OJSC Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works ("MMK") has completed technical upgrades to blast furnace ¹8. Currently, the blast furnace is gradually reaching its operational performance level.

The total investment into the blast furnace modernisation amounts to approximately RUB 2 billion. The core scope of work focused on the blast furnace itself – all of its components (cooling units, housing, lining, hearth cooling pipes, etc.) have been replaced. The upgraded blast furnace now incorporates a “ceramic bucket” to protect the hearth and furnaces’ carbon blocks from moisture and oxygen supplied to the blast furnace. This design of the furnace refractory lining, which is already installed on several blast furnaces at the MMK mills, increases intervals between repair. The ceramic bucket was supplied by MMK’s Chinese partners.

The automation controls of the blast furnace have also undergone significant upgrades. New controllers produced by Siemens have been installed instead of the previous outdated components. Much of the equipment installed on the blast furnace was made in Russia.

The technical upgrades to the blast furnace started in December 2014. Modernisation was scheduled for 100 days, however thanks to efforts of the Company’s contractors anddepartments involved, the project was completed ahead of schedule. Twenty-five contractors and seven departments at the mill took part in this modernisation. Several hundred employees worked on the project daily.

Blast furnace ¹ 8 was commissioned on 16 January 1954. It has an effective volume of 1,370 cu m with capacity of 3,200 tonnes of cast iron per day. The last major upgrades to the blast furnace were carried out in 1987.

Communications Department