OREANDA-NEWS.  February 25, 2014. Director of the Polar Division of MMC Norilsk Nickel, Alexander Ryumin, examined the progress of preparations for the repairs of Flash Smelting Furnace No.2 (FSF-2), one of the two primary smelters installed at Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant.

Alexander Ryumin visited smelting shop, converter aisle and anodes section. Flash Smelting Furnace No.2 is one of the two primary smelting units installed at Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant. A comprehensive overhaul like this, with a duration of 60 days, was last carried out at the facility over 7 years ago. This is a major event both for the plant and for the whole Polar Division.

According to Alexander Ryumin ‘currently, the plant operates under difficult conditions. We need to ensure implementation of our production program and at the same time we need to prepare for the furnace overhaul. A large number of contractor workers are now being relocated to the facility so that all of the preparations can be completed by February 24 and overhaul can be initiated’.

The overhaul will be carried out by the employees of Norilsknickelremont and Polar Construction Company. During the two months, the furnace will be essentially taken apart to the foundation and then reassembled using new elements. Operations at the second process train will be stopped for the duration, which will allow the company to carry out maintenance of slag cleaning furnaces No.3 and 4, drying equipment complex and waste heat boiler. Overhaul will result in improved safety and reliability of the smelting equipment, which shall result in greater overall consistency of the plant’s operations.