Scientific support for the national metallurgy

Interview with Abdurasul Aldashevich Zharmenov, General Director of the National Center for Integrated Processing of Mineral Raw Materials of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The National Center for Integrated Processing of Mineral Raw Materials is designed to consolidate scientific forces competent in the transformation of ore into metal

Since the first days of sovereign development, the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan has been making efforts to effectively use scientific achievements for economic development. The first step in this direction was the establishment of a number of national centers in 1992-1993. By concentrating the efforts of specialists on priority areas of economic development, the state has set a goal to eliminate the disadvantage characteristic of Soviet science – the weak development of scientific developments in industry. The idea behind the creation of the National Center for Integrated Processing of Mineral Raw Materials was to consolidate scientific forces competent in the transformation of ore material into high-value-added metal products. Abdurasul Zharmenov, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan, General Director of the National Center for Integrated Processing of Mineral Raw Materials of the Republic of Kazakhstan, explains how this task has been implemented today.

– Dear Abdurasul Aldashevich, The National Center for Integrated Processing of Mineral Raw Materials has an extensive structure. How do different institutions complement each other?

– Our Center was initially entrusted with the functions of conducting and coordinating fundamental and applied research in the field of development of mineral deposits – ferrous, non-ferrous, rare and precious metals, rational extraction and efficient enrichment of raw materials, complex chemical and metallurgical processing to final competitive products of high availability, maximum reduction of the anthropogenic impact of the mining and metallurgical complex on the environment.

For this purpose, academic and industry institutes were combined in one structure, in fact, the experience of conducting physico-chemical studies of metallurgical processes, kinetic and thermodynamic patterns, and mechanisms of ongoing processes was combined with practical experience working with complex mineral and man-made raw materials in industrial production conditions.

The consolidation of scientific forces has allowed the development of so-called "end-to-end technologies", taking into account the complexity of the use of mineral raw materials. If earlier the concentrators made claims to the miners – "they supplied the wrong ore" – and lost up to 60% themselves, then such an association allowed us to consider the whole process as a whole and jointly solve it as a single task.

For Kazakhstan, with its complex, poor mineral resources, this approach is the most rational. Only the complexity of processing such raw materials can ensure the economic efficiency of its use.

A synergistic effect is observed in the development of complex polymetallic deposits containing arsenic, phosphorus, sulfur, and carbon. A striking example is the development of stubborn gold–bearing deposits: we are developing mining projects, technologies for heap leaching of primary (oxidized) ores, processing and processing of sulfide ores, and processing into a Dore alloy for transfer to refining. Scientists of the National Center are working at all stages, and the result is that every third ton of gold in Kazakhstan is produced using the technologies of the National Center.

– The Center operates in the field of both non-ferrous and ferrous metallurgy. Is their leadership equally stable?

– In non-ferrous metallurgy, the technology and apparatus of KIVCET (oxygen-suspended cyclonic-electrothermal) is the business card of the Branch of the National Vniitsvetmet Center. In the last five years alone, two KIVCET complexes with a total capacity of 220,000 tons of lead per year have been put into operation. In total, 420 thousand tons are produced using this technology in the world, which is 10% of the world's primary lead production.

The National Center also holds a leading position in gold metallurgy. Over the years, more than 20 heap leaching plants have been commissioned using our technologies in Kazakhstan. According to our design solutions, Dore plants were built in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Semipalatinsk and Stepnogorsk, gold recovery plants in Akbakai, the Pustynnoye deposit, in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, China, and a refining plant in Astana.

In the field of ferrous metallurgy, we also have no equal in Kazakhstan, and in some areas, such as the production of ferroalloys, we are well known in the world.

The National Center has created technologies for the production of manganese alloys and implemented them at Temirtau, Taraz, Chelyabinsk (RF) electrometallurgical plants, and refined ferrochrome grades at the Aktobe Ferroalloy Plant. At the same enterprises, technologies for stabilizing highly basic metallurgical slags from silicate decomposition using borate ores have been mastered.

Kazakhstan's new complex alloys are known by world leaders in steel production such as ThyssenKrupp (Germany), POSCO (South Korea), Nippon Steel and Kobe Steel (Japan).

– Do you conduct international cooperation and cooperation with Russian institutions?

– We maintain business and friendly relations with colleagues from the Institute of Problems of Integrated Subsoil Development of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Metallurgy of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Boris Yeltsin Ural Federal University, the Topchiev Institute of Agricultural Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Lomonosov Northern (Arctic) Federal University. But separately, I would like to focus on the relationship with global manufacturing companies.

Today, when we commercialize our scientific and technical products, we have to work closely with world leaders in various industries, ranging from mechanical engineering to potential consumers of our products. These are, for example, manufacturers of furnace equipment such as SMS Siemag AG (Germany), Baosteel Group Corp., Sinosteel Corp., JinZhou Tian Sheng Heavy Industry Co (China), Snamprogetti S.p.A. (Italy). The effectiveness of such interaction is obvious, we create new plants on a turnkey basis, and we adapt the project documentation ourselves, which allows us to fully keep the project under control.

Plans for the near future include building factories in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, launching a plant in Brazil, and starting production of Kazakhstani alloys in Iran.

We promote our products to the global market ourselves. So, we have established contacts with representatives of the largest potential consumers of the new materials we create. Our partners include ThyssenKrupp, POSCO, JFE Steel Corp., Kobe Steel Corp. (Japan), Colacogly (Turkey), RW Silicon (Germany). We are developing large-scale pilot batches of products offered for production for industrial testing and are actually developing technologies for their application.

