Chelyabinsk Electrometallurgical Plant

Chelyabinsk Electrometallurgical Plant is the largest producer of ferroalloys in Russia, capable of fully meeting the needs of domestic metallurgy.

The company employs about 8 thousand people. It includes over 50 structural divisions of ferroalloy and electrode production. Among them are 7 ferroalloy workshops, 6 workshops for the production of electrode products, a limestone roasting workshop, two slag processing workshops, railway and motor transport workshops, a network and substation workshop, a central factory laboratory and three dozen more auxiliary workshops and sections.

Ferroalloys are smelted in 33 electric arc furnaces with a capacity of 3.5 to 33 MVA. The plant consumes over 9 million kWh of electric energy every day.

The range of products includes more than 120 items of ferroalloys and ligatures, more than 40 products of electrode production.

The products of workshops and sites for processing waste of the main production are widely used in the paint and varnish and rubber industry, in road and housing construction, and in agriculture.

Performance indicators

2023: Losses of 519.5 million rubles

Chelyabinsk Electrometallurgical Plant (CHEMK) completed 2023 with revenue of 81.59 billion rubles received from the work for this 12-month period. Compared to 2022, the company's revenue increased by 16.4%. At the same time, the company recorded a net loss of 519.5 million rubles, while in 2022 its net profit was 14.72 billion rubles. Such data are indicated in the RAS reporting, which CHEMK disclosed in early April 2024.

According to Interfax with reference to the materials of CHEMK, the plant at the end of 2023 received a loss partly due to the paid excess profit tax (windfall tax) - 782 million rubles. And revenue decreased due to a drop in gross profit and profit from sales, as well as as as a result of an increase in cost of sales by 2.78 billion rubles.

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From the reports of CHEMK it follows that in 2023 the revenues of the plant in the Russian market amounted to 67.86 billion rubles (-8.3%), in neighboring countries - 2.21 billion rubles (+ 5.1%), in the markets of non-CIS - 11.52 billion rubles (an increase of 1.8 times).

CHEMK's revenue from the sale of ferroalloy products in 2023 amounted to 71.2 billion rubles, which is 14% less than a year earlier. Sales of electrode products in 2023 reached 3.38 billion rubles (an increase of 8.2% compared to 2023), chrome ore - 4.25 billion rubles (a decrease of 2.1 times). Interfax notes that the plant is going to close electrode production as the most harmful in connection with the transfer of plant production outside Chelyabinsk.

By the end of December 2023, the receivables of the Chelyabinsk Electrometallurgical Plant decreased to 7.5 billion rubles from 8.26 billion rubles a year earlier. Accounts payable during this time decreased from 14.42 billion rubles to 10.23 billion rubles.^[1]

History

2024: Transition to state ownership

In mid-March 2024, it became known that the Russian Federation became the sole owner of the Chelyabinsk Electrometallurgical Plant (CHEMK). 100% of the authorized capital passed into the ownership of the Federal Property Management Agency.

According to the Vedomosti newspaper, the authorized capital of CHEMK is more than 11.9 billion rubles. After the change of the owner of the enterprise, Pavel Khodorovsky, who has been working at the company since 2001, continues to hold the position of its general director. He is entitled to act without a power of attorney on behalf of a legal entity.

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At the request of the Prosecutor General's Office, the Arbitration Court of the Sverdlovsk Region on February 26, 2024 transferred the shares of CHEMK, Serovsky Ferroalloy Plant JSC and Kuznetsk Ferroalloys JSC to the state. According to the prosecutor's office, in the 1990s, the assets of enterprises were withdrawn abroad "in order to harm the national interests, defense and security of the country." In addition, the department argued that these enterprises are under the control of unfriendly states and sell products abroad at low prices. In accordance with the privatization rules of 1992, only the government of the Russian Federation could make a decision on privatization, but the Cabinet then did not make such a decision. The businesses were instead transferred to private ownership by local authorities.

The President Russia Vladimir Putin on February 16, 2024 demanded that the harmful production of CHEMK be carried out outside Chelyabinsk, and after about a week the company began to stop electrode production. The governor of the Chelyabinsk region Alexey Teksler said that the plant will be completely closed on March 1, 2024. It is also said that CHEMK was supposed to reduce harmful emissions, however, according to Texler, the obligations made for electrode production were not fulfilled.^[2]

Technology

The process of smelting ferrosilicon is based on reducing silicon from its dioxide in quartzite with coke and coal carbon and fusing it with steel chip iron. Smelting is carried out in ore-thermal furnaces by a continuous process with a closed pile, constant filling of the charge (quartzite, coke, coal, chips, chips) and periodic discharge of metal and slag into one lined ladle. Slag makes 5-7% of alloy weight. The metal is poured on conveyor machines or into flat molds. After cooling, the metal is crushed, sorted and shipped to consumers.

The smelting of ferrosilicochrome is based on the same principle, but silicon is fused with chromium and iron of converted ferrochrome, which is part of the charge instead of steel chips. Alloy spilled into flat molds without crushing is sent to consumer workshops.

Ferrosilicon and ferrosilicochrome are smelted both in open furnaces with dedusting of exhaust gases in dry bag filters and in roof-enclosed furnaces equipped with a wet gas cleaning system.

