NLMK, the leading global steelmaking company, today announced thesuccessful completion of guarantee tests and the subsequent commissioning of its new 3.4 mtpy Blast Furnace #7 (BF-7). The total value of the project exceeded RUR 43 billion. 

The new blast furnace is the first to have been built in Russia in the past 25 years, and is the largest project implemented within the framework of NLMK’s Technical Upgrade Programme. Following the commissioning of BF-7, as well as a new Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF), NLMK’s steel output at the Lipetsk site is expected to increase by 36% to 12.4 mt. 

2.4 mt of pig iron was produced during the 10 months of industrial testing, confirming the blast furnace’s full compliance with the design parameters. Benchmarked against its closest international peers, BF-7 enables higher labour productivity, lower fuel consumption and better product quality. The entire technological process is based on the most advanced environmental and resource-saving technologies available, including highly efficient dedusting systems and a closed water cycle. Blast furnace gas is used as a raw material for the generation of energy at NLMK’s new 150 MW recovery co-generation plant. All slag is reprocessed into crushed stone to be used in road construction.

 The project was undertaken in cooperation with engineering company Paul Wurth (Luxembourg). The construction phase lasted three years and involved over 70 construction and assembly companies. The blast furnace benefitted from innovative solutions from Russian and foreign engineers, making the production complex construction projectone of the best examples of efficient international cooperation in recent years.