OffTake contracts have been signed for the exclusive acquisition of Kazakhstansky alloy by ThyssenKrupp and POSCO. Bilateral and trilateral agreements have been signed with ThyssenKrupp, POSCO, HANWA (Japan), and a number of Chinese companies on cooperation to establish large-scale production facilities for Kazakhstani alloys in a number of countries around the world. ThyssenKrupp is interested in our developments on pure ferroalloys, in particular, we are talking about ferrosilicon with a low aluminum content from non-traditional sources of raw materials. Together with Campine (Belgium), the world's largest manufacturer of antimony materials and products, the technology for producing pure antimony from lead production waste is being commercialized.

– What contribution, in your opinion, does the Center make to the development of the country?

– The National Center is the head organization for scientific and technical support of the implementation of state programs of industrial and innovative development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, within which new technologies are developed and implemented at enterprises of the mining and metallurgical complex of the country.

So, we are solving the issues of involving high-phosphorous brown iron ore in the processing. The technology of thermomagnetic enrichment and dephosphoration of Lisakovsky gravity-magnetic concentrate has been developed, which makes it possible to obtain high-quality iron concentrate with an iron content of up to 65% and phosphorus content of no more than 0.25%. The results were verified by specialists from Orken LLP and at the ArcelorMittal Temirtau Testing Center in France (Metz). A technology for the production of X80 steel of the strength category according to the AIPI Spec 5L standard for the pipe industry and critical structures has been developed and implemented. Industrial tests have shown the fundamental possibility of recycling iron-containing waste from steelmaking to produce standard cast iron. A self-rotating refractory mass has been created for lining high-temperature components of metallurgical units and thermal insulation and exothermic mixtures for insulation of cast iron buckets and cast iron mirrors, which are supplied to ArcelorMittal Temirtau.

Examples of projects implemented within the framework of the SPFIID for 2010-2014 with the participation of the National Center include the launch of a refining plant in Astana, the commissioning of the Altyntau Kokshetau gold extraction plant, and the construction of a cathode copper plant by Sary-Kazna LLP, the uniqueness of which lies in the complex extraction of useful components from man-made mineral waste from the Kounrad mine. This method has been used for the first time in Kazakhstan.

In the State Program for the development of industrial and Innovative Development for 2015-2019, the National Center participates in solving the tasks of creating new types of ferroalloys, steel (tubular and corrosion-resistant, heat-resistant and heat-resistant, tool, ball bearing, rail and spring-loaded) and expanding the range of high-alloy steel.; in the field of non–ferrous metallurgy, the replenishment of the copper raw material base and the transition to a new hydrometallurgical technology for processing poor ores, the development of the Bozshakol and Aktogay deposits, and the use of new technologies for extracting copper from man-made mineral formations. In the rare metal and rare earth sub–sectors, the introduction of technologies for processing asbestos production waste to produce artificial carnallite, pure magnesium compounds.

– What do you think your personal decisions have changed the fate of the Center?

– Since the first day of the establishment of the National Center, all my activities have been focused on the commercialization of scientific and technical products. At the first stage, the structure of the National Center was formed in accordance with the tasks. Design departments have been established both in the parent organization and in our branches. We have a general design license of the first category, which allows us to carry out a wide range of work, including the development of environmental projects to assess the environmental impact of the planned project activities. The NC structure includes departments for innovation, investment, manufacturing, capital construction, and the commercialization center. Naturally, we needed to develop mechanisms for transferring intellectual property objects to technology users. We had to revise the financing system to suit the interests and schedules of specific innovative projects.

We develop innovative projects, carry out cost-effectiveness calculations, develop feasibility studies, design and estimate documentation, and conduct author's supervision of the project implementation.

Today we are implementing a project to build a ferroalloy plant for the production of Kazakhstansky alloy in the Kyrgyz Republic, and this project includes not only technology, but also design documentation, an EIA project, industrial safety of the facility, and adaptation of technological design. We are now extending this invaluable experience to our other innovative projects.

– What is a special reason to be proud of the achievements of the last two years?

– For me personally, this is the recognition of our developments by global metallurgical companies and investments (about a billion US dollars) in the creation of industrial plants.

For example, POSCO has funded the construction of a large-capacity furnace for smelting a new type of complex alloy using unconventional raw materials. The construction of the first stage of the Kyrgyz Ferroalloy Plant is underway. Construction of the first stage of the Karaganda Complex Alloys Plant begins. The project is funded by KOLMET B.V. (the Netherlands) and the Development Bank of Kazakhstan under Dutch guarantees. And this is an absolute innovation created in Kazakhstan, which is really impossible not to be proud of.

Another example is the previously mentioned KIVCET installations and the technology of processing low–quality raw materials to produce primary lead. The company TeckComincoLtd. (Canada), PortovesmeS.r.l. (Italy), JiangxiCopperCorporation, ZhuzhouSmelterGroupCo (China) invested funds in their creation, and today there are four factories operating in the world.

– Abdurasul Aldashevich, we know that under your leadership, the scientists of the National Center for Integrated Processing of Mineral Raw Materials were awarded the State Prize of the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2015, and this is the second award of this level for you. On behalf of the editorial staff, let me congratulate you and your team on this event! The editors also cordially congratulate you personally on your 60th birthday and wish you energy to implement all your plans!

Source: glavportal.com (Business of Russia is the country's main industrial portal)