NLMK Group to boost second-largest Lipetsk furnace capacity by 8%

NLMK Group has embarked on a large-scale reconstruction of Blast Furnace No. 6 (BF-6) at its Lipetsk site. The project will enable an 8% increase in BF capacity to 3.4 million tonnes of pig iron per year, significantly improve its environmental performance, and extend its interrepair cycle by 50% to 25 years.

Investment in the upgrade will exceed RUB 34 billion.

Currently, work is underway to install new blast air heaters and dedusting systems, assemble main units and steel structures. These works will be completed before the shutdown of the blast furnace, scheduled for May 2019. During the 130-day stoppage, the furnace will be dismantled and rebuilt from prefabricated modules.

Konstantin Lagutin, NLMK Group Vice President, Investment Projects, said:

“Leading Russian and international engineering companies, MPE and technology suppliers have been brought on board to work on this largest investment project to be executed at the Lipetsk site over the past two years. We will end up with a more productive and efficient blast furnace with improved environmental performance. The upgrade of the dedusting system, for instance, will reduce the dust content in the air almost 10-fold. We are not just replacing an obsolete furnace with a new one: the project will make a significant contribution to the overall increase in steel output as part of the new strategic cycle.”