Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works of Zaporizhzhia has re-commissioned a pulverized coal injection (PCI) unit to reduce the cost of pig iron production.
According to the company’s Facebook post, the equipment was temporarily suspended due to unstable power supply and logistical constraints associated with the full-scale war.
“Now, thanks to the team of #Zaporizhstal blast furnace workers, the equipment is back in operation and operates by blowing pulverized coal into the blast furnaces. The use of pulverized coal technology reduces the cost of pig iron without affecting its quality and increases the productivity of Zaporizhstal’s blast furnaces,” the plant said in a statement.
As reported earlier, Zaporizhstal switched to the use of energy-efficient PCI technology in blast furnace production in October 2011: the project was launched in the first quarter of 2008, and the contract for the supply of technology and equipment was signed in 2006 with the German company Küttner.
The plant became the third steelmaker in Ukraine to implement PCI technology, following Donetsk Iron and Steel Works (DMZ) and Alchevsk Iron and Steel Works (Luhansk Oblast). The technology involves feeding wet PCI coke to grinding mills, where the coal is ground to dust, or particles smaller than 90 microns. It is then dried and blown into the combustion chamber – the blast furnace furnace.
“Zaporizhstal recouped the cost of constructing the pulverized coal plant worth about UAH 1 billion, including UAH 350 million for the construction of the basic coal storage facility (BCF), in 1.5 years after commissioning. The use of the PCI technology made it possible to increase the productivity of blast furnaces by an average of 10-15%.
“In the first nine months of 2023, Zaporizhstal reduced its net loss by 91.8% compared to the same period in 2022, to UAH 236.623 million from UAH 2 billion 883.850 million, while its net income for the period increased by 9.2% to UAH 41 billion 329.014 million. Retained earnings as of the end of September 2023 amounted to UAH 28 billion 961.786 million.
“Zaporizhstal ended 2022 with a net loss of UAH 4 billion 864 million 684.828 thousand, while in 2021 it made a net profit of UAH 16 billion 809 million 158.412 thousand.
“Zaporizhstal is one of the largest industrial enterprises in Ukraine, whose products are widely known and in demand in the domestic market and in many countries around the world.
According to the NDU for the third quarter of 2023, Kyiv Securities Group LLC owns 24.5003% of Zaporizhstal shares, Midland Capital Management LLC (both Kyiv, registered at the same address) owns 11.2224%, Global Steel Investments Limited (UK) owns 12.3466%, and Metinvest B.V. (Netherlands) owns 47.0032%.
Earlier it was reported that Metinvest Group’s effective shareholding in Zaporizhstal remains at 49.9%.
“Zaporizhstal is in the process of integration into Metinvest Group, whose major shareholders are System Capital Management (71.24%) and Smart Holding Group (23.76%).
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
Zaporozhkoks, one of Ukraine’s largest coke and chemical producers and part of Metinvest Group, increased its blast furnace coke production by 16% in 2023 compared to 2022, up to 856.8 thousand tons from 737.4 thousand tons.
According to the company, it produced 71.9 thousand tons of coke in December.
“Zaporozhkoks produces about 10% of coke in Ukraine and has a full technological cycle of coke and chemical products processing. It also produces coke oven gas and pitch coke.
“Metinvest is a vertically integrated mining group of companies. Its major shareholders are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%), which jointly manage the company.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
Pokrovske Mining and Processing Plant (PGOK, formerly Ordzhonikidze Mining, Dnipro region) reduced its manganese concentrate output by 44.3% year-on-year in 2022, to 674.8 thousand tons from 1.212 million tons.
According to the company’s annual report in the information disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), in 2022 the company also produced 33.3 thousand tons of manganese sinter and did not produce iron ore sinter, while in 2021 it produced 258.8 thousand tons of iron ore sinter in addition to 1.212 million tons of manganese concentrate.
In 2022, the company reported a net loss of UAH 47.933 million (UAH 83.233 million in 2021) and net income of UAH 1 billion 489.140 million (UAH 3 billion 164.164 million).
Retained earnings at the end of 2022 amounted to UAH 1 billion 355.599 million.
PGOK is Ukraine’s largest open-pit manganese ore producer.
According to the third quarter of 2023, four companies – Profetis Enterprises Limited, Exseed Investmens Limited, Clemente Enterprises Limited and Alexton Holdings Limited (all Cyprus) – own 24.3024% of the company’s shares.
The authorized capital of the company amounts to UAH 736.134 million, with a share par value of UAH 0.25.
Metinvest Group’s metallurgical enterprises in Ukraine have launched production of 25 new products in 2023, including the joint venture Zaporizhstal, which has mastered the production of 14 new products.
According to the group’s press release on Tuesday, despite Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine that has been going on for almost two years, Metinvest remains the country’s economic and industrial backbone. The Group’s enterprises have launched new products, including partially compensating for the production of assets in the temporarily occupied Mariupol.
