Mechel, one of the leading Russian mining and steel groups, has announced the recommissioning of the electric arc furnace (EAF) No. 2 at its subsidiary Tikhvin Ferroalloy Smelting Plant after scheduled repairs aimed at increasing the effectiveness of equipment.
Tikhvin Ferroalloy Smelting Plant comprises four EAFs with 22.5 megavolt ampere (MVA) capacity each, of which three are currently operating (including EAF No. 2) with the remaining one on standby.
From October 2008, the plant's operations have been limited due to decrease in demand for its products and the increased prices for imported chrome ore. From October 2008 to May 2009, ferrochrome was smelted by only two furnaces operating at reduced capacity.
The increase of the capacity utilization of the plant has been enabled by the steady supplies from January 2009 of high quality chrome ore from Kazakhstan-based Voskhod Chrome Mining Plant, a part of Mechel's ferroalloy subholding, Oriel Resources. An additional factor has been the increase in demand for high-carbon ferrochrome observed in the markets from April 2009.