Why did Chengdu-Kunming Railway stop repairing?" When everyone heard Chairman Mao say, "If you don't make arrangements, I will ride a donkey to Xichang," Li Fuchun and Bo Yibo immediately organized meetings of the central industrial departments to study plans and arrange the construction work of the third line. The steel industry is one of the key points, and the Ministry of Metallurgy quickly mobilized its troops to drive to the southwest and northwest. Due to geographical relations, the focus of the construction of the third line is in the southwest and takes into account the northwest. The Ministry of Metallurgy has set up a leading group in the southwest and northwest. The Southwest Group is led by comrades Xu Chi, Li Feiping, Li Chao, Han Qingquan and other comrades. I was at the Baiyin Factory Nonferrous Metals Company at that time and served as the leader of the Northwest Group. The deputy leader was Comrade Liu Xuexin. Both groups were running nervously. In less than 10 years, dozens of factories and mines were built in the southwest and northwest, and now they have become key enterprises in the metallurgical industry.
The construction of Panzhihua is firstly led by Cheng Zihua, deputy director of the State Planning Commission. He led relevant central departments to the southwest to plan the third line construction, focusing on the construction of Panzhihua Iron and Steel Plant, Liupanshui Coal Mine and Chengdu-Kunming Railway, commonly known as the "two points and one line" construction.The Ministry of Metallurgy sent Xu Chi to lead a working group to participate in the selection of the Panzhihua Iron and Steel Plant site. After comparing the Leshan , Xichang and Panzhihua areas, it is believed that the Baoding Coal Mine with large reserves and rich main coking coal , which is located near the iron ore. The earthquake intensity is smaller than that of Xichang. It is very convenient to fetch water from the Jinsha River, which has abundant water volume. It is really a good place to build a steel plant. The Party Central Committee and the State Council leaders Deng Xiaoping, Li Fuchun, Bo Yibo and others visited the site for inspection and research, approved the plan to build a factory in Nongnongping, and reported to the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao, and obtained the final approval. As a result, a war of scientific research, design and construction began quickly.
In the ferry construction headquarters guesthouse (now Building 13), Xu Chi reported to Deng Xiaoping about the Pangang and ferry construction plan (from left: Xu Chi, Deng Xiaoping, Wang Ruilin, Li Jingquan, Lu Zhengcao, Li Kaixin , Yu Qiuli, Wang Li, Gu Mu, Cheng Zihua, Sun Yong, etc.)
On the evening of December 1, 1965, Deng Xiaoping listened to Xu Chi's introduction to the construction of Panzhihua mine in the conference room of Dadukou Guesthouse (first right: Xu Chi, second right: Wang Lin, director of the design office, third right: Gu Mu) Whether
Panzhihua can be built depends first on whether the vanadium titanium dioxide can be refined into iron in an ordinary blast furnace with up to 13-14% vanadium titanium iron concentrate. According to conventional smelting methods, titanium thickens the molten iron in the furnace, and the slag and iron are inseparable, and the molten iron cannot flow out. There is no way to talk about building a steel plant without breaking through this difficulty. Therefore, a technical expert group led by Zhou Chuandian , who conquered the vanadium titanium magnetite smelting division was established to solve the smelting technical difficulties that no one in the world can solve within one year. First, a simulation test was conducted on the 100 cubic meter blast furnace of Chengde Steel Plant, breaking through the difficulties; then a verification test was performed on the 28 cubic meter blast furnace of Xichang Testing Plant, and a productive test was conducted on the 516 cubic meter blast furnace of Shougang. Finally, a complete process was obtained, announcing that the Panzhihua Steel Plant could be started. The experiment was successful and there was joy everywhere, greatly promoting the construction of the third line in the southwest.
