Kazakhstan-based mining group Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Plc. (ENRC) has announced the beginning of the construction of a new direct current (DC) smelting facility at its Aktobe Ferroalloy Plant (Aktobe), the cost of which will amount to $590 million.
The new state-of-the-art smelting facility will include four DC furnaces with a total production capacity of 440,000 mt per year of high-carbon ferrochrome, and is scheduled to be commissioned in 2012.
The construction of the new smelting facility is a part of the current capex projects of ENRC's ferroalloys division, and is aimed at enabling the company to gradually replace and expand the existing smelting facilities at its Aktobe plant.
The installation of modern smelting furnaces is expected to enhance productivity and to generate substantial cost savings, particularly for key input materials such as reductants, including coke. The new facility is also expected to result in significant environmental and safety improvements such as the facilitation of the complete recycling of slag formed during ferrochrome production, and the reduction of the risk of injury due to automation of the key smelting processes.
"The start of this project underlines the group's commitment to modernization and expansion of its production facilities. This will allow the group to strengthen its leading position in the ferroalloys market worldwide and to improve its environmental and safety performance," ENRC CEO Felix Vulis commented.