Metalloinvest to invest 6.4 billion roubles into electric arc furnace

Metalloinvest, a leading global iron ore and HBI producer and supplier, and one of the regional producers of high-quality steel, will build a new electric arc furnace (EAF #5) and a new integrated steel processing unit (ISPU #4) at Alexey Ugarov OEMK.

Danieli, a leading Italian equipment manufacturer for the steel industry, will supply key process equipment and services.

The agreement for the project was signed at OEMK by Nazim Efendiev, CEO of Management Company Metalloinvest, and Antonello Colussi, General Director of Danieli Russia.

The signing ceremony was attended by Gianpietro Benedetti, Chairman of Danieli; Giacomo Mareschi, CEO of Danieli; Massimiliano Fedriga, President of the Friuli Venezia Giulia autonomous region; Vyacheslav Gladkov, acting Governor of Belgorod region; and Alexander Sergienko, Head of the Administration of the Stary Oskol District.

EAF #5 is scheduled to be commissioned in 2023 and ISPU #4 in 2024. The Company's investment in the project will amount to approximately 6.4 bn roubles. Up to 30 new jobs will be created at the enterprise.

The capacity of EAF #5 will be 1.2 mn tonnes of liquid steel per year, and ISPU #4 will have a capacity of 1.3 mn tonnes per year.

Nazim Efendiev, CEO of Management Company Metalloinvest, commented: "Today we have made another important step in implementing Metalloinvest's Qualitative Change Strategy. A more productive and economical furnace and the new integrated steel processing unit will help to reduce production costs. “Following the commissioning of ISPU #4, the enterprise will be processing 100% of produced steel using modern technology, which will improve the quality and competitiveness of our products. The implementation of this project will reinforce Metalloinvest’s positions in Russian as well as abroad, as OEMK exports steel products to over 30 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa and South America.”

Gianpietro Benedetti, Chairman of Danieli, said: “We are proud that Metalloinvest has selected Danieli to develop innovative green metallurgy technology at OEMK. This is a strategically important project for our company and it is unique for the entire global steel industry. The new furnace will be the first to combine the use of 100% metallised pellets as raw materials and the smelting of high-quality special steel.”

Vyacheslav Gladkov, acting Governor of Belgorod region, said: “We have set the ambitious target of doubling our gross regional product. Metalloinvest's large-scale development strategy enables us to move confidently towards achieving this goal. Here we are talking not only about investments, but also about improving the environment, creating new jobs and increasing tax revenue. The environmental element is critical to the project which fully aligns with Metalloinvest's strategy of developing green steel production. I am also confident that both Russia and Italy’s economic development will benefit from the partnership between these two companies.”

Smelting at EAF #5 will be carried out entirely from metallised pellets, resulting in a reduction in harmful impurities. The use of liquid metal residue will minimise the amount of furnace slag entering the steel ladle, thus reducing the amount of non-metallic inclusions in steel. Specific energy and furnace electrode consumption will be reduced. As part of the project, EAF #2 will be decommissioned and replaced by ISPU #4.

The integrated steel processing unit reduces the melting time in the main unit, the electric arc furnace, while also improving the quality of the metal. Processing at the integrated steel processing unit is a requirement for producing quality steel grades, including SBQ (special bar quality) steel for the automotive, bearing and other industries.

Source: Metalloinvest, Photo: Fotolia