Russian steelmaking and mining company Mechel has reported the launch of operation at the Uvatsk quartzite deposit and delivery of the first batch of raw materials from the deposit to its Bratsk Ferroalloy Plant.
Approximately 680 mt of quartzite mined at the deposit were delivered to Bratsk Ferroalloy Plant in March this year. Implementation of the Uvatsk deposit development project took some four years, using Mechel’s ferroalloy division’s own resources and funds. Quartzite is the chief raw material used in the production of ferrosilicon.
Bratsk Ferroalloy Plant won the tender for the rights to utilize the subsoil plot on the Uvatsk deposit of quartzite and quartz sandstones in May 2008. The Uvatsk deposit is located in the Irkutsk region, approximately 24 kilometers from the town of Nizhneudinsk.