Major Ukrainian steelmaking group Metinvest is planning to build a new modern plant on the base of Azovstal, which was damaged by Russian troops during its large-scale military invasion of Ukraine. The company is also closely watching the movements of Ukrainian steel from Mariupol plants seized by occupiers, according to an interview given by Enver Tskitishvili, Azovstal CEO, to local media.
Metinvest has set up a working group to prepare a new Azovstal project, which is expected to be rebuilt once occupied Mariupol, where the plant is based, is liberated from Russia. “There will be a wider range of products [at the new plant]. We will build a plant that will be based on the principle of zero carbon emissions. It will be environmentally friendly steelmaking,” Mr. Tskitishvili said.
The construction works will last not less than three years, the company is going to use the modern equipment supplied by international equipment suppliers and rebuild the mill. “It will be a different plant. Perhaps it will not be in the same place, but somewhere nearby,” the CEO added. He stated that the is sure that the zero-emissions Azovstal is a very real project as the company has already been on its way to green steelmaking. “We planned to complete the reconstruction of the converter this year. When implementing this project, our equipment would produce emissions below European standards,” he said.
The city of Mariupol has been under full control of the Russian troops since late May and the head of the so-called DNR (pro-Russian separatists’ Republic of Donetsk), Denis Pushilin, earlier in May said that Azovstal will be demolished as it has been damaged excessively, while Ilyich Iron and Steel Works, also located in Mariupol, will be rebuilt.
Metinvest is also working on monitoring its steel from Azovstal and Ilyich Iron and Steel Works, which was left at the port and in warehouses when the invasion started. “We can track the stolen goods. We know the roll numbers, steel grades… We can track where each steel plate will pop up,” the CEO of Azovstal said. One of the previous buyers of Ukrainian slabs in Turkey has also confirmed that, due to the specific steel grades and technical features, stolen products from Ukraine could be easily recognized, even if the port of shipment is not Mariupol.
The steel products from Azovstal (mainly plates and slabs) left in the port and in warehouses totaled around 90,000 mt. In total, steel and raw materials at the port of Mariupol waiting for loading or already loaded (so including goods from other plants) amounted to as much as 200,000 mt, as SteelOrbis reported earlier.