Mechel announced the launch of the universal rolling mill first line the blooming concaster #5 at Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant’s oxygen converter shop.

The blooming concaster #5 with an annual capacity of 1 million tonnes is due to supply the universal rolling mill with top quality continuously cast billets. The new concaster can produce 200mm x 200mm and 300mm x 360mm billets from various types of steel including carbon, structural and alloyed steels, further consolidating Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant’s status as Russia’s top producer of specialty steels and alloys.

The concaster #5 is part of a complex which produces rail steel and rail billets. The complex also includes a two position ladle furnace #4 with an annual capacity of 1.2 million tonnes and a two-chamber vacuum degasser with an annual capacity of 650 thousand tonnes, which are necessary to produce metal of requisite specifications. The out-of-furnace steel processing equipment is due to be commissioned by the end of December 2011. The complex’s construction plans also include environmental protection measures. The complex’s facilities are equipped with a modern circuit water-supply cycle and dust-gas filtering systems.

The estimated funding for the complex, including the blooming concaster #5, the ladle furnace # 4 and the vacuum degasser, totals some USD 189 million. The equipment was supplied by the Italian based company Danieli.

Mr Andrey Deineko Mechel-Steel Management Company’s Chief Executive Officer said “The blooming concaster #5’s production capacity will meet the universal rolling mill’s need for top-quality continuously cast billets. Commissioning the concaster’s facilities ahead of the universal mill’s launch gives us time not only to perfect the technology of producing rail metal and billets, but also to process steel into rails thanks to our cooperation with other producers. These steps aim to prepare us for the main complex’s launch and to speed up Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant’s mastering of a new technology.”