British Steel bill to save Scunthorpe

Surprised no one has mentioned this yet.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cyvqm83z1nrt

A bill designed to save British Steel's Scunthorpe plant has been approved by Parliament - it is now awaiting approval from King Charles III

One of very few Saturday sittings, though for some reason they’re still trying not to nationalise the plant. The present legislation allows them to step in and override the owner *if* the owner orders the place shut down. Nationalising it against the owner’s will is another future step requiring another bill.

I can’t see any other way forward for the mill though. It’s the last place left in the UK where we can produce virgin steel. It is a strategic asset which we can’t afford to lose (and which a cynical part of me wonders whether China was trying to do away with).

[papa smurf]

I agree we can't let the plant fail but it's not helped by Milibands madness ,we are importing coal from Japan when the UK has more coal than you can shake a stick at, how can it ever be competitive.

[Taf]

The Chinese owners have apparently been starving the plant of coke, and without that, production would have stopped.

Net zero down the plughole to placate the unions?

[Russ]

I guess if you’re a steelworks in England you get bailed out by the government.

But if you’re in Port Talbot you get naff-all.

[nomadking]

Originally Posted by Russ

I guess if you’re a steelworks in England you get bailed out by the government.

But if you’re in Port Talbot you get naff-all.

Apart from the £500+m. Not enough demand to need two sets of blast furnaces producing virgin steel.

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by Russ

I guess if you’re a steelworks in England you get bailed out by the government.

But if you’re in Port Talbot you get naff-all.

Devolution’s a bitch.

[Russ]

Originally Posted by nomadking

Apart from the £500+m. Not enough demand to need two sets of blast furnaces producing virgin steel.

I’m sure that will warm the cockles of the 2000 people made redundant.

---------- Post added at 20:42 ---------- Previous post was at 20:42 ----------

Originally Posted by Pierre

Devolution’s a bitch.

It may well be but it isn’t the same as self-governance.

[papa smurf]

Originally Posted by Pierre

Devolution’s a bitch.

And then you die

They can't make steel any more but on the upside they can drive at 20mph

Originally Posted by Russ

I guess if you’re a steelworks in England you get bailed out by the government.

But if you’re in Port Talbot you get naff-all.

If they’d decided to convert Scunthorpe first and Port Talbot was the last blast furnace capable of producing virgin steel, that would be the one getting legislated for today, because the strategic imperative would be the same. Perversely it seems the Chinese thought they could do something with Port Talbot whereas they have been quietly planning to shutter Scunthorpe completely. Either that or it was just the luck of the draw. Cold comfort to Port Talbot either way though.

Originally Posted by Taf

Net zero down the plughole to placate the unions?

Coke is an ingredient for the steel, how does that affect net zero ?

[Sirius]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coke_(fuel)

Coke is a grey, hard, and porous coal-based fuel with a high carbon content. It is made by heating coal or petroleum in the absence of air. Coke is an important industrial product, used mainly in iron ore smelting, but also as a fuel in stoves and forges.

The unqualified term "coke" usually refers to the product derived from low-ash and low-sulphur bituminous coal by a process called coking. A similar product called petroleum coke, or pet coke, is obtained from crude petroleum in petroleum refineries. Coke may also be formed naturally by geologic processes.[1] It is the residue of a destructive distillation process.

Since smoke-producing constituents are driven off during the coking of coal, coke forms a desirable fuel for stoves and furnaces in which conditions are not suitable for the complete burning of bituminous coal itself. Coke may be combusted producing little or no smoke, while bituminous coal would produce much smoke. Coke was widely used as a smokeless fuel substitute for coal in domestic heating following the creation of "smokeless zones" in the United Kingdom.

[Taf]

Originally Posted by Paul

Coke is an ingredient for the steel, how does that affect net zero ?

Coke is modified coal. Net zero says we should not use coal in any form.

[papa smurf]

Apparently the government have just discovered this hidden gem

https://www.google.com/search?q=immi...hrome&ie=UTF-8

Originally Posted by Taf

Coke is modified coal. Net zero says we should not use coal in any form.

As a fuel to make the steel, maybe.
However, you also need carbon to create the steel itself.
That carbon also (normally) comes from the coke.
As best I can tell, its not impossible to use other sources of carbon, but none are as common.

Of course, "Net Zero" is a far off (and currently unrealisitc) fantasy anyway.