NLMK Group, the global steel company, the Belgorod Region administration, and the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade have signed a Memorandum of Intent for a project to construct a new metals and mining facility at the Stoilensky Mining and Beneficiation plant. The project is based on the most advanced and environmentally friendly technologies, and encompasses the development of several production stages and mastering a new product for the company, hot-briquetted iron (HBI).

The project covers the expansion of the existing open-pit mine to increase iron ore output from 43 Mt to 67 Mt per year, the construction of new beneficiation capacities for a total of 10 Mt of concentrate, a pelletising plant with a capacity of 9 Mt of pellets, and an HBI shop with a capacity of 2.5 Mt of HBI. The new facility will be built with the strictest environmental norms in mind. It will employ the best available technologies ensuring that the environmental impact of production is minimised: gas purification systems, a closed loop water system, reuse of waste, conveyor transport in the open-pit mine etc.

The project is set to create up to 1,300 new high-tech jobs. Investment will total approximately RUB250 billion rubles. Project implementation is planned for 2024-2027, with step-by-step commissioning scheduled for 2027-2028. The Memorandum of Intent was signed by NLMK CEO Grigory Fedorishin, Acting Governor of the Belgorod Region Vyacheslav Gladkov, and Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Viktor Evtukhov.

Grigory Fedorishin, NLMK CEO, said: “Hot-briquetted iron is currently in demand both in Russia and on the global market. Using this product in making steel cuts CO2 emissions in half vs. traditional technologies. The project marks the beginning of NLMK Group’s planning process for its new strategic development stage, Strategy 2030. High-tech integrated digital production with a low carbon and climate footprint is set to reinforce the company’s competitive advantages.”