Cast iron and печное литье is produced around the world. Russia boasts several large industrial facilities where sand-moulded and investment casting is done, producing metal castings weighing 50g to 2000 kg, bronze, aluminum as well as foundries that manufacture shaped iron and steel castings, green-sand moulding, chill and low pressure die casting.
Russia has been producing iron since the 15th century. Its development was driven by abundant ore ores and fuels used in iron making. By the eighteenth century, smelting technology had been perfected that allowed for high efficiency with charcoal-fueled furnaces.
Magnitogorsk was the site of the first major smelting plant in Russia, with a capacity of 12 million tons annually. Here they produce pig iron, cast iron and stainless steel before selling it on the market. Furthermore, they manufacture rail wheels and railway pipe for railway transport systems.
It manufactures equipment and machines for the metallurgical industry, such as furnaces, rotary kilns and casting facilities. It has several large production sites located throughout Russia's Urals, North West and Volga regions.
Rusal, a leading global steel producer, has invested in a new blast furnace to increase their steel production volume. They contracted Italian engineering firm Danieli to supply Eur400 million worth of equipment and solutions for this project, which is set to be operational by 2024.
Magnitogorsk plant will install a new, relined blast furnace to increase capacity by nearly 10%. This will enable the company to produce higher quality steel products with improved purity and strength - including cast iron.
Relining a blast furnace requires using "Hoogovens" cooling and lining technology, which utilizes machined copper plate coolers combined with high conductivity graphite. This design has been tested to last up to 20 years without any adverse effects on ironmaking process, making it the most suitable solution for modern blast furnaces.
Magnitogorsk plant, currently one of the biggest in the world, will be able to reach new levels of ironmaking capacity and maintain its status as a top producer of cast iron.
Furthermore, the project will enable OMK to increase its production of railway wheel blooms and semi-finished feedstock that will be transformed at Vyksa Metallurgical Plant into pipe billet for subsea pipelines. This will result in a significant decrease in CO2 footprint and improved environmental performance from their operations.
The plant will be able to produce three forms of semi-finished product: heavy slab, round wheel blooms and round pipe billet. These will then be processed and transformed at the Vyksa smelter into pipes and rail wheels for the railway, with any extra production being sold on the market.
This smelter boasts 25 potrooms, including one that produces high-purity aluminum. It produces 1 million tonnes of primary aluminum annually and is the biggest single integrated aluminum smelter in Russia. Powered by Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric power plant, the facility utilizes sustainable resources.