Russian steelmaker Novolipetsk Steel's (NLMK) subsidiary Stoilensky has signed a €280 million ($401 million) contract with a Siemens VAI/Outotec consortium for the design and supply of required equipment and technologies, as well as other services related to the construction of a pelletizing plant at Stoilensky with a capacity of 6 million mt per year of iron ore pellets.
Construction is expected to be completed in 2014. The plant will be able to meet all the pellet requirements of the company as early as 2015, even considering the launch of the 3.4 million mt per year BF No. 7 at Novolipetsk.
Stoilensky's iron ore concentrate capacity will total 14 million mt per year of iron ore concentrate and 1.7 million mt per year of sinter ore by the end of 2011.
Investments in Stoilensky's expansion, including in the pelletizing plant construction, is estimated at RUR 41 billion ($1.4 billion) over 2011- 2015.