Smelting of high-carbon and recycled ferrochrome is also carried out in continuous ore-thermal furnaces with a closed pile, constant filling of the charge and periodic discharge of metal and slag. The process is based on the reduction of chromium and iron from chromium ore oxides with coke and coal carbon. The amount of slag depending on the quality of the ore ranges from 1.1 to 2.5 tons per 1 ton of alloy. The charge includes chromium ore, coke, coal and quartzite as flux. The release is made into a lined bucket and slag or steel uncooled buckets behind it for receiving slag. The metal is poured into flat molds, after cooling it is crushed, sorted and sent to consumers. Slag is sent to CPNGS, where it is processed for commercial crushed stone. Metal concentrate is extracted from crushed slag by magnetic separation. The furnaces are equipped with dry bag filters for dedusting of exhaust gases.

The production of manganese alloys - ferrosilicomanganese, ferromanganese and manganese-silicon alloy is organized using two different technologies.

Ferrosilicomanganese and ferromanganese are smelted in ore-thermal furnaces covered with a roof by a continuous process with a closed pile, continuous filling of the charge and periodic discharge of metal and slag, the amount of which ranges from 0.8 to 1.2 tons per 1 ton of alloy. The process is based on the joint reduction of manganese from manganese ore and silicon from quartzite with coke carbon, coal in the presence of fluxes - dolomite or limestone. The outlet is made into a lined bucket and steel buckets behind it in a cascade for slag acceptance. The metal is poured on casting machines, slag is sent to the CPNGS for processing depending on the manganese content to commercial crushed stone or industrial product for smelting manganese alloy with silicon. The furnaces are equipped with a system for wet gas cleaning of exhaust gases and their dedusting in bag filters.

Alloy of manganese and silicon is melted in refining furnaces with complete melting of charge and release of smelting products. The metal is released into a lined bucket and the slag cascade behind it for slag acceptance, the amount of which ranges from 3.5 to 5 tons per 1 ton of alloy. The metal is poured into flat molds, after cooling it is crushed, sorted and sent to consumers. Slag is removed to the slag dump. The charge for smelting is crushed industrial product, ferrosilicomanganese wastes, ferrosilicon slag, lime and graphitization wastes. Essence of the process in melting and precipitation of "kings" of metal from slags and reduction of maraganum from its oxides by silicon of ferrosilicon slag and carbon of graphitization wastes.

The production of low-carbon ferrochrome is based on the process of reducing chromium and iron from chromium ore oxides with ferrosilicochrome silicon in the presence of lime. The metal is melted in refining furnaces with complete melting of the charge and discharge of metal and slag. The release is made into steel uncoiled pre-slagged buckets. The slag frozen on the walls of the bucket serves as a lining that prevents buckets from burning. The metal is poured into flat molds, after cooling it is crushed, sorted and sent to consumers. Slag, which crumbles when cooled down into fine powder, is sent to the Central General Assembly, where scordovines and "crowns" of the alloy are extracted from it by manual sampling and magnetic separation, which are returned to the workshop for remelting. Separated slag is sent to the Krsasnogorsk site for quarry reclamation. Gas emissions are dedusted in battery cyclones.

The smelting of silicocalcium is based on the reduction of calcium from its oxide to lime by silicon ferrosilicon in the presence of fluorspar. The process is carried out in refining furnaces with complete melting of the charge and the release of smelting products. The release is made in lined buckets and slags, the amount of slag ranges from 0.9 to 1.8 tons per 1 ton of alloy. The metal is poured into flat molds, after cooling it is crushed, sorted, packed and sent to consumers. Slag is removed to the slag dump. Furnaces are covered with an arch, gas emissions are dedusted in precipitators.

Lime production is based on the reaction of high-temperature limestone decomposition to calcium oxide and carbon dioxide. gas The process is carried out in rotating kilns operating on a mixture of natural and ferroalloy gases, and in mine furnaces operating on solid fuel - coke. Carbon dioxide is sucked out of the furnaces to ensure efficiency of the process. De-dusting of waste gases is carried out in electrostatic precipitators.

The production of ferromolibden consists of two technological processes - burning molybdenum concentrate in multi-hearth kilns and smelting ferromolibden in a mine on a sandstone. When the concentrate is fired, sulfur is removed from it and molybdenum is converted from sulfide to oxide. In smelting, the burnt concentrate is mixed with ferrosilicoaluminum, aluminum grits, iron ore and lime. The process is based on the reduction reactions of molybdenum and iron with aluminum and silicon taking place with the generation of heat sufficient for complete melting of the charge. After complete penetration and exposure from the mine, slag in the amount of 0.8-1.0 tons per 1 ton of alloy is released into the slag pit. The ferromolibden ingot is soaked in water, after which it is crushed, sorted, packed and disengaged to consumers. All dust and gas emissions from kilns and mines are dedusted in electrostatic precipitators.

Products

• Ferrosilicium
• Ferrochrome
• Ferrochrome silicon
• Calcium-silicon
• Silicon manganese
• Ferromanganese
• Electrodes

Notes