Ukrainian mining and steel producing group Metinvest has announced that it has secured a buyer credit facility of €34.4 million for its subsidiary Ilyich Steel, a steelmaking plant based in Mariupol, Ukraine. The credit facility will mature in August 2028 and the funds will be used to finance the large-scale reconstruction of Ilyich Steel’s hot strip mill (HSM) 1700.
According to the company statement, the project aims to enhance Ilyich Steel’s product mix by increasing the weight of the hot rolled coils from an average of 15 mt to 27 mt, as well as by reducing the minimum thickness to 1.2 mm and allowing production of coils with widths ranging from 900 mm to 1600 mm. The reconstructed HSM 1700 will be able to use the larger slabs from the new continuous casting machine No. 4.
Metinvest said that the project will also improve Ilyich Steel’s hot rolled coil quality and reduce production costs while increasing productivity from 1.36 million mt to 2.5 million mt per year. In addition, it will maximize the reuse of existing equipment without compromising quality and will minimize mill shutdown time. The total investment during the current phase of the project is expected to reach $110 million.