THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE ON FERROALLOYS (ICFA) PRESENTATION ON INFACON FOR INFACON XI, NEW DELHI, INDIA 
19 FEBRUARY 2007

01. INTRODUCTION

Mr R. K. Saraf, Chairman INFACON XI and your Co-Chairmen Mr D Askok and Mr Subhrakant Panda, Mr H Jha Vice Chair of IFAPA, Mr T. S. Sundaresan Secretary General IFAPA and INFACON XI Secretary, other Committee Members of INFACON XI, Honoured Guest, Delegates to INFACON XI, ladies and gentlemen, it is a great privilege and an real pleasure to address you as Chairman of the International Committee on Ferro Alloys (ICFA) at this, the opening session of INFACON XI. 

02. FOUNDING OF INFACON AND ICFA

The concept of an International Ferro Alloy Congress (INFACON) was founded in South Africa leading up to the first Congress that was held in Johannesburg in 1974. The Founders were the South Africa Ferro Alloy Producers’ Association (FAPA), Mintek (formally The National Institute for Metallurgy (NIM)) and The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM). The motivation for establishing a technically oriented ferroalloy conference was based on the rapid growth of the industry at that time and the need for research and development into and the implementation of improved technology. 

The leading producing countries at that time were Europe and Scandinavia, Japan, and North America. These countries were also the major providers of process and equipment technology as well as engineering services to the developing regions at that time such as Southern Africa, India and Brazil.

Three hundred and thirty six delegates from 22 countries attended the first INFACON Congress in Johannesburg. Six technical sessions were held, each preceded by a plenary address with a closing address by the session chairman. In all, thirty technical papers were presented. Prior to the closing address, a panel discussion on factors affecting the future of the ferrochromium industry provided stimulating debate in the form of a question-and-answer session. This was interestingly prior to the advent of the AOD process that revolutionised the stainless steel industry based on charge chrome much of which originated from rapid growth in South Africa.

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