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Uzbekistan to create its own raw material base for metallurgy

27 August 2014 11:47 (UTC+04:00)
Uzbekistan to create its own raw material base for metallurgy

The project on development of the Tebinbulak titanomagnetite ores field in Karakalpakstan (north-west Uzbekistan) in order to create its own raw material have revived Uzmetkombinat, which accounts for over 90 percent of steel products in the country, the State Committee on Geology and Mineral Resources (Goskomgeo) told Trend.

Tebinbulak field was discovered in 1937. Its inferred resources are 3.5 billion tonnes of ore, and proven reserves are 450 million tonnes. Due to high investment costs the deposit has not yet been developed.

According to the State Committee on Geology, the project envisages the creation of the mining complex with a capacity of 14.7 million tonnes of iron ore with the release of titanium and vanadium, as well as the development of production of 1.5 million tonnes of steel products annually.

Funding for the project worth $3 billion will be financed through foreign loans and means of the Uzbek side.

At present, the Russian Uralmekhanobr JSC (Ekaterinburg, a part of the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company, UMMC), under contract with Uzmetkombinat examined the project and issued a positive opinion on the technical feasibility of establishing of a steel plant based on the Tebinbulak deposit.

It is expected that by the end of 2014 a preliminary feasibility study on the development of the field will be developed in order to complete its implementation until 2020.

In particular, the Russian First Mining and Metallurgical Institute Company will prepare a project on Tebinbulak development using the blast furnace technology, and The Finnish Outotek will prepare an alternative option of a field according to the SL / RN iron making technology (production and plating of pellets).

The field will provide work for Uzmetkombinat for decades, and solves the problem with the raw material.

Uzmetkombinat is the only company of black metallurgy in Central Asia working on scrap metal. The plant was put into operation in 1956. Previously, it recycled scrap metal coming from all the republics of the USSR, and currently uses scrap produced in the country, as well as raw materials purchased outside of the country under the terms of tolling.

Currently Uzmetkombinat is implementing a program on development and modernization of the production of a total value of $134.7 million scheduled until 2016.

It is expected that by 2016, the program will increase design capacity of the plant for production of steel by 13.3 percent - up to 850,000 tonnes, and production of processed scrap metal will increase by almost 1.8 times, or up to 670,000 tonnes.

In 2013 Uzmetkombinat increased steel production by 1.3 percent, or up to 746,200 tonnes compared to 2012, production of rolled ferrous metals - by 1.1 percent, or up to 718,000 tonnes.

The official exchange rate for Aug. 26 is 2348.02 soum / $ 1

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