Metallurgical plant

A metallurgical plant comprising

• an open-topped metallurgical vessel provided with a cover adapted to close said vessel at its top,
• an enclosure surrounding said vessel and comprising a top wall and side wall means defining at least one charging opening permitting a charging box to be moved through said side wall means from the outside of said enclosure to a stand-by position in said enclosure,
• first shutter means for selectively opening and closing said charging opening, and
• a charging crane for moving said charging box between said stand-by position and a charging position over said vessel,
• wherein the improvement comprises
• partition means contained in said enclosure and dividing the interior thereof into a main part containing said vessel and lock chamber means adjoining said charging opening and adapted to contain said charging box in said stand-by position,
• said partition means comprises lock chamber top wall means spaced from said top wall of the enclosure and defines lock chamber top wall opening means, through which said lock chamber means communicates with said main part of said interior and which permits said charging box to be moved between said lock chamber means and said main part of said interior,
• second shutter means for selectively opening and closing said lock chamber top wall opening means, and
• said charging crane is disposed within said main part of said interior and is operable to move said charging box through said lock chamber top wall opening means between said stand-by and charging positions.