Stoilensky, the second largest producer of iron ore concentrate in Russia, has signed a development contract with the Finnish company Outotec to increase the pelletizing plant's installed capacity by a third - from 6 m t to 8 m t of pellets per year. Under the contract, Outotec experts will design, supply main equipment and automation systems, and provide consulting support during installation and commissioning of the equipment.

The project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2020.

Konstantin Lagutin, NLMK Group Vice President, Investment Projects, said:

“The pelletizer’s capacity expansion is a priority project of Strategy 2022. It is aimed at ensuring 100% self-sufficiency in captive raw materials of NLMK's additional steel output. In order to reach the output of 8 m t of pellets per year, Stoilensky will need to upgrade several transformation stages of the current pelletizing plant. In particular, we plan to build an additional grinding facility, implement a new filtration technology, upgrade the gas flow pattern of the induration machine, and update the control systems suite with the use of digital technologies”.

Additionally, in 2019-2021 the company plans to boost ore production and beneficiation capacity by 14% via upgrades of Stoilensky's other transformation stages with a view to ensure stable supply of raw materials to the pelletizer after it reaches the output of 8 m t. This will enable the company to increase its ore processing capacity from 37 m t to 42 m t and to increase its concentrate output from 17.3 m t to 20 m t per year.

About NLMK Group

NLMK Group is the largest steelmaker in Russia and one of the most efficient in the world.

NLMK Group’s steel products are used in various industries, from construction and machine building to the manufacturing of power-generation equipment and offshore wind turbines.

NLMK operates production facilities in Russia, Europe and the United States. The Company’s steel production capacity exceeds 17 million tonnes per year.

NLMK has the most competitive cash cost among global manufacturers and one of the highest profitability levels in the industry. In 12M 2018, the Company generated $12 billion in revenue and $3.6 billion in EBITDA. Net debt/EBITDA stood at 0.25õ. The Company has investment grade credit ratings from S&P, Moody’s, Fitch and RAEX (Expert RA).

NLMK’s ordinary shares with a 16% free-float are traded on the Moscow Stock Exchange (ticker "NLMK") and its global depositary shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange (ticker "NLMK:LI"). The share capital of the Company is divided into 5,993,227,240 shares with a par value of RUB1. For more details on NLMK shareholder capital please follow the link.

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