The Steel Industry is said to be the backbone of any nation.
The industry serves as stimulus to national development and economic boost to industrial growth of a country.
The Ajaokuta Steel Company in Kogi State of Nigeria was envisaged to serve as the bedrock of Nigeria’s industrialisation.
The idea of having a steel industry was conceived in 1958 by the federal government. Preliminary market studies were carried out and studies were initially directed towards the feasibility of establishing rolling mills.
However, because of the growing awareness of the availability of iron ore in Agbaja, Udi and other areas of the country, emphasis later shifted to establishing an integrated steel plant.
Late Tafawa Balewa and late Nnamdi Azikiwe between 1960 -1966 invited and received proposals from foreign firms, including those from UK, U.S., Germany and Canada, most of these being on the feasibility of establishing steel complexes.
The efforts of the government did not yield significant positive result because they were based on the use of iron deposits in Agbaja and Udi which were later found to be unsuitable for direct reduction.
In 1967, a team of Soviet experts arrived in Nigeria to conduct a feasibility study on the establishment of an iron and steel plant, as a follow-up on a technical/economic cooperation agreement between the governments of Nigeria and the USSR.
In their report, they recommended the use of blast furnace process of iron making. The report also pointed out that the known iron ore deposits in the country were of poor quality and recommended that further geological surveys be conducted to see if better ore could be found.