Mechel Group, one of the leading Russia-based steel producing and mining companies, has announced that it has restarted operations at the steelmaking facilities of its subsidiary Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant (ChelMK) after the successfully handled modernization.
The investment cost RUB 4.5 billion ($61 million; $1 = RUB 73.5) and implied almost the complete rebuilding of the two key facilities of the steelmaking complex, namely, blast furnace No. 4 and converter No. 1. The works at the blast furnace, capable of 1 million mt per year pig iron production, included full dismantling of the blast furnace and all equipment, assembly of a new jacket and cone, replacement of the furnace brickwork and cooling system, installation of new equipment for loading iron ore and coke, as well as a modern automated operating system, SteelOrbis has learned from the official statement. In addition, the company has replaced the vessel shell, cooling stack and flux handling route at the converter which was able to produce 1.3 million mt of crude steel per year.
The modernization will result in a 15 percent increase in production efficiency of the two facilities, bringing up the total output of Mechel Group. In addition, the works were aimed at achieving a significant reduction of waste emissions. The blast furnace will undergo a second stage of modernization and, once it is finalized, ChelMK will decrease emissions by 116 mt per year, SteelOrbis has learned.