The Ukrainian mining and steel producing group Metinvest has announced that it has secured a seven-year repayment buyer credit facility of some €43.2 million for its subsidiary Ilyich Steel, based in Mariupol, Ukraine. This facility is covered by an Austrian export guarantee issued by Oesterreichische Kontrollbank Aktiengesellschaft (OeKB). The funds drawn will be used to finance the construction of Ilyich Steel’s continuous casting machine No. 4 supplied by Primetals Technologies Austria GmbH, a part of UK-based plantmaker Primetals Technologies.
According to Metinvest, following the commissioning of the new continuous casting machine, expected by the end of this year, the existing ingot casting line will be taken out of operation and the blooming mill will be shut down. The launch of the casting machine will also enable Ilyich Steel to cut costs by reducing metal losses and energy consumption, while boosting output of crude steel and finished products.
The new equipment is designed to have a continuous casting production capacity of 2.5 million mt per year and will boost the steelmaker’s total annual capacity by 1.5 million mt to around 4 million mt, as the outdated continuous casting machine No. 1 will be shut down. As a result, casting production capacity will be balanced with existing hot metal capacity. Total investments in the project will be around $150 million. When implemented, the new machine will also help to improve the environmental situation in the city of Mariupol.