The Novolipetsk Steel Group is the largest metallurgical company in Russia. It churns out around 17% of steel produced in Russia (17 million tons a year)
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Slava Stepanov / GELIO
The Novolipetsk Steel Group (NLMK) is the largest metallurgical company in Russia. It churns out around 17% of steel produced in Russia (17 million tons a year).
Slava Stepanov / GELIO
Nearly 60 thousand people work at the mill.
Slava Stepanov / GELIO
NLMK expands over an area of 28 square kilometers, while its perimeter is 38 kilometers. It’s located in the city of Lipetsk, 350 kilometers from the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly, the company’s main supplier of raw materials.
Slava Stepanov / GELIO
The blast furnace is used to refine prepared iron ore into molten iron. Currently, four blast furnaces are in operation at NLMK.
Slava Stepanov / GELIO
This furnace has worked non-stop for 35 years. It is not possible to stop the process (“to extinguish the furnace”) because the red-hot metal inside it would cool, creating a mass that would be impossible to extract.
Slava Stepanov / GELIO
The blast furnace’s keeper, or the tapper, selects the iron sample. The temperature of the metal inside the furnace reaches 1500 degrees Celsius (2732 degrees Fahrenheit).
Slava Stepanov / GELIO
Filling crucibles with molten iron. Afterwards, the buckets are transported to a convertor shop.
Slava Stepanov / GELIO
The temperature for smelting steel is decreased by constantly cooling it with water.
Slava Stepanov / GELIO
The metal is rolled out of a bar into a steel sheet using a special rolling machine. The thickness of the metal bar decreases with every passing. Steel strips are moved along the conveyor around 40 kilometers/hour.
Slava Stepanov / GELIO
The mill sends 67 % of its production for export, which makes up about 60% of its revenue.
