NLMK Group, an international steel company with operations in Russia, the USA and the European Union, received a gold medal at Metal-Expo’2017, the 23rd international industry awards for its integrated dust emission control project at the Lipetsk site. The project enabled a 6% reduction in gross dust emissions.

The project covers 12 initiatives executed across different units of the plant between 2015 and 2017. Key emission sources at sintering, blast furnace, and refractory operations were equipped with advanced electric filters and high-efficiency bag filters. Residual dust content after dedusting for these units is in line with the best indicators for dedusting systems in leading edge steelmaking (less than 10 mg/Nm3). All captured dust is returned to the production process as feedstock.

Specialists from Ecotech and NLMK Engineering, one of leading design institutes in the Russian steel sector, also received a mention for their contribution to the project.

Galina Khristoforova, NLMK Group Director for the Environment, said: “We are honoured to receive this well-deserved award in such a prestigious international competition. NLMK Group has in fact achieved the best indicators for dedusting systems in leading-edge steelmaking. A set of initiatives aimed at reducing dust levels at the Lipetsk plant, for instance, enabled a radical improvement in air conditions in Lipetsk, which has been officially recognized as the most environmentally friendly steelmaking city.”

Project execution at the sintering plant included the reconstruction of existing dedusting units and the construction of a new dedusting system for receiving limestone bunkers. At the refractory shop, dust cleaning units at four rotary furnaces were modernized, and a new centralized gas cleaning system was built for three shaft furnaces. The dust suppression system in the open-air section of the bulk material storage facility was revamped, and dedusting units in the bulk material loading and feed area were upgraded. Other initiatives included the construction of a modular aspiration system for BF-4 at Blast Furnace Shop No. 1, and a set of dust suppression systems in the cast yard raw material and captured dust loading area.

Investment into the integrated dust emission control project totaled around 1.7 billion rubles.

About the Metal-Expo competition

Gold and silver medals are established by the Organizing Committee of the Metal-Expo exhibition. They are awarded to production and R&D teams that have developed and implemented cutting-edge equipment and technologies, or mastered the production of new types of high-quality steel products. The Jury is made up of representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, the Russian Association of Metal and Steel Traders, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Moscow and the Russian Federation, the Russian Union of Metal and Steel Exporters, and the International Metallurgists Union.

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 windmills.

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 9M 2017, the Company generated $7.25 billion in revenue and $1.87 billion in EBITDA. As of 30 September 2017, Net debt/EBITDA stood at 0.3õ. The company has an investment grade credit rating from S&P and Fitch.

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 RUR1.

NLMK Group received the Steel Industry Leadership Award at the prestigious 2016 Platts Global Metals Awards held by S&P Global Platts, a leading international industry analytical periodical.

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