OREANDA-NEWS. Karelsky Okatysh, Russia’s leading plant for iron ore mining and processing (part of PAO Severstal), signed a three-year contract to supply magnesia pellets to Swedish-Finnish group SSAB, starting from September 2015.

Finnish metallurgical conglomerate Rautaruukki (part of SSAB since 2014) has been collaborating with Karelsky Okatysh since the plant was first opened. To date, Karelsky Okatysh has only supplied non-fluxed pellets to its Finnish partner. However, new  demand emerged for pellets with a specific magnesium content, following the shutdown of all of Rautaruukki’s sinter plants several years ago.

Work to develop pellets with a higher magnesium content has been ongoing for two years. Specialists from Karelsky Okatysh and Rautaruukki, and researchers from the University of Oulu, worked together to test the physical, chemical and metallurgical properties of the new product. Trial smelts tested for all of the specified requirements of Finnish metallurgists. These were successfully produced by experts from Kostomuksha ore smelting plant. The product, which has passed all laboratory and industrial testing, is now in production.   

The supply of magnesium for magnesia pellet production is another example of a productive Russian-Finnish partnership. Magnesium is supplied from the Mondo Minerals concentrating plant, also located in Finland. Magnesium there is a by product of talc from magnesite ore.

Aleksey Kuznetsov, Head of the Quality & Research Laboratory of Karelsky Okatysh, said: “Previously we only produced two grades of pellets: fluxed pellets with higher Fe content, specifically for Cherepovets Steel Mill, and non-fluxed pellets for all other customers. Magnesia pellets will be our third product type and, like fluxed pellets, is single-purpose and tailored to the needs of a specific customer. To increase our efficiency and customer orientation further we plan to modernize our stockyard to create separate storage for different types of product, and optimize and increase loading capacity.”