Environmental Investments at MMK-UGOL
The commissioning of a new environmental facility will make it possible to clean mine water from harmful impurities, and, as a result, will reduce the mine’s environmental impact. The commissioning of post-treatment facilities at the Chertinskaya-Koksovaya mine is the largest environmental project for MMK-UGOL in 2021. This is the Company’s second treatment plant built using advanced Russian technologies to reduce negative environmental impact. The first, costing RUB 115 million, was put into operation in 2018 at the Kostromovskaya mine. The Governor of Kuzbass Sergey Tsivilev and MMK CEO Pavel Shilyaev attended the launch and praised MMK-UGOL’s efforts to reduce environmental impact.
The treatment facilities at Chertinskaya-Koksovaya are equipped in the same way as at the Kostromovskaya mine. The plant uses proven Russian Dyclar technology to reduce discharges of suspended substances, heavy metals (iron, nickel, lead, etc.), organic compounds and to achieve regulatory indicators for permissible exposure. Investments in the project at the first stage alone amounted to RUB 262 million.
The expected effect is a 45.5% reduction in suspended solids in wastewater. Part of the purified water will be used for the mine’s technological needs and the rest will be discharged into the River Cherta.
The construction of mine water treatment facilities at Chertinskaya-Koksovaya started in 2020 by Kuzbass-based company Megostroykomplex. As a result of the implementation of the first stage of the project, the productivity of wastewater treatment facilities amounted to 473 m3/hour (11,352 m3/day); water treatment is carried out up to the standard indicators of permissible exposure. The total investment in this environmental project will amount to about RUB 500 million. According to Vladimir Kharchenko, Director of MMK-UGOL, the second stage of the water treatment plant will be commissioned in 2023, and the third in 2024. Thus, the multi-stage environmental project shoould be completed in three years. The capacity of the water treatment plant will double, and the water quality will meet the most stringent requirements.
There are also plans to increase the capacity of treatment facilities at the Kostromovskaya mine to 575 m3/hour by 2023, due to the expansion of production and an increase in water flow.
In its environmental protection activities, MMK-UGOL is guided by the best practices of its parent company - Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works - whose development strategy includes the implementation of environmental programmes and a steady reduction of the Company’s overall environmental impact.