Russia-based iron ore and hot briquetted iron producer Metalloinvest will invest $2 billion to build a premium-quality iron ore concentrate production plant at its Mikhailovsky GOK unit in the Kursk region, according to a report published by Media OutReach Newswire.
The plant will have an annual production capacity of seven million mt and is expected to be commissioned in 2028. Premium-quality iron ore concentrate will be produced from oxidized iron quartzites, which is a type of iron ore previously not used in production due to the lack of suitable technologies. However, the company has developed a technology for enriching this ore in collaboration with Russian scientists. The total reserves of oxidized iron quartzites at the Mikhailovsky deposit amount to 2.6 billion mt.
The new plant, which will reduce the cost of ore extraction at the Mikhailovsky GOK unit, will create 900 jobs.