The Russian company New Industrial Technologies (NPT) has announced its intention to construct a new ferroalloys plant in Bratsk in Russia's Irkutsk region, with the first stage of 60,000 mt annual capacity to be commissioned in 2014. The total investments in the project, which reportedly will be implemented jointly with an unnamed Chinese company, are estimated at $70 million.
Accordingly, the project for the new ferroalloys plant has been approved by the government of the Irkutsk region. The issue of the plant's energy supply of 90 MW has been agreed with local power generating company Irkutskenergo, while gas will be supplied from Bratsk gas condensate field. Meanwhile, raw materials will be supplied to the plant from one of the quartzite deposits in the region.
Currently, Mechel's subsidiary Bratsk Ferroalloy Plant, which is specialized in the production of ferrosilicon, operates in the region. At present, the plant's annual capacity is 91,000 mt; however, following the reconstruction planned in 2011-2012, the plant's capacity is to increase by 30 percent.