OJSC Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works ("MMK") is carrying out technical upgrades to blast furnace ¹8. Following the expected completion during winter period, the blast furnace will be ready to serve seasonal growth in demand for metal in Spring.

The technical upgrades to the blast furnace started in early December 2014 and are scheduled to be completed by 15 March 2015. It is expected that as early as February the blast heaters will start warming up as the first stage of preparation for launch.

Hearth jacket mounting and lintel plate welding are being carried out presently. Demounting of the old furnace elements, foundation repair, and replacement and lining of the hot blast main have already been completed.

The upgraded blast furnace will incorporate a “ceramic bucket”, which would protect the hearth and furnaces’ carbon blocks from moisture and oxygen supplied to the blast furnace. This design of the furnace refractory lining, which is already installed on several blast furnaces at the MMK mills, increases intervals between repair. The ceramic bucket was supplied by MMK’s Chinese partners.

The automation controls of the blast furnace will also undergo significant upgrades. New controllers produced by Siemens will be installed instead of the previous outdated components.

Blast furnace ¹ 8 was commissioned on 16 January 1954. It has an effective volume of 1,370 cu m with capacity of 3,200 tonnes of cast iron per day. The last major upgrades to the blast furnace were carried out in 1987.

Communications Department