The ERG Green slurry processing plant was put into operation in Khromtau

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The ERG Green slurry processing plant was put into operation in Khromtau

Today, Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov visited a new dressing plant for processing slurry of the Donskoy GOK in Khromtau, Aktobe region.

The plant will annually process about 1.7 million tons of constantly generated waste from existing production facilities and previously accumulated slurry.

The ERG Green dressing plant is one of four projects in a large-scale program for processing stale slurry of the Donskoy GOK. As a result of its implementation, 14.5 million tons of historically accumulated waste will be processed.

The total investment in ERG Green is 96 billion tenge, 400 jobs will be created here. The project is financed with the participation of Development Bank of Kazakhstan JSC.

This is the most modern and automated production facility of its kind in the world. The slurry is processed here using the gravity method of dressing. This method has never been used anywhere in the world to extract chromium oxide from this type of raw material. The resulting marketable concentrate contains at least 48.5% of chromium oxide. The plant solves two important issues at once: it will reduce the volume of accumulated slurry, i.e. improve the ecological well-being of the region, and support the supply of concentrate to ERG ferroalloy plants.

Three more major initiatives as part of the slurry processing program will be implemented before the end of 2024. This is the construction of a site for flotation dressing of tailings, dressing of tailings at the Ore Dressing and Pelletization Plant (FOOR) and the construction of a briquetting site for fine raw materials.

As a result of slurry processing, ERG will ensure the output of 200 thousand tons of high-carbon ferrochrome, which will provide about 10 billion tenge in taxes per year.

- This project is very important from the point of view of ecology. 14.5 million tons of slurry accumulated. There is quite a lot of ore there that can be processed. But the most important thing is that after additional extraction, the “tailings” can be reclaimed in accordance with all ecological standards in order to minimize the impact on the environment and public health. We will support this kind of projects in every possible way, - Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan A. Smailov said.

– Today, our key goal as shareholders of the company is the greening of the Group’s enterprises, – Shukhrat Ibragimov, Chairman of the Supervisory Board and Member of the Board of Directors, ERG S.a.r.l., noted at the presentation of the projects. – We believe that, following the company’s mission and ESG principles, the management should ensure high ecological standards. Therefore, the Group has developed an Ecological Strategy as part of our large Green Metallurgy program. As part of the Ecostrategy until 2030, we plan to invest 228 billion tenge.

During the visit, Prime Minister also got acquainted with the investment progress of such promising ERG projects as the construction of a wind power plant with a capacity of up to 155 MW with investments of about 110 billion tenge (it will start operating in 2024); the construction of the second stage of the mine named after the 10th Anniversary of Kazakhstan's Independence with a design capacity of more than 6.5 million tons of ore per year, as well as the Group's social initiatives.