Most of the new products were launched in the semi-finished products segment, including hot-rolled coils and long products (seven each) and cold-rolled and galvanized coils (two each). Zaporizhstal and Kametstal accounted for the lion’s share of new products. The Group’s galvanized steel producer, Unisteel, launched two new types of products.
It is specified that Zaporizhstal started producing slabs of various sizes from steel grades S235, S275, and S355 as semi-finished products. These products are supplied to Metinvest’s European assets, where they are used to make hot-rolled plates and coils. For its part, Kametstal has mastered the production of two types of square billets – continuously cast and hot-rolled – from new steel grades and with increased requirements for structure and properties. The plant now uses these semi-finished products for its own production of long products and wire rod and supplies them to customers in Ukraine and Europe.
As part of its hot-rolled, cold-rolled and galvanized coils and sheets product range, Zaporizhstal has started producing seven types of rolled products for the construction and machine-building industries in accordance with European, American and Ukrainian standards. In particular, the plant has launched the production of S355J2 coils in accordance with the European standard EN 10025-2 and its Ukrainian counterpart DSTU EN 10025-2. The products have been tested and received confirmation of conformity from an international certification center. Hot-rolled steel products made of S355J2 steel produced in Zaporizhzhia are already successfully supplied to Poland, Romania and other European countries.
In addition, this year Zaporizhstal has mastered the production of cold-rolled coils from structural steel grades S320GD and S350GD for galvanizing. Previously, this semi-finished product was supplied by Ilyich Iron and Steel Works of Mariupol for protective coating. The launch of this product at Zaporizhstal allowed Unisteel to resume production and supply of structural galvanized coils used in the manufacture of steel structures.
The press release emphasizes that cooperation between Zaporizhstal and Unisteel has also been strengthened through other areas of cooperation. In 2023, the plant’s cold rolling shop completed the process of mastering the technology of cutting galvanized coils into sheets, which made it possible to significantly increase the sales of such products in the domestic market.
In terms of long products, Kametstal mastered new technologies and started production of steel grinding balls with diameters of 25 and 100 mm, as well as SVP27 profiles for the mining and metallurgical sector. The plant also produced two types of wire rod – 7.5 mm in diameter from SAE 1008 grade according to the American standard and 8 mm in diameter from European C80D2 steel. The products are used for wire drawing, rope manufacturing and hardware production.
“KAMETSTAL also started production of A500C rebar with a diameter of 36 mm. Such rolled products are in demand for critical construction and infrastructure projects and are used to build bridges, shelters and multi-storey buildings. For the machine-building industry, the plant has launched mass production of hot-rolled rounds with a diameter of 42 mm, which are used to create parts and structural elements for machinery and equipment.
“Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of steel and mining companies. The Group’s enterprises are mainly located in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovs’k regions. The main shareholders of the holding are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%), which jointly manage it. Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
German arms maker Rheinmetall AG wants to build its first armored vehicles in Ukraine next year, the concern’s chief executive officer Armin Papperger said, Reuters reports.
According to Papperger, he expects an agreement with Ukraine to build Fuchs armored transport vehicles, named after the German word for fox, and Lynx infantry fighting vehicles to be signed by early next year.
“After signing the contract, we want to finish the first Fuchs within six to seven months, and the first Lynx within 12 to 13 months,” he said.
It is noted that in October, Ukraine announced the creation of a joint defense venture with Rheinmetall AG to help in the local production of some key types of equipment, as well as to maintain and repair Western weapons sent to Kyiv against a full-scale Russian invasion.
According to Reuters, Ukrainian officials hope that cooperation with Western arms manufacturers will help revive the domestic arms industry, which suffered from inefficiency and lack of transparency for years before Russia’s invasion.
Ukrainian enterprises are now producing two thousand lower limb prostheses and 200 upper limb prostheses in one month, according to Oksana Zholnovych, Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine.
“On average, according to the statistics collected, all enterprises produce more than 2,000 lower limb prostheses and about 200 upper limb prostheses per month,” Zholnovych said during a national telethon on Wednesday.
According to her, almost 80 enterprises are engaged in the production of prostheses in Ukraine, while at the beginning of the full-scale invasion there were about 40 of them. The head of the department also noted that not only the number of enterprises has increased, but also the production volumes of the previously operating ones.
“They are now working to the maximum. I think they will continue to expand. But I would not say that there are long waiting lists (for prostheses – IF-U),” the minister added.
Zholnovych also noted that over 20 thousand people, both civilians and military, have been prosthetized in Ukraine over the past two years.
As reported, in October, the website of the Ministry of Social Policy launched an information panel with a list of prosthetic companies and other manufacturers of rehabilitation aids.
