COAL FOR STEEL

Series

Series Name

Mining Review 11th Year

Issue

Issue No.

10

Date Released

Jun 1958

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1LIFE-SAVERS
2. 2COAL FOR STEEL
3. 3RINGSIDE

Story

Story No. within this Issue

2 / 3

Summary

BFI synopsis: coal’s part in the production of steel
NCB Commentary - Into this major British steel works streams coal, essential raw material.
To start with, it will be turned into coke to feed the blast furnaces.
As well as coke, iron-ore and limestone go towards the making of iron.
Five times a day this blast furnace is tapped. On each occasion 115 tons of molten iron streams down into the waiting ladles.
Each ladle carries 60 tons of molten metal.
Next step is to convert the iron into steel.
Here, the molten iron is being tipped into one of five Bessemer converters.
With 28 tons inside, the converter tips up to start the purification of the iron and to turn it into steel. Each blow on a Bessemer takes about half an hour.
The colour of the flame is one guide to the steel-makers as to how the iron is cooking. But visual inspection isn’t enough. Near the end of the blowing time, a sample will be taken on the shop floor.
This steel is ready for casting into ingots.
In the rolling mill the ingots are squeezed down into whatever shape it needed.
The bar of hot steel, as it now is, can go on for futher rolling.
Some of the steel will be turned into strip.
This is the output end of the mill where the steel strip is coiled up. It’s still hot enough to be useful during the tea break.
At this plant they specialise in making steel tubes. The coils of strip are bent over in this machine and welded automatically to form a continuous tube.
Here, at the far end of the machine the flying saw cuts the now continuous tube into pre-determined lengths. The cut sections of tube roll down on to racks to cool.
Another way of making steel tube is on the plug mill. Solid rounds of steel are heated in the furnace from where mechanical tongs feed them on to the mill.
A centre punch makes the first indentation.
Now the bars are spun over the piercing unit.
At the end of the line the completed tubes once again roll down to cool.
Over a million tons of coal a year go towards the production of some five million tons of steel tube at this factory.
In the shaping of this essential steel product, British coal will find its way to the four corners of the earth.

Researcher Comments

Commentary recorded 5th May 1958.

Keywords

Industry and manufacture; Mining; Fuels

Written sources

British Film Institute Databases   Used for synopsis
The National Archives COAL 32   /12 Scripts for Mining Review, 1956-1960

Credits:

Production Co.

Documentary Technicians Alliance

Sponsor

National Coal Board