Vanadium titanium magnetite smelting successfully
Jinsha River turned a small turn above the slope of Nongping Hillside in Panzhihua, and then turned another small turn below Nongping, flowing down. This turns left and right, making Nong Nongping sit by the Jinsha River like an Maitreya Buddha's belly. The southern bank of the river originally belonged to Yunnan Province. In order to build the Panzhihua steel base, a piece of land along the river was allocated to Sichuan and Dukou City was established (in January 1987, with the approval of the State Council, Dukou City was renamed Panzhihua City). The upper part of the Nong Nongping is steep and unusable, and the lower slope is relatively slow. The designers arranged a steel enterprise with an annual output of 1.5 million tons of steel on the uneven slope of about 2.5 square kilometers in the lower part. In recent years, Panzhihua has carried out the second phase of construction and added 1 million tons of steel to it. This is no precedent in Chinese and foreign textbooks, and it is such an amazing innovation.
1965's Nong Nongping (local location of Pangang Steel)
2020's Nongping
During the large-scale construction of Panzhihua, it was the turbulent era of the "Cultural Revolution", and I couldn't understand the situation at all. In November 1972, I was sent to Pangang to solve the problem of not being able to produce normally there. When I arrived, two 1,000 cubic meters of blast furnaces in Pangang had been put into production, and the third one was preparing to be built. The steelmaking plant has installed three 120-ton converters, and two oxygen stations, which are equipped with 3 6000 cubic meters of oxygen generators, have officially started production. I have seen a large blast furnace, but this is the first time I have seen a large converter and a large oxygen generator. The initial rolling mill and coking plant have been put into production, and large rolling mills are under construction. I climbed the Lanjia Volcano Mine and saw the ore continuously slipping through the shaft to the bottom of the mountain, loaded on a train and sent to the ore dressing plant. This ore dressing plant is the largest in the country, with an annual processing capacity of 13.5 million tons of ore, most of which have been built. There is also a Zhujia Baobao Mine with an annual output of 7 million tons of ore under construction. I saw from the movie expansion that on May 21, 1971, a large explosion was carried out with 11.4 million cubic meters of rocks, using 10,000 tons of explosives.This kind of explosion that is equivalent to a magnitude 4.4 earthquake, surpassing the explosion of the Baiyin Factory Mine in Gansu in 1956, is really thrilling! I also visited the limestone mine and refractory clay mine not far from the factory, where it was being produced and built. Coal mines and thermal power plants have also been built in a corresponding scale, and the city's service facilities have also begun to take shape.
1971 On May 21, 19th Metallurgical Organization and Iron Mine successfully implemented the 10,000-ton explosion of the Zhujiabaobao Iron Mine. This open-air blast, a total of 10,162.2 tons of explosives were loaded, and 11.4 million cubic meters of earth and rocks were blasted. I was deeply moved by the great achievements of Panzhihua construction. It is also a great achievement to build such a large project in a large mountain valley during the calm years and seven or eight years. What's more, it was completed under a special historical era and special conditions, which is even more touching and admirable.
The so-called special historical era refers to the climax of Panzhihua construction from 1966 to 1972, and it was also the period of great turmoil in our country. The continuous armed struggles have made the whole country messed up. Many factories have stopped production and many construction sites have stopped work, but Panzhihua has survived. Factory and mines stood up one after another in this "unrest". The so-called special conditions not only refer to the natural conditions of high temperature, heavy rain, mountain torrents, and wilderness, but also refers to the fact that when the railway is 740 kilometers away from Chengdu and 350 kilometers away from Kunming, and the railway is not open, it uses a car to transport tens of thousands of people through the rugged highways with high mountains and deep valleys to millions of tons of building materials, large equipment and devices to this narrow ravine. Thinking of this, I couldn't help but exclaim from my heart: Great builders, you have overcome so many unimaginable difficulties. You are worthy of being the good children of the Chinese nation and the elites of the Chinese nation. What I said to the masses in Panzhihua time and time again expressed my feelings.
