OREANDA-NEWS. December 21, 2007. Rostov Steel Plant (REMZ) in southern Russia has started the process of hot testing its electric arc furnace (EAF) and continuous billet caster. The greefield plant completed the first tap-to-tap cycle of its EAF at the beginning of this week.

The hot testing period will last for around three months, REMZ’s parent group, Elektrostal Rossii (Estar), says. The plant’s first phase, that is, production of 730,000 tonnes/year of billet, is set to come into operation in March 2008. It should reach full capacity in August 2008.

REMZ’s second phase – a light sections and wire rolling mill – is planned to come on stream at the end of 2008, Estar’s spokeswoman tells Steel Business Briefing. It will produce 530,000 t/y of light sections and wire rod, chiefly for the construction industry. REMZ will also produce 180,000 t/y of billet for sale.

The plant will require over 800,000 t/y of scrap metal, which will be supplied by Russian scrap merchant Lomprom, also part of the Estar group.

Overall investment in REMZ is around $200m (?139m). One of the main lenders to the project is the People’s Bank of Kazakhstan.

Estar also plans to establish production of steel slabs and dog bones or beam blanks in the Rostov region, as previously reported by SBB. These plans have not changed and are currently under study, Estar’s spokeswoman says.