Russia-based leading global iron ore and hot briquetted iron (HBI) producer Metalloinvest has announced that it has started operations at its third hot briquetted iron production facility (HBI-3 Plant) at Lebedinsky GOK in Gubkin, Belgorod region. The plant is the largest HBI production facility in Russia and one of the biggest in the world. The investment for the plant has amounted to approximately $660 million.
The new HBI-3 Plant has a design capacity of 1.8 million mt of HBI per year, which will increase Metalloinvest's HBI annual production capabilities to 4.5 million mt.
Meanwhile, in order to increase the quality and quantity of raw materials required by HBI-3 Plant, Metalloinvest conducted a large-scale modernization of the relevant production facilities, including its pelletization plant and beneficiation plant, which will ensure the increased production of higher-quality concentrate and pellets.