Relying on technology
to make the Panzhihua base play a greater role as soon as possible
Panzhihua construction project is great, but it cannot be produced normally in the early stage of production. When we went to the ingot workshop of the steel mill, we saw dozens of large iron mass weighing about 100 tons at a glance, like a row of large Bodhisattva statues arranged there; one converter was disabled due to the fracture of the large shaft, and the other converter could not properly drain the air and deliver oxygen, so we could only "fish for three days and dry the net for two days." There are also problems with ingot-removing cranes, and they cannot get rid of ingots. The two mixed furnaces, which can each be equipped with 1,300 tons of molten iron, dare not install molten iron, for fear that the molten iron solidifies inside. As a result, either iron smelting affects steelmaking or steel smelting affects ironmaking. In the iron smelting plant, the slag mouth is often burned out, the slag tank is bubbled and overflowed, and the slag liquid is burned out or the railway is condensed. The slag cannot be produced, so it is forced to rest frequently. The coal accumulation machine in the coking plant often fails, which also affects normal production. In mines, 100 tons of dump truck often derails and overturns, and car repairs cannot keep up, affecting stripping and mining exit. Because of such piles, only 40,000 tons of steel were produced by the end of 1972, which was 1/10 of the planned output. In 1971, some leaders of Dukou City and Pangang reported to the State Council, suggesting that Pangang be regarded as a large experimental factory, with a low tone.
is busy with the transportation of Jiangangcheng
Comrade Li Feiping and I investigated and analyzed it and believed that these production difficulties are not fatal, and that as long as we organize technical forces to solve the problem, we can solve it. So we suggested to the municipal party committee to convene a meeting to study and deploy technical research. At the meeting, we emphasized: We believe that our technicians are capable of solving these problems and announced the goals of technical research. At that time, I knew in my heart that I had no experience in making steel with large converter oxygen , nor had I participated in the experiment of making iron with vanadium titanium magnet ore. It was impossible to conquer the process and equipment barriers with just a few people, such as Li Feiping. Pansteel Company has a large number of technicians and old workers who can be the main force in the research, but they are troubled by on-site production problems and have no more time to study technical problems. So, we mobilized experienced technicians from all over the country to come to research.Fortunately, most of the capable technicians at that time "stand aside", and as long as the unit is willing to let go, they are willing to come. The first one came was Comrade Zhou Chuandian, and then Comrade Yu Jingsheng also came. He is an expert in steelmaking and has experience in converter steelmaking. They were more familiar with whom they were able to solve the problem of Panyin Steel, so they nominated them one by one: Lin Zongcai, an old professor of Beijing Iron and Steel Institute, and an experienced associate professor Zhou Rongzhang, and also a steelmaking expert Wang Guochen. We also invited Comrade Wei Ronglin, who is experienced in oxygen generators, and Xu Hao, a professor of Northeast Institute of Technology, who is experienced in machinery. A telegram also invited Comrade Zhou Xuancheng, an Anshan Coking Refractory Design Institute. Of course, there are also people who are not invited. Chongqing Iron and Steel Design Institute is the general contracted design institute for Pangang. With a team stationed in Pangang, it naturally became one of our main forces in tackling problems. They recommended each other, and more than 100 people came one after another. They joined hands with the leading cadres and technical personnel on the Pangang site to form five key research teams: steelmaking, ironmaking, sintering, equipment and automation. The research team set up the camp in a guesthouse located halfway up the mountain in the 19th Metallurgical Construction Company, condescendingly, and you can see the chimneys of the iron smelting plant and steel smelting plant not smoking. When you hear the machine ringing, you will know that the factory is not producing; it is also very convenient to go to the production site.
5 research teams are responsible for dozens of equipment and process technology research projects, focusing on steelmaking and ironmaking. The leader of the steelmaking team is Yu Jingsheng, and the leader of the ironmaking team is Zhou Chuandian. We chose to first attack the level of the mixed iron furnace loading iron. If this problem cannot be solved, no matter how good it is to attack other aspects, Panzhihua still cannot produce much steel. Why don’t you dare to put molten iron? It is said from top to bottom that the iron containing vanadium titanium is easy to solidify. It was originally frozen in the iron mixing furnace during the Shougang test. For this reason, the army of the Ministry of Metallurgy ordered the stop of the test on behalf of . Therefore, everyone in Pangang is afraid of a major accident in which 1,300 tons of molten iron freezes in the mixed iron furnace; the military representatives from the Ministry came a few times and said that they could not load molten iron, and no one could afford this responsibility, so they could only see that steelmaking cannot be produced normally and were helpless.
