NLMK Lipetsk, NLMK Group’s flagship production site, has completed performance testing of new air purification systems installed on facilities that underwent capital repairs in late 2019, namely Basic Oxygen Furnace No. 2, which has a capacity in excess of 3 million tonnes of steel per year and Blast Furnace No. 6, which has a capacity of 3.4 million tonnes of pig iron per year.

Gas exhaust ducts at Basic Oxygen Furnace No. 2 have been overhauled and a highly efficient system for the capture and purification of fugitive emissions has been installed at the BOF Shop. At the upgraded Blast Furnace No. 6 complex, new air purification systems have been integrated at feedstock supply and slag processing areas, and at the cast house. The new air purification systems can capture up to 99.9% of dust and are in line with best available technologies.

Measurements taken at the new gas purification systems have confirmed that their performance corresponds to design targets. The overall reduction in emissions of specified substances following implementation of the two projects amounted to 6700 tonnes, including 5500 tonnes of carbon monoxide (a 43% reduction at corresponding locations), 1200 tonnes of dust (-53%), 4.1 t of hydrogen sulphide (-51%), and 2 t of sulphur dioxide (-10%).

The corresponding target effects for reduced emissions of specified substances were included into the quadripartite agreement between the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, the Russian Federal Agency for Oversight of Natural Resource Usage, Lipetsk Region administration, and NLMK, signed in summer 2019. The agreement entails several upgrade and construction projects between 2019 and 2023. NLMK has already completed four out of nine projects included in the agreement, achieving the environmental targets set out for each project.

Nikita Vorobyev, NLMK Group Director of Environment, said:

“Leadership in sustainable development is one of the Company’s key strategic goals. In 2019-2023, NLMK Group’s investment in environmental protection will exceed RUB 20 billion. The integration of gas purification equipment in line with best available technologies at NLMK’s BF and BOF operations will enable them to almost eliminate dust emissions. Two more projects with significant environmental benefits are scheduled for 2020, namely overhauls of NLMK’s Blast Furnace No. 6 and Basic Oxygen Furnace No. 3.” 

For a comparison of equipment operations before and after the overhauls, please follow the link.

Project information

Over the course of 2019, NLMK Lipetsk implemented several major projects at its hot-end operations, with overall investment standing at RUB 51 million.

·           Capital repairs at NLMK’s Basic Oxygen Furnace No. 2 (BOF-2) are the first phase of a large-scale reconstruction at Lipetsk steelmaking operations. An upgrade of BOF-3, which has a similar capacity, is scheduled for completion by the end of 2020. The steelmaking  facility upgrade will enable a 15% increase in the Shop’s capacity to 10 million tonnes of steel per year. Total investment in the capital repairs of BOF-2, the gas purification equipment and infrastructure were in excess of RUB 16 billion.

·           Capital repairs at Blast Furnace No. 6 are key projects of Strategy 2022. The furnace’s capacity increased by 8%, reaching 3.4 million tonnes of pig iron per year. All blast furnace gas generated during pig iron production is used for energy generation at the power plant, while blast furnace slag is processed into products used in construction. Investment in the project exceeded RUB 35 billion.

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 2019, the Company generated $10.6 bn in revenue and $2.6 bn in EBITDA. Net debt/EBITDA stood at 0.7õ. The Company has investment grade credit ratings from S&P, Moody’s, Fitch, and RAEX (Expert RA).

NLMK’s ordinary shares with a 19% 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.

For more information on NLMK Group, please visit our website.