OREANDA-NEWS. December 29, 2010. NLMK’s Kaluga mini-mill, which is currently under construction, hasembarked on the installation of main process equipment for its EAF Shop supplied by VAI SIEMENS (Austria).

The plant will receive equipment for its electric-arc furnace (EAF), ladle furnace (LF) andan 8-strand continuous casting machine (CCM) before the end ofFebruary 2011. The EAF will use an innovative steel-making technology "Ultimate" andwill combine high specific electric power (more than 1 mWA/t) with a single-bucket EAF charging practice perone melt. A twin-stand ladle furnace will allow thetreatment ofsteelin two ladles in different positions in turn.

Gas cleaning systems builtwith the latest available technologies willreduce emissions from the plant by at least99%, cutting emissions to less than 2 kg/tsteel; well below theaverage forintegrated steel-making plants in Russia(25-35 kg/t) andthe EU (15-18 kg/t).Furthermore, the Company is planning to install closed water circuits that will prevent industrial water from being discharged into water bodies.The adoption of these process solutions and the installation of up-to-date equipment not only ensures environmental safety for the whole production chain, but also results in high performance, energy efficiency and high product quality.  

Main process equipment supplies for the rolling facilities are scheduled for 1H 2011.  The light-section rolling mill will be supplied by SMS MEER.

For reference:
NLMK’s Kaluga Mini-millis a next generation steelmaking company with world-class production levels. The Kaluga Mini-mill has been included into the list of priority investment projects as part of the Russian Steelmaking Industry Development Strategy until 2020. The construction of the mini-mill is an important line of development for NLMK's Long-Product Division.The aim of this project is to establish a state-of-the-art plant for the production of a wide range of metal products for construction, including reinforcing and profile bars.   The plant’s design capacity is1.5 mtpy of liquid steel and 0.9 to 1.5 mtpy of rolled products.  Stages 1&2 are to be commissioned in 1H 2012.TheEAF and rolling shops–the plant’s key facilities - are currently under construction.   The construction of building structures for the main shops is scheduled for completion by the end of the year. 
NLMK-Long Productsis a subsidiary thatconsolidates companies belonging to NLMK Group's Long Products Division since December 2009. NLMK-Long Products companies make up an integrated production chain from the collection and processing of ferrous scrap to the manufacture of downstream steel products – re-bar, wire rod and metalware. NLMK-Long Products key companies are NSMMZ in the Sverdlovsk Region (EAF and long products) and UZPS (metalware). Scrap, raw materials are represented by Vtorchermet NLMK – one of the largest associations of scrap-collecting companies in Russia operating in different regions of the country.