Stoilensky, part of NLMK Group, an international steelmaking company, has produced its ten-millionth tonne of pellets at its pelletizing plant, one of the largest in Europe.

Launched in November 2016, the pelletizing plant was able to reach design capacity of 6 million tonnes of pellets per year in 6 months and continues to go from strength to strength. In 2018, the plant plans to produce 6.4 million tonnes of pellets for use in blast furnace operations at NLMK Lipetsk.

Sergey Napolskikh, Stoilensky General Director, said:

“10 million tonnes is an important symbolic milestone that serves as testimony to the fact that the plant is running smoothly, successfully addressing its challenges. We plan to further expand the productivity of the induration machine in order to achieve an output of 7.2 million tonnes and guarantee NLMK Group’s control over raw material costs in the long term.”

Stoilensky’s pelletizing plant, NLMK Group’s largest investment project, was executed in two years. Construction of the plant began in 2014 and was completed in November 2016. It required a total investment of around $680 million (34 billion rubles).

The most advanced technology and equipment was used during the design phase. The largest horizontal grate induration furnace in Europe ensures the plant’s high performance at 780 tonnes of pellets produced per hour. The Stoilensky pelletizing plant is the first in the Russian metals and mining industry to use high-efficiency hyperbaric filters to remove fluid during the processing of ore.

The concept behind the design of the pelletizing plant is that of an environmentally friendly, waste-free facility, in which waste charge material and captured dust are fully recycled. A high efficiency dedusting system captures up to 98% of emissions.

The launch of the pelletizer that is of strategic importance for NLMK Group enabled the Company to consolidate its position as one of the most efficient steelmakers in the world.

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 3M 2018, the Company generated $2.79 billion in revenue and $0.8 billion in EBITDA. As of 31 March 2018, Net debt/EBITDA stood at 0.31õ. The Company has investment grade credit ratings from S&P, Moody’s 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 RUB1. For more details on NLMK shareholder capital please follow the link.

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