Metalloinvest starts pilot operation of concentrate intake facility at Mikhailovsky GOK

Metalloinvest has started pilot operation of the concentrate intake facility at Mikhailovsky GOK. The Company has invested 1.3 bn roubles in the project.

The maximum design capacity of the facility is 3.2 mn tonnes of concentrate per year. During the facility’s pilot operation, the Company specialists will adjust the equipment and operating models in order to operate at the design capacity levels.

The facility will process the intake and unloading of Lebedinsky GOK’s iron ore concentrate, as well as the mixing of Mikhailovsky GOK and Lebedinsky GOK’s concentrate for the subsequent production of high-quality pellets. The new complex will ensure an increase in output of products including high value-added. High-quality pellets produced from a mixture of Mikhailovsky GOK and Lebedinsky GOK’s concentrate will be in demand in Russia, Europe and Asia, as well as due to environmental requirements. As a result, Metalloinvest will strengthen its position in the premium iron ore segment.

The facility consists of several areas: a car dumper and concentrate pipe, an overhead communications overpass, as well as an ore-defrosting plant, which will be used to heat carriages with concentrate in the winter months.

During the construction of the facility, the reconstruction of the Pogruzochnaya and Kvartsitnaya railway stations was also completed, which brought about the laying of 8.7 km of new railways. The general contractor for construction and installation works was Rudstroy LLC, a subsidiary of Metalloinvest.

The intake facility for concentrate has become an important production facility not only for Mikhailovsky GOK, but for the region as a whole. The number of employees at the new complex is approximately 100 people.

The start of the facility's commercial operations is planned at the end of this year.