Metalloinvest Launches a Ball Rolling Facility at OEMK

Metalloinvest, a leading global producer and supplier of HBI and iron ore products, and one of the regional producers of high-quality steel, a Metal-Expo regular exhibitor, launched a ball rolling facility at OEMK.

The ball rolling facility will produce approximately of 43,000 tonnes of grinding balls for the needs of the Company’s enterprises. The project also accounts for the possibility of production and shipment of the new product for third-party customers.

Construction of the ball rolling facility began in September 2019, with Metalloinvest investing around 1bn roubles into the project. Chinese engineering company WISDRI supplied key technological equipment. The new production facility enabled the creation of 85 new jobs at the enterprise.

Andrey Ugarov, First Deputy CEO, COO of Management Company Metalloinvest, commented: “The launch of the ball rolling facility is an important milestone in the Company’s development. The new facility will remove the reliance of our mining enterprises on external suppliers. In the long term, we will be able to offer OEMK-produced grinding balls to other metals and mining companies.”

Sergey Shishkovets, Managing Director of OEMK, said: “This is an important project for Metalloinvest enterprises in terms of synergies. Transitioning to OEMK-produced grinding balls will reduce iron ore production costs at Lebedinsky and Mikhailovsky GOKs as a result of optimised delivery logistics, reduced transportation costs and a guaranteed production quality. The next step will be to expand the product range in line with market demand.”

Grinding balls are used for crushing ore in ball mills at the mining and processing enterprises. Grinding balls with a diameter of 100-120mm, weighing 4.6 and 8 kg, and of 2nd and 3rd hardness groups in accordance with GOST 7524-2015 will be produced at OEMK.