NLMK Lipetsk, the flagship site of NLMK Group, has relaunched its Basic Oxygen Furnace No.2, a steelmaking facility with a capacity of over 3 million tonnes per year, following an overhaul. The launch of a new dust and gas collection system in line with Best Available Techniques (BATs) was tied in with the relaunch of the BOF.

The replacement of BOF-2 is the first stage in a large-scale overhaul of NLMK Lipetsk steelmaking operations. The next stage is scheduled to begin in May 2020, and will cover the overhaul of a similar capacity BOF-3.

Steelmaking capacity upgrades will enable a 15% increase in the productivity of the shop, to 10 million tonnes of steel per year. More efficient gas treatment equipment will capture 99.9% of dust emissions, which is in line with best global practices.

The project will also enable the use of BOF gas for energy generation at a new Recovery Cogeneration Plant planned for construction at NLMK Lipetsk.

Total investment in the overhaul of the two BOFs, gas treatment equipment and infrastructure will exceed 26 billion rubles.

Vyacheslav Vorotnikov, Managing Director of NLMK Lipetsk, said:

“Reconstruction at BOF Shop No.2 is one of NLMK’s key strategic projects. Coupled with other projects, it will enable an increase in steel output by 1 million tonnes. The use of BAT’s will enable us to almost fully eliminate dust emissions from BOF operations.”

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 Expert RA.

NLMK’s ordinary shares with a 18.6% 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.