In order to find out the crux of the problem, we first conducted investigation and research. The experimental data did contain records about freezing, and no one dared to mention the opinions on filling molten iron. It seems that the research team must be determined to take this risk.
We have formulated a test plan for loading molten iron. When discussing the plan, Chen Liang, who participated in the Shougang test, proposed: During the Shougang test, the molten iron did not freeze at first, but later because the gas was stopped for 4 days before the molten iron frozen in the furnace. He also showed us the test records at that time and said that he had reported to the representatives of the Ministry of Metallurgical Army truthfully, but was still subject to the misfortune of ordering to suspend the test. I thanked Comrade Chen Liang for his courage on the spot and at many subsequent meetings. You know, at that time, intellectuals were still "stinky old ninth" and everyone was living carefully. It is indeed commendable that he dares to truthfully reflect the situation and ask questions in a realistic manner.
No need to be careless about scientific issues, so we should organize the experiment carefully. In order to relieve the testers' concerns, I said, don't be afraid of failure. If the molten iron is frozen in the furnace and we "open the intestines and break the belly" and blow up the iron block, I will be responsible for this consequence. At this time, although we heard some rumors, we did not shake our determination. The
test has begun. The workers and technicians in the mixing furnace section were very happy. They had long been looking forward to this day. But some comrades are afraid of being responsible and dare not come to the scene, so they can go there. We first controlled the temperature in the furnace higher, operated carefully, observed day and night, and there was no solidification within 3 days. Then we lowered the temperature a little, continued to observe, and finally found a suitable temperature, which not only maintained the fluidity of the molten iron, but did not damage the furnace wall. The test was successful.
The success of this research has inspired everyone's confidence in researching. Then, with the assistance of the equipment manufacturer of the first machine department, the hydraulic coupler of the oxygen generator and converter exhaust fan was overcome, the cause of the large shaft of the converter was broken, and the problem of 350 tons of ingot-removing and lifting was not good, etc.
After the steel mill solved these major equipment process problems, production gradually became normal and could maintain "two blows and one". Another converter was replaced with a new large shaft and was also put into production. More than 400,000 tons of steel were produced in 1973, a 10-fold increase from 1972.
conquering the blast furnace smelting level is a tough battle. In the early stages of production, Pangang's blast furnace production was relatively smooth, because the proportion of rich ores using Lugu iron ore was relatively high. Later, the two blast furnaces were put into production, and the proportion of rich ore decreased, and the proportion of vanadium iloxane concentrate increased, making it difficult to smelter blast furnaces. After going to the site to observe and reviewing all operation records, Zhou Chuandian discovered the key to the problem. It turned out that all the furnace heads and foremen who operated on the site had not participated in the smelting test of vanadium titanium magnetite. Although there were operating procedures formulated according to the test results, they were still accustomed to operating according to the method of smelting ordinary iron ore, which resulted in a series of difficulties in smelting. The research and development team reiterated the process operation procedures for smelting vanadium titanium magnetite, and the research and development team included a furnace for demonstration. Zhou Chuandian became a furnace length, with a period of 1 month. After strictly following the test method, the furnace travels forward, the slag loss decreases, and the utilization coefficient remains about 0.8, and sometimes increases to 1. This is the most convincing. Both furnaces were strictly handled in this way, with iron production of 820,000 tons in 1973, an increase of 260,000 tons compared with 1972. The blast furnace has achieved success and also overcomes the problems existing in the coal accumulation machine. The second coal accumulation machine manufactured later has performed very well.
