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Aluminum of Kazakhstan JSC allocated more than 3 billion tenge for the purchase and installation of hybrid filters to reduce dust emissions

Informburo.kz talked with Roman Romanov, the President of Aluminum of Kazakhstan JSC and found out how Pavlodar Aluminum Plant is living and how the company is developing new frontiers of its products.

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- Roman Sergeyevich, let's start our conversation with the most important indicator of the enterprise-the alumina production. How much has it been produced since the beginning of the year?

– Pavlodar Aluminum Plant produced more than 900 thousand tons of alumina in eight months of 2019. In total, we plan to produce 1.4 million tons by the end of the year. We produced the same volume of products last year.

For the production of alumina, the enterprise receives raw materials from Krasnooktyabrskiy and Torgay bauxite mine groups. On average, they ship 4.5 million tons of ore per year.

–A part of alumina, as far as is known, is sent to the Kazakhstan Electrolysis Plant (which is also located in Pavlodar and is a part of the Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), where aluminum production is already underway. Does the rest of the alumina go for export? To what countries?

– We try to diversify the supply and sales markets of our products. Thus, in addition to supplying the domestic market, the company exports alumina to Russia, China and Tajikistan. In 2018, about a million tons of our products were sent to Russia, and for eight months of this year-already 369 thousand tons were sent. About 200 thousand tons were shipped to China and Tajikistan within eight months of 2019.

- Speaking of exports. In 2015, your company opened a credit line for export operations with the Development Bank of Kazakhstan. Can you please tell us more about it?

– First of all, it is worth noting the fruitful work of ERG and DBK. Firstly, the Development Bank of Kazakhstan has good expertise and competence in the analysis and selection of investment projects, is able to provide long-term financing and, most importantly, it is aimed at industrialization and the development of the country's economy. Secondly, the DBK offers very attractive conditions for state support in comparison with the proposals of commercial banks. Therefore, it was decided to attract funding there.

Thus, with the active participation of the Development Bank of Kazakhstan, the Eurasian Group has already implemented two strategic projects, including the construction of a plant for the production of aluminum. Now another investment project in the energy sector is being implemented, and several promising projects are under consideration of the Bank.

The purpose of the loan you mentioned is to finance the export operation of alumina production. We allocated funds (3 billion tenge for the first limit for a period of three years and $ 70 million for a second term for five years) to pay for goods and services necessary for the production of an export product.

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-The main trend in the mining and metallurgical industry is now called digitalization. As you know, within the framework of the Eurasian Group at the Sokolovsko-Sarbaiskiy mining and processing production association, specialists are working on the project of "smart open-cut". Are digitalization and automation projects being implemented at the Aluminum of Kazakhstan facilities?

– Yes, we have many such projects. The uninterrupted operation of the system of operational control of the technological processes of the entire Pavlodar Aluminum Plant is monitored by a new hardware and software complex.

We have implemented the Signal program for the protection of workers' labor, it helps to exclude injuries at work. This, by the way, is the proprietary solution of the Eurasian Group.

The systems of accounting for working hours and special power, as well as video surveillance in the enterprise’s divisions, including mines, are currently under experimental-industrial production.

A separate project is a system of control and accounting for the movement of road transport, import and export of materials. This helps to reduce fuel losses, as well as to control the compliance of drivers with routes and operating modes.

Similar work is underway at the ore base of the Aluminum of Kazakhstan JSC. In Krasnooktyabrskiy bauxite mine group, we are implementing a management system for the mining and transport complex. This will increase the productivity of excavators and dump trucks by reducing downtime.

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- An important issue for Pavlodar region, where the main production facilities of Aluminum of Kazakhstan are located, is environmental protection. What is being done at Pavlodar Aluminum Plant to reduce emissions?

- The environmental component is, indeed, one of the most important issues for Pavlodar region, "saturated" with industrial enterprises. At the plant, we are working on the gradual replacement of electric filters to reduce dust emissions by hybrid ones, the use of which will significantly reduce the concentration of dust in the exhaust gases. Thus, the reconstruction of only two filters will reduce particulate emissions into the atmosphere by 2.4 thousand tons per year.

We started dismantling the first electric filter in July, and now the engineers of the German company called Thyssen Krupp are installing the hybrid filters. The total costs of Aluminum of Kazakhstan company for the purchase and installation exceed 3 billion tenge.

In addition, our plans include the reconstruction of ash collecting installations at the TPP, which is owned by Aluminum of Kazakhstan JSC. Instead of existing wet ash treatment plants, we plan to install bag filters and reduce the dust content of waste gases to the level of European air quality standards.

All these initiatives are spelled out in the strategy of the Eurasian Group to reduce emissions into the atmosphere. ERG will allocate more than 200 million euros for its implementation.

- Thank you for the interview!

АО «Банк Развития Казахстана»
проспект Мәңгілік Ел, здание 55 А, н.п. 15 Z05T3E2 Астана
+7 (7172) 79 26 79