Metinvest Group’s Central Iron Ore Enrichment Plant (Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro Oblast) is actively implementing various dust suppression measures to reduce the environmental impact of its iron ore mining operations.
According to the company’s press release on Wednesday, CGOK received a positive assessment for the implementation of dust suppression measures during a visit by specialists from the regional State Environmental Supervision Department and specialists from the Ecology Department of the Executive Committee of the Kryvyi Rih City Council. They were able to evaluate the work aimed at reducing dust at the company’s tailings dump, in the sanitary protection zone (SPZ) of the Gleiavatsky open pit in the village of Verabovo.
It was also clarified that the main shops of the Central Mining and Processing Plant are located in Kryvyi Rih: Gleiavatsky open pit, crushing and beneficiation plants, Kolachevsky mine and pelletizing plant. To reduce the environmental impact of the company’s industrial activities, the Central Mining and Processing Plant has developed dust suppression measures in the adjacent areas of quarries, tailings dumps, open warehouses of finished products and roads.
To monitor compliance with environmental legislation, members of the environmental commission reviewed the implementation of these measures. The experts visited the sludge management shop of the Central Mining and Processing Plant, where they saw various methods used to prevent dusting in the dry areas of the tailings dump. In particular, the consolidation of loose surfaces with rye crops, which this year amounted to 100 hectares, as well as planting them with reeds. Traditional effective methods include washing beaches with industrial water (823 hectares) and covering them with overburden. The company also uses a safe method of fixing the tailings dump roads with bischofite.
According to Natalia Beloziorova, Head of the Environmental Protection Department at the GOK, the dumps, finished product warehouses and roads of the industrial sites are irrigated with industrial water to suppress dust. The pit faces and surfaces of idle ledges are treated with binders. The company also maintains the uninterrupted operation of four automated air quality monitoring stations installed within the sanitary protection zone.
Thanks to the systematic work of environmentalists, the number of green spaces is increasing every year, which has a positive impact on air quality and noise reduction. In the village of Verabovo, which borders the SPZ of the Gleiavatsky open pit, the commission inspected the condition of 300 shrubs and trees planted last year.
As part of the city’s program to address environmental issues in Kryvyi Rih, the plant is carrying out scheduled wetting of roads and residential areas adjacent to the plant.
“As a result of the inspection, the environmental commission made positive conclusions on the implementation of dust suppression measures at the tailings management and water recycling facilities, roads, as well as measures to plan, arrange and plant sanitary protection zones. The specialists of the Environmental Protection Department provided recommendations for further work in the environmental area,” the press release summarizes.
Central GOK is one of the five largest producers of mining raw materials in Ukraine. The company specializes in the extraction and production of iron ore concentrate and pellets.
CGOK is a part of Metinvest Group, whose major shareholders are System Capital Management (SCM, Donetsk) (71.24%) and Smart Holding Group (23.76%). Metinvest Group’s management company is Metinvest Holding LLC.