Panzhihua iron ore has vanadium. Vanadium is a precious metal and is one of the main elements in smelting alloy steel . Only Chengde Iron and Steel Plant and Maanshan Iron and Steel Company in my country produce some vanadium slag , which is not suitable for application, and Pangang urgently needs to take out vanadium slag. The Ministry of Metallurgy requires Pangang to produce 30,000 tons of vanadium slag annually, and supply ferroalloy plants to extract vanadium and kernel vanadium ferro. Pangang originally designed to blow vanadium slag with a converter, because steelmaking is not normal, and no converter is used to produce vanadium slag. Scientific and technological personnel from Pangang and Iron and Steel Research Institute and the School of Steel, and old workers learned from the experience of atomizing and niobium extraction in Baosteel, and produced some vanadium slag on the experimental furnace built by atomizing and vanadium blowing method. People have different opinions on the two vanadium extraction methods, and the research and development team advocates experimenting with both methods. atomization method has accumulated quite a lot of data, so the joint method has started again, and the effect is also very good, with slightly better recovery and quality than the atomization method. After one stage of the experiment, I repeatedly listened to the opinions of both parties, weighed the pros and cons of the two methods, and finally advocated the use of atomization method to extract vanadium. I have two reasons: First, the joint law must occupy the steelmaking capacity of a converter. In order to reach the second phase of 2.5 million tons of steel, a large-investment converter must be built; and the atomization law can be achieved without building a converter, which is equivalent to liberating the capabilities of the steel mill. Second, although the atomization method has the benefits of vanadium extraction than the joint method, it is because the test equipment is simple. If a regular atomization furnace is built and the compressed air is changed to oxygen, the benefits will be greatly improved. The research team decided to build a formal atomization vanadium extraction workshop, and the Dukou Municipal Party Committee and the Pangang Party Committee both voted in favor. In 1979, I saw that the new vanadium extraction workshop was producing very well, and the vanadium slag production had reached a very high level with the increase of molten iron.
In the tense battle against the problem, the research team did not forget or relax their ideological and political work. We know that to build Panzhihua well, first, we must make the majority of employees live in this hot valley and carry out long-term struggles; second, we must mobilize the enthusiasm of all employees, including backward employees. I saw the great achievements of construction in Panzhihua with my own eyes, and also heard about how the builders carried out arduous struggles and overcome all kinds of unimaginable difficulties with fearless dedication. I think this is an extremely rich spiritual wealth of Panzhihua and should be carried forward and inherited by later comrades from Panzhihua.
Based on this consideration, I suggested to the Municipal Party Committee and the Panzhihua Party Committee to hold a publicity work conference (later held at the same time as the survey and design meeting) to invite Comrade Bai Liangyu to give a report on the construction of the Panzhihua base. I also made a report on writing books for the good traditions and good experiences of Panzhihua construction and a report on the biography of the hero.We also ask advanced models that emerged during the process of research and development to introduce their thoughts, study, and work experience, as well as implementing practices to help backward young people at the briefing. Later, some young people behind the scenes also came to the stage to talk about their changes in their thoughts and work. In the future, we will spread this kind of good typical organization in various factories and mines, which will have great infectiousness. The Sichuan Provincial Metallurgy Bureau also invited a propaganda team to give lectures to various metallurgical enterprises. These vivid ideological and political work have played a good role in the majority of employees. The spirit of Panzhihua people is excited, and production and construction are in full swing. Some employees who did not want to move their homes have also moved their homes to Panzhihua for long-term plans. In the turmoil of the "Cultural Revolution", such a situation that is both stable, united and lively is rare in the country. Unfortunately, I proposed to write the first episode of "Panzhihua Heroes" of the deeds of advanced employees. Everything was ready, because I was beaten for the second time and became a "black book" and failed to publish it.
Organization comprehensive utilization technology research and development
During the research process, I learned about the entire production process of Pangang Steel and found that the iron content in the slag is high, the recycling rate of vanadium is not high, and the titanium is not recycled, and half of the titanium enters the tailings sand and is discharged into the Jinsha River at that time; the other half is in the iron concentrate, not only in the blast furnace, but also makes slag not used as cement blend material. In short, although the existing blast furnace process has achieved breakthrough achievements in smelting vanadium titanium magnetite, the recycling of iron, vanadium and titanium is still not ideal. It is necessary to improve and improve the current process, or find another way. Just as I was considering how to fully recycle vanadium and titanium, Professor of Iron Smelting at Northeast Institute of Technology, Li Yintai, came back from the International Academic Conference on "Direct Reduction of Iron Ores" at Romania, and he introduced the content of the conference to me. After listening to this, I added more knowledge in this area, so I linked the exploration of recycling vanadium and titanium with direct reduction methods, and considered using this new process to better recycle and utilize vanadium and titanium. After discussing with comrades Li Feiping, Zhou Chuandian, Yu Jingsheng and other experts from Panzhihua Iron and Steel Research Institute (formerly Southwest Iron and Steel Research Institute), they all believed that this should be studied. Studying this new process is not just for the treatment of Panzhihua vanadium titanium magnetite. I also considered that , south of the Yangtze River , especially the iron ore resources in central, south China, and southwest China, are relatively rich in water resources, while coking coal resources are lacking. If the direct reduction method can be successful, and the rich hydropower resources are used south of the Yangtze River, a number of steel production enterprises that adopt the direct reduction method are very meaningful for the development of my country's steel industry.
