MINERALS YEARBOOK, 1978-79988 
 
industries to increase output quantitatively and qualitatively. Production
of crude steel was to increase from 141 million tons in 1976 to between 160
and 170 million tons in 
1980. Production of finiShed rolled steel was to increase from 99 million
tons to between 115 and 120 million tons. It appeared unlikely that these
quantitative and qualitative goals would be achieved, and that production
of steel and finished rolled steel would probably be below 160 million tons
and 115 million tons respectively. 
 Of 126 projects under construction and due to come onstream in 1978, only
93 were actually completed. Construction lagged and still is lagging at a
number of important projects, including Lebedin, the Northern and Southern
iron ore mining and concentration complexes, the equipping of electrosteel
shops at the Donetsk and Uzbek metallurgical plants, and the ferromanganese
smelting furnace at the Nikopal p1ant.4~ The construction of the No. 6 blast
furnace (3,200 cubic meters, 2.2 million tons per year of pig iron) at Lipetsk
was completed in November 1978. 
 The cost of increasing crude steel output is considerable. Estimates in
Soviet publications range from some 600 million rubles to 1 billion rubles
per 1 million tons of increased output. At these prices, boosting raw steel
output to the 10th 5-year plan levels would consume most, if not all, of
the industry's capital investment funds, which should be some 16 billion
rubles over the 5 years. 
 In 1979, 36 enterprises, operating 138 blast furnaces, did not meet planned
production quotas of 114.3 million tons of pig iron. The average blast furnace
capacity increased from 1,135 cubic meters in 1971 to 1,258 cubic meters
in 1979. About two-thirds of all blast furnaces use oxygen for enrichment,
over 83% of the pig iron was produced by partial use of natural gas, and
75% was produced by use of oxygen. It was planned to produce 115 million
metric tons of pig iron in 1980. 
 Renovation of the third blast furnace of the Novolipetsk metallurgical complex
was completed in August and No. 1 of the Chelyabinsk complex in October 1979.
As a result of an inadequate supply of raw materials, there are production
shortcomings at the blast furnaces of the Chelyabinsk complex.48 The majority
of the blast furnaces at the Ukrainian metallurgical plants are operating
below their capacities. 
 Enlargement of the converter shop at Nizhniy Tagil was completed on December

31, 1978; the shop's annual production capacity has been increased by 0.6
million tons. The 120-ton converters have been replaced by new ones of 160-ton
capacity. Renovation of the first converter shop of the West Siberian metallurgical
works was completed in December 1978. The converter's capacity has increased
0.5 million tons annually. The second oxygen-producing plant, with a capacity
of 30,000 cubic meters of oxygen per hour, was commissioned in May 1978.

 Construction of the first section of the first stage of the oxygen converter
shop (two units, each 350-ton capacity, with the construction cost of 180.4
million rubles) at the Cherepovets plant was not completed in 1979. The total
designed capacity of all stages is 5 million tons of steel per year. Construction
of a big oxygen converter shop at the Dzerzhinsk wQrks in the Ukraine began
in 1978. The first section of the complex was to be commissioned in 1980.
It was planned to complete construction of No. 4 oxygen converter at Nizhniy
Tagil complex in 1979. Because of the shortage of pig iron, open-hearth furnaces
at some plants were underutilized.~~ 
 The second electric furnace, with an annual capacity of 250,000 tons of
steel, at the Uzbek steelworks and the 100-ton electric unit at the Donetsk
metallurgical plant were commissioned in 1978. Construction of the steel
electric smelting shop at the OrskKhalilovo and West Siberian complexes began
in 1978. 
 In 1979, crude steel production from 76 metallurgical works was below the
planned quota of 156 million tons. The 1980 plan called for production of
157 million tons of crude steel. There were 42 oxygen converters (including
9 with a capacity of 250 to 300 tons) in operation in January 1980. Construction
of the first continuous casting machine began in 1979~ It will run 1 million
tons of steel into billets ready for rolling. These will go to the large
rolling mill, which has already been built. About 10,000 workers were engaged
on construction at the Cherepovets complex in 1979.48 Construction of a big
oxygen converter shop at the Dzerzhinsk works in the Ukraine continued in
1979; the first stage was to be commissioned in 1980. Completion of the construction
of the No. 4 oxygen converter at Nizhniy Tagil, in the Urals, was rescheduled
for 1980. Renovation of No. 1 open hearth furnace at the Amurstal plant in
Khabarovsk region started in May. 
 Development in the electric steelmaking