OREANDA-NEWS. November 25, 2009. Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies, announces that the official ceremony was held which was dedicated to the commissioning of the integrated steel processing facility (ladle furnace) # 3 that is the second technological part of the continuous casting machine No.4 complex project at the oxygen-converter shop of its Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant (CMP) OAO subsidiary, reported the press-centre of Mechel.

The official commissioning of the ladle furnace #3 facility was attended by Vladimir Surnin, Head of Industry and Defense Complex of the Ministry of Industry and Natural Resources of Chelyabinsk Region, Michael Yurevich, Head of the city of Chelyabinsk, Sergei Komyakov, Deputy Head of the city of Chelyabinsk, Boris Vidgof, Chairman of Chelyabinsk City Duma, Ximersis Jiojios, Vice-president of Danieli, Vladimir Tsukrov, the Head of Danieli’s Representative Office in Russia and other guests.

Mechel OAO was represented at the ceremony by Igor Zyuzin, Mechel’s Chief Executive Officer, Vladimir Polin, Mechel’s Senior Vice-president and Sergei Malyshev, Managing Director of Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant.

The commissioned ladle furnace #3 is a system of devices and units which provides integrated steel processing and allows reaching the exact chemical composition, to conduct temperature correction and remove nonmetallic inclusions which helps to improve the quality of metal. The equipment is mainly supplied by Danieli. The ladle furnace #3 is planned to process about 1.2 million tonnes of steel per year. Increase in steel processing would enable to raise continuous caster efficiency at the continuous casting machine No.4 in the oxygen-converter shop up to 120 thousand tonnes per year. Investments for construction and commissioning of the ladle furnace #3 amounted to 1.05 billion roubles.

The ladle furnace #3 is implemented within the second part of the continuous casting machine No.4 complex project which is one of the major investment projects of the first stage of the plant’s technical re-equipment program. It is aimed to increase production efficiency at Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant by reducing steel, ferroalloy and power consumption per ton of casting and significant improve in quality of the final output – rolled products and hardware.

Steel processing at the ladle furnace #3 is conducted in two ladles, which improves efficiency and rhythmicity of the production process and also allows reducing costs for steel processing outside stove. The construction of the complex includes electrode group which is capable to work in two positions and transformer of 32 MVA. Besides, each of the positions is equipped with a water-cooling arch, four-stream wire addition system for delivery of aluminium and flux cored wire, a unit for steel sampling, tuyeres for inert gas injection and carburizing. The complex is equipped with an automatized route for slag-forming material and ferroalloy supply, container lab for sampling and performing operational chemical control. This will help to reduce steel processing timing.

The steel processing complex #3 is equipped with state-of-the art and highly effective gas purifier. It has the maximum filtration level and can work at high temperature ranges during steel processing technological process. It also provides continuous cycle of purification due to the system of filter regeneration.

Vladimir Polin, Mechel’s Senior Vice-president commented on the event:
"Commissioning of the ladle furnace #3 is an important stage of the Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant’s investment program implementation. This program fully complies with the world’s metallurgy development trends. First of all, in terms of converter production and increase in volume of steel continuous casting. The launch of the ladle furnace #3 is also another step to shutting down highly expensive technology of rolling production which includes ingots casting and blooming processing. After today’s launch the share of steel billets produced by the continuous casting technology at the plant will raise up to 50 percent. As a result the performance of the Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant operations will considerably increase".