This research is a big topic. It not only studies the direct reduction of iron ore, but also studies the new process of recycling vanadium and titanium, but also studies how to process the large number of crude titanium dioxide products collected into various titanium products. So I suggested to the leaders of the Ministry of Metallurgy at that time to hold a "new process for steel smelting". I realized that a national meeting held by me would not be approved, so I limited the purpose of the meeting to prepare for Panzhihua Iron and Steel Base 2 in order to seek approval. At first they agreed, but there were fewer units limited to participating. The meeting is scheduled to be held in Panzhihua on July 25, 1973, and the consent of Sichuan Province is obtained. Unexpectedly, on July 17, when the meeting was approaching, the Ministry of Metallurgy suddenly notified the meeting to be postponed, without explaining the reason for the postponement or when it will be postponed. It was obviously the meeting to be cancelled. The units participating in the meeting were very dissatisfied with the indefinite extension, and some wrote letters to the Ministry of Metallurgy to express their opinions; I went back to Beijing to report in person, and finally fought to hold a meeting on October 15. It turned out that only more than 30 units were notified to participate. After this trouble, many scientific research institutions asked to participate, and more than 10 units were added, and more than 200 representatives attended the meeting, which turned into a large-scale scientific research conference. This was beyond my expectations.
meeting was hosted by Sun Hongru , director of the Science and Technology Office of the Ministry of Metallurgy, and was held very successfully. I also spoke a few times at the meeting. At the meeting, various research units exchanged the results and experience of past experimental research and agreed on dozens of scientific research projects.The meeting implemented each research task of major and minor projects to each research unit. Some units cooperated to determine the main research unit and stipulated the research progress. The delegates who attended the meeting happily accepted the task.
This is the first national conference on the comprehensive utilization of vanadium titanium magnetite in Panzhihua. Shortly after the meeting, I entered the palace for the second time, because the meeting was advocated, fought for and organized by me, I was criticized and the research projects identified by the meeting were labeled as "black projects" and stopped allocating research funds, but most units did not completely stop the experiment work. It is gratifying that after crushing the "Gang of Four", Comrade Fang Yi made the comprehensive utilization of Panzhihua resources a national scientific research focus, and personally organized and led this work. He has been persisting for 10 consecutive years and achieved major victories. I was fortunate to preside over another scientific research conference in 1978. After the meeting, I reported to Comrade Fang Yi, who came to inspect Panzhihua; in 1979, I also attended the meeting chaired by Comrade Fang Yi. At these meetings, scholars, experts and scientific and technological personnel who worked together day and night with the first meeting met again. Everyone looked at each other and celebrated new victories, and gave warm applause to my report. All unpleasant emotions in the past disappeared with the recovery of research work. Unfortunately, the entire scientific research work was delayed for several years.
When I end this memory, I once again paid my highest respect to the comrades who have contributed to the construction, development, production and scientific research of Panzhihua Industrial Base in the past and present, and bowed deeply to the comrades who gave their precious life to Panzhihua to express their deep condolences.
(This article is excerpted from the book "Golden Panzhihua" published by Sichuan Science and Technology Press in 1990)
Source: Sichuan Provincial Local Chronicles Office
Author: Gao Yangwen (formerly Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry and Minister of the Ministry of Coal Industry)
Supplied/Photo provided by: Panzhihua Municipal Local Chronicles Editing Center
