Nazarbaev launches new ferroalloy plant in Aktobe

President Nursultan Nazarbayev has unveiled a new KazChrome ferroalloy plant in Aktobe, Tengrinews reports citing the presidential press-service.

This is a completely new ferroalloy plant, not an extension to the company's Aktyubinsk Ferroalloy Plant that was constructed back in 1933 and has undergone several phases of modernization since. 

The President came to western Kazakhstan for the event. He gave a ceremonial start to the first smelt-furnace at the plant. He also talked to workers, congratulated them on the new plant and wished them success and well being. The workers thanked the government for supporting the metallurgical industry in the country.

The design capacity of the new ferroalloy plant of KazChrome amounts to 440 thousand tons of high-carbon ferrochrome per year. It is expected to produce 226.5 thousand tons of the product by the end of this year. 500 workers are currently employed at the new plant.

The project worth $843 million is expected to produce the first metal in the furnace next month. The plant was built with new technologies that reduce production costs and hence increase competitiveness of the company.

KazChrome is a ferroalloy subsidiary of Eurasian Resources Group Corporation (ENRC). It is one of the largest producers of ferroalloys in the world. High-carbon ferrochrome with chrome content of 68% is its main product.

This new plant in the fifth such plant for the company. The other four are: Donskoy Ore Mining & Processing Plant, Aktobe Ferroalloys Plant, Aksu Ferroalloys Plant and Kazmarganets Mining Enterprise. KazChrome employs a total of 18 300 people.

Writing by Gyuzel Kamalova, editing by Tatyana Kuzmina