Mechel Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant

This article is part of the Global Steel Plant Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

Download full dataset

Report an error

Sub-articles:

GEM Wiki Main Page Currently operating steel plants All steel plants Steel decarbonization research List of steel producers World Steel Association Steelmaking technology Green steel projects

Mechel Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant (Челябинский металлургический комбинат (Russian)), also known as CHMK OAO Mechel; Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Combine, is a blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) and electric arc furnace (EAF) steel plant operating in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

Location

The map below shows the exact location of the plant in Chelyabinsk, Russia:

Loading map...

{"type":"HYBRID","minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"types":["ROADMAP","SATELLITE","HYBRID","TERRAIN"],"mappingservice":"googlemaps3","width":"600px","height":"500px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"visitedicon":"","wmsoverlay":false,"zoom":14,"layers":[],"controls":["pan","zoom","type","scale","streetview","rotate"],"zoomstyle":"DEFAULT","typestyle":"DEFAULT","autoinfowindows":false,"resizable":false,"kmlrezoom":false,"poi":true,"cluster":false,"clustergridsize":60,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clusteraveragecenter":true,"clusterminsize":2,"imageoverlays":[],"kml":[],"gkml":[],"searchmarkers":"","fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":false,"locations":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":55.27073,"lon":61.436492,"icon":""}]}

• Location: 2-ya Paveletskaya street, 14, Chelyabinsk, Chelyabinsk region, Russia, 454047
• Coordinates (WGS 84): 55.270730, 61.436492 (exact)

Background

Construction of the plant started in the 1930s and resumed during World War II. The first steel products were produced in 1943. Previously, the plant was named the "Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant"; in 1983 it received the status of a "combine", being renamed into "Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Combine" (Челябинский металлургический комбинат).

The plant currently has three operating blast furnaces, two basic oxygen furnaces (converter), and two electric arc furnaces (EAF). The blast furnace #4 basic oxygen furnace #1 have been fully reconstructed in 2020. The blast furnace #5 has been fully reconstructed in 2023. With no recent evidence, it is unclear if all the units are operating and at what capacity.

The plant added aspiration system to the blast furnace #4 and a dry gas cleaning system in the EAF shop in 2024. The cost of the projects amounted to 1 billion 40 million rubles. The projects are said to reduce emissions by 27% compared to 2017 emissions. Future plans include the construction of another aspiration system for the casting yard at the renovated blast furnace No. 5, as well as the modernization of filters on the plant's sintering machines.

As of October 2024, the plant has been operating at a loss.

Environmental and safety violations

The plant is one of the major pollutants of air and water in the region.

In 2018, ChMK was fined 100 thousand rubles for dumping mercury into the river. In 2021, the Chelyabinsk Regional Court ordered the company to pay a fine of 142.6 million rubles. That same year, ChMK paid off a debt of 47 million rubles in another criminal case. In 2022, Chief Engineer Vladimir Kapnin, Head of the Department for Labor Protection, Industrial Safety and Environmental Protection Alexander Sadyrin and his deputy Alexander Sosunov were found guilty of the mercury spill in 2018. The plant's employees were given suspended sentences of two years in prison. However, the following year, the sentence was replaced with a fine.

Rosprirodnadzor identified gross violations of environmental legislation in the plant's activities. For several years, the Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant has reported on the successful implementation of programs to both reduce the discharge of dirty waste into the Miass River and reduce emissions of hazardous substances into the air. In fact, an inspection by the supervisory authority showed that modernization did not help solve the problem - tons of heavy metals and other substances hazardous to humans continue to flow into the main reservoir of the capital of the Southern Urals.

Plant Details

Table 1: General Plant Details

Plant status	Construction date	Start date	Workforce size	Iron ore source	Coal source
Operating	1942	1943	15196	Korshunovskoye and Rudnogorskoye iron ore fields	Raspadskaya coal mine

Table 2: Ownership and Parent Company Information

Parent company	Parent company GEM ID	Owner	Owner company PermID	Owner company GEM ID
Mechel JSC [100.0%]	E100000000860 [100%]	Chelyabinskiy Metallurgicheskiy Kombinat PAO	4295887257	E100000130740

Table 3: Process and Products

Steel product category	Steel products	Steel sector end users	ISO 14001	Main production equipment	Detailed production equipment
semi-finished; finished rolled	billet; slabs; wire rod; rebar; pipe; square bar; hot-rolled; cold-rolled; stainless steel; rails	automotive; building and infrastructure; energy; tools and machinery; transport	2024	BF, BOF, EAF	coking plant (# batteries unknown, battery #7 began in Nov. 2006), battery #4 rebuilt in 2009); 1 sinter plant (began in 2005); 3 BF; 3 BOF (BOF #1 (rebuilt in 2019)); 2 EAF (EAF #2 (rebuilt in 2004), EAF #6 (rebuilt in 2004))

Table 4: Crude Steel Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)

*Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page for an explanation of the different capacity operating statuses.

Capacity operating status*	Basic oxygen furnace steelmaking capacity	Electric arc furnace steelmaking capacity	Nominal crude steel capacity (total)
operating	3999 TTPA	1800 TTPA	5799 TTPA

Table 5: Crude Iron Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)

*Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page for an explanation of the different capacity operating statuses.

Capacity operating status*	Blast furnace capacity	Nominal iron capacity (total)
operating	4000 TTPA	4000 TTPA

Table 6: Upstream Products Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)

Sinter	Coke
4500 TTPA	2900 TTPA

Table 7: Actual Crude Steel Production by Year (thousand tonnes per annum)

Year	Total (all routes)
2020	–
2021	–
2022	3300 TTPA

Table 8: Actual Crude Iron Production by Year (thousand tonnes per annum)

Year	BF Production	Total (all routes)
2020	–	–
2021	–	–
2022	3200 TTPA	3200 TTPA

Blast Furnace Details

Table 9: Blast Furnace Details

Unit name	Status	Announced date	Construction date	Start date	Current size	Current capacity (ttpa)	Decarbonization technology	Most recent relining
1	operating	unknown	unknown	2004-03	2030 m³	1500	unknown	2004-03
4	operating	unknown	unknown	2020-03	1386 m³	1100	unknown	2020-12
5	operating	unknown	unknown	2023-09	1719 m³	1400	unknown	2023-09

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of steel power plants, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Steel Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.

Resources

• https://mechel.com/sector/steel/chelyabinskiy-metallurgicheskiy-kombinat/ Company website
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pervouralsk_New_Pipe_Plant; https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A7%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8F%D0%B1%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%BB%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%B1%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%82 Wikipedia