Metinvest closing Azovstal sinter plant, to invest $300 mln in Ilyich plant
KYIV. Dec 21 (Interfax) - Ukraine's biggest mining and metallurgy group, Metinvest has decided to mothball the sinter plant at its Azovstal steel mill and move production to the sinter plant of the Ilyich Iron & Steel Works, Metinvest Holding said, citing CEO Igor Syry. Both steel plants are located in the city of Mariupol.
The decisions to mothball the Azovstal sinter plant and begin modernizing the Ilyich sinter plant "were made above all based on the interests of Mariupol residents," Syry said at a meeting with environmentalists and representatives of a city council working group on Thursday.
"[The decisions] were approved by shareholders and supported by them as the most optimal in terms of the interests of the public. This is a concrete step toward normalizing the environmental situation in the city as part of the long-term investment program at Metinvest steel mills in Mariupol," Syry said.
The cost of moving sinter production from Azovstal to Ilyich will amount to $59 million per year. The tentative cost of the project to modernize the Ilyich sinter plant exceeds $300 million. The modernization will be carried out over 6-8 years, according to preliminary estimates.
The Ilyich plant will be upgraded to meet high environmental standards. If special technological circumstances require the reopening of the Azovstal sinter plant, the group says it will only make such a decision after consultations with Mariupol residents.
It was reported earlier that Metinvest had decided to take additional steps to improve the environmental situation in Mariupol, home of its two biggest steel plants. It planned to shut down the Azovstal sinter mill for a month on November 12 to do a detailed diagnostic of its treatment systems and fix possible problems. The company earlier shut down the open-hearth furnace and three coke batteries at Azovstal to reduce pollution. The Ilyich steel plant, meanwhile, is launching a pulverized coal injection system at its blast furnaces, which will also reduce pollution.
Metinvest also decided to accelerate the transfer of production to the Ilyich sinter plant and finally shut down the Azovstal sinter plant by the end of 2016.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated mining group, the principal shareholders of which are tycoon Rinat Akhmetov's System Capital Management (SCM) with 71.25% and Smart Holding with 23.75%.
