ISLAMABAD, May 4: The worst crisis faced by the Pakistan Steel Mills has been surmounted through adoption of innovative measures. This was stated by the Pakistan Steel Mills chairman, Lt-Gen (retired) Abdul Qayyum , while talking to steel dealers and manufactures of Islamabad and Rawalpindi region at the establishment's zonal sales office (North) here on Monday.

The chairman said Pakistan Steel had successfully overcome the crisis which it faced due to unavailability of coking coal and default on the part of international freight companies and suppliers. During the crisis, the prices of both the raw material and the freight skyrocketed

In order to save the blast furnaces from total starvation, production had to be slow paddled from 97 per cent down to 59 per cent during the month of March/April, he added.

Mr Qayyum said large stocks of rejected coal breeze dumps were also sieved, besides retrieval of approximately 50,000 tons of usable small size coke. This was subsequently utilized to ensure smooth functioning and constant survival of the furnaces, he added.

He said small size coke was also injected into the furnaces for the first time which proved useful. As a result, the mills was now out of the woods and functioning at almost 100 per cent capacity, he added.

The chairman said ships loaded with raw material had reached the Pakistan Steel Jetty, Port Qasim, and the availability of iron ore and coal for the current year had been secured up to the extent of 100 per cent and 70 per cent, respectively.