The Russian steel producer Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) has announced that it has launched a new environmental protection project at the sinter plant of its main production site in Lipetsk, which includes the revamping of the central dust collecting system for sintering machines No. 3 and No. 4.
Accordingly, due to the gradual modernization of the two sintering machines, which have a total annual capacity of over 7.3 million mt, the impact on the environment will be decreased by 1.4 times and the sinter plant's total atmospheric dust emissions will be cut by 28 percent.
The first stage of the project, the modernization of sintering machine No. 4, is scheduled for commissioning in Q2 2011, with the second, the revamping of sintering machine No. 3, planned in Q3 2012. At present the old equipment is being dismantled.
The total investments in NLMK's new environmental project, which is part of the second stage of its technical upgrade program, will amount to about Ruble 1.2 billion (approx $40 million).
In 2010, NLMK plans to spend over Ruble 4 billion (about $132.3 million) on environmental protection projects at its main production site in Lipetsk.