KOLKATA | Oct 17, 2016: International Zinc Association in association with Hindustan Zinc is organising a two day meet to discuss the potential zinc market, and its possible application in automobiles, railway tracks and construction and infrastructure. What works to its advantage is that steel when coated with a layer of zinc-- referred to as galvanization in industry parlance-- it becomes rust proof or “corrosion resistant”.

The meet, The International Galvanizing Conference, will be inaugurated by Piyush Goyal, union minister of mines, power and coal in Delhi on 20-21, October 2016 and will have over twenty speakers from Hindustan Zinc, JSW Group, Tata Steel, PGCIL, Maruti, Essar, International Lead-Zinc Development Association and IIT Mumbai.

“India loses around 4-5% of GDP annually on account of corrosion losses. Western countries, which are far ahead of us in terms of Infrastructure, mandate the use of galvanized steel structures in bridges, highways, public utility, airports, metro stations, railways stations etc. and are thus able to preserve long-lasting and robust structures,” Sunil Duggal, CEO of Hindustan Zinc. “Galvanizing is not only important for the long life of public structures, but also for the safety and security of the public using these structures. For instance, Athens Bridge Pennsylvania & Curtis Road Bridge Michigan -- structures that utilize galvanized steel rebars -- have much longer lifespan than the conventional bridges built with normal black steel rebar,” he added.

With particular reference to India, Stephen Wilkinson, Executive Director, International Zinc Association said zinc would be particularly useful for producing galvanized steel for auto body panels in the country. “Car makers in Europe, North America, Korea and Japan have been using galvanised steel for body panels for decades. These car companies provide anti-corrosion and perforation warranties for a minimum of 10 years. But there is no such protection for most cars made for the Indian consumers. Here the customers are advised to pay for extra coatings to protect the body of the car after purchase. More than 60% of the cars in India have surface rust which reduces steel strength and life of a car,” Wilkinson said.

Taking the case of China, the annual passenger vehicle sales will rise to 24 million in 2020, from 19 million last year, as per McKinsey & Co. forecasts and only about one thirds of locally-manufactured autos use galvanized panels to prevent corrosion and rusting. Among few production cuts and closures, zinc has rebounded this year on demand growth and a supply crunch. In China, more vehicles are sold each year than the U.S. and Japan combined, and they rarely use galvanized steels, according to the International Zinc Association. Switching to the material would require about 350,000 metric tons a year of additional zinc and a similar move in India would need an extra 150,000 tons annually, according to last year’s estimations by the association.

According to industry sources, almost 58% of the zinc mined across the world is used for galvanizing. Additionally, 14% is for die-casting, 10% for alloys and in brass making, 9% in chemicals, 6% in rolled zinc and 3% is used for other miscellaneous purpose.'

(Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/)