Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation Alexander Kozlov visited Mikhailovsky GOK im. A.V. Varichev (part of the Metalloinvest company) as part of a working trip to the Kursk Region.
Together with the Governor of the Kursk Region Roman Starovoit, the General Director of Metalloinvest Nazim Efendiev and the Managing Director of the Mikhailovsky GOK Anton Zakharov, the Minister examined production sites of the enterprise, got acquainted with key technologies and solutions to minimize the impact of production on the environment.
The guests were shown: the practice of performing restoration and recultivation work on the dumps of the plant, a unique crushing and conveyor complex and high-tech Roasting machine No. 3, which was put into operation at the end of 2020.
Within the framework of the workshop, the head of the Ministry of Natural Resources was presented with a unique project for the processing of oxidized ferruginous quartzites of the Mikhailovskoye deposit.
“At Mikhailovsky GOK, breakthrough projects are being implemented that will radically change the technological processes and quality of the plant's products,” said Nazim Efendiev. - The crushing and conveyor complex, launched in November last year, has already produced more than 1 million tons of ore. The plant has mastered the industrial production of premium pellets for metallization. Completed the development of a project to involve oxidized ferruginous quartzites in the processing.
For the first time in Russia, we have developed and implemented technologies that allow enriching oxidized ferruginous quartzites, obtaining a premium quality concentrate. The implementation of the project will make it possible to additionally produce 6.6 million tons of iron ore concentrate per year and significantly reduce the cost of mining processing ”.
At the meeting with the Minister, the project of Mikhailovsky HBI (created by the USM group and Mikhailovsky GOK) for the construction of the world's largest plant for the production of hot briquetted iron (HBI) was also discussed. This is the most environmentally friendly iron production technology today. Mikhailovsky GOK will supply high-quality iron ore raw materials for the new plant.
The Governor of the Kursk Region, Roman Starovoit, recalled that Mikhailovsky HBI will become one of the anchor residents of the special economic zone “Third Pole” being created in Zheleznogorsk: “The creation of the SEZ will give a new impetus to the development of Zheleznogorsk. Tax revenues from SEZ residents will allow attracting additional funds for the social sphere, improvement programs, and transport infrastructure of the city. The region is expected to receive about 650 additional jobs. "
“Now all over the world there is a trend towards“ green ”metallurgy and Russian companies are not lagging behind,” commented Alexander Kozlov. - The environmental agenda, in principle, is becoming key for production. By the way, the technologies that our colleagues have developed will make it possible to process products into a more environmentally friendly, cleaner product that will allow avoiding harmful emissions. This is very important, we will support it. "
For reference :Unique enrichment technology of oxidized ferruginous quartzites
Oxidized ferruginous quartzites (OZhK) - ores with a complex material composition, weak magnetic properties and low openability of iron minerals ...
The total reserves of oxidized ferruginous quartzites of the Mikhailovsky deposit are 2.6 billion tons. The average annual volume of OZhK extraction is at the level of 50-54 million tons.
OZhK are not processed and are stored in special dumps, since until now there was no economically viable processing technology.
In 2005-2020. Metalloinvest specialists, together with Russian research institutes and design organizations, carried out large-scale work to study the composition and technological properties of OZhK.
Laboratory and industrial technological studies have confirmed the separation of OZhK into non-enriched and enriched. Separation of non-enriched quartzites from enriched ones is a prerequisite for the production of high quality concentrate from OZhK.
A technology for enrichment of OZhK according to the magnetic flotation scheme has been developed. A feasibility study for the involvement of OZhK in the production of commercial products has been completed.
Research has confirmed the possibility of producing pellets that meet the highest international standards from concentrate obtained during the enrichment of OZhK.
