Russian metalloinvest plans new green metallurgy project worth $2 bn

Metalloinvest, a leading global producer of iron ore products for green steel production, has announced a new investment project in central Russia

The company plans to build a plant at its Mikhailovsky GOK unit in the Kursk region, which will produce more than 7 million tonnes of premium-quality iron ore concentrate annually from oxidized iron quartzites – a type of iron ore previously not used in production due to the lack of suitable technologies. Metalloinvest, in collaboration with Russian scientists, has developed a technology for enriching this ore. The new production facility is expected to begin operating in 2028.

The concentrate obtained from oxidized quartzites will enable the production of iron ore pellets with an iron content of up to 68% and a low level of silicon dioxide. This product meets the latest market requirements and is an environmentally friendly product for use in green metallurgy based on direct reduction of iron.

Direct reduction of iron helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the steelmaking industry. Metalloinvest is the world's largest producer of merchant hot briquetted iron – a type of direct reduced iron used to produce steel with a low carbon footprint.

The new project will reduce the cost of ore extraction at Mikhailovsky GOK and create 900 jobs. The capacity of the new production facility may be later increased to 11 million tonnes of premium iron ore concentrate per year. The total reserves of oxidized iron quartzites at the Mikhailovsky deposit amount to 2.6 billion tonnes.

Source: Media OutReach Newswire.