Praxair subsidiary White Martins, Air Liquide and ThyssenKrupp Minergy said Thursday they have signed a 20-year agreement to supply industrial gases to ThyssenKrupp CSA Companhia Siderúgica, the joint venture of ThyssenKrupp Steel AG and Comanhia Vale do Rio Doce.
ThyssenKrupp CSA will build the first new steel mill in Brazil since 1986. Operations are expected to begin in early 2009 and the plant will produce 5 million metric tons of steel plates annually. The cost for the facility is estimated at $3.5 billion.
The mill will be supported by a planned air separation plant. Made of two cryogenic units, it will have an industrial gas production capacity of 3,000 tons a day, mainly of oxygen. It will also provide blast furnace air and compressed dry air for the mill.
White Martins is an industrial gases producer in Brazil, Air Liquide is an international industrial gases company and ThyssenKrupp Minergy is a subsidiary of the ThyssenKrupp group that handles supply and logistics for minerals, energy, coke and coal.
