Metalloinvest’s third hot briquetted iron (HBI) production facility, HBI-3 Plant, has won the “Investment Project of the Year” prize at the Russian Mining Excellence Awards 2017; HBI-3 Plant was launched at Lebedinsky GOK in July. The awards ceremony took place at MINEX Russia 2017.
Independent experts praised HBI-3 Plant, the largest in Russia and one of the most powerful in the world, with a capacity of 1.8 million tons per year. Investment in the project amounted to 39 billion rubles. More than 400 highly-qualified jobs have been created at HBI-3 Plant.
With HBI-3 Plant’s output operating at full capacity, Metalloinvest will be able to produce at least 4.5 million tons of HBI per year. To increase the volume of production and improve the quality of raw materials required for HBI-3 Plant, modernization of the beneficiation and pellet plants was carried out, which ensured the production of additional volumes of concentrate and higher-quality pellets at Lebedinsky GOK.
The process of the direct reduction of iron used in the production of HBI is the most environmentally friendly method of obtaining iron from ore today. In this process, there are no emissions associated with the production of coke, sintering ore and pig iron, and solid waste in the form of slag. The construction of HBI-3 Plant by order of the Government of the Russian Federation was included in the list of activities within the Russian Year of Ecology, as a project to introduce the best available technologies to Russian production facilities.
Andrey Varichev, CEO, Management Company Metalloinvest, commented: “HBI-3 Plant is the key investment project of Metalloinvest this year. The complex was built in an unprecedentedly short timeframe and strengthened our leadership in the global HBI market. HBI-3 Plant allows us to apply advanced technologies to the production of high-quality metallized raw materials, with minimum environmental impact.” (MetalInfo/Ukrainian metal)