Alidzhan Ibragimov
President, TNC Kazchrome

    The Eurasian Industrial Association includes major metallurgical enterprises of Kazakhstan: Transnational Company Kazchrome, Sokolovsk-Sarbaisk Mining Production Association, Aluminum of Kazakhstan, Eurasian Energy Corporation, etc. All these enterprises (approximately 60 thousand people) are urban elements, bear the basis tax burden and maintain the social infrastructure. Due to a well-balanced investment policy, efficient management and a complex development programme members of the Association did not only survive the economic crisis of the mid 1990s, but became leading national producers and suppliers of products to the world markets.

    In 1997, Kazakhstan obtained the second rating in the world in terms of chrome alloys production. This is an effective entry of Transnational Company Kazchrome, which was created two years ago.
The company includes Aktyubinsk Ferroalloy Plant (Ferrochrome JSC), Aksu Ferroalloy Plant (the city of Aksu of the Pavlodar Region) and Donskoy Mining and Dressing Plant (the city of Chromtau of the Aktyubinsky Region). The enterprises operate 40 electric furnaces with the installed capacity of 850 MVA and produce approximately 2.6 million tons of marketable chromium ore p.a.
The range of products, apart from ferrochrome of all grades, including metallic chrome, covers high-silicon ferrosilicium (65 – 75 % Si, 1 – 2 % Al), ferrochrome silicon and low-silicon silicomanganese. The company’s products are in demand in all major ferro-alloy world markets, including the United States, EU countries, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
The company’s enterprises demonstrate fast growth rates. In 1995 – 2000, the volume of capital investments amounted to $167 million. The growth of realised products volumes in terms of money amounted to 208 %. The volume of marketable products output grew by 51 % for ferro-alloys and by 45 % for chromium ore.

Donskoy Mining and Dressing Plant. Central production platform

Chromites are extracted approximately in 20 countries of the world. Kazakhstan is rated among the top three countries in terms of chrome reserves. The world production volume amounts to 11 – 13 million tons p.a. Donskoy Mining and Dressing Plant accounts for approximately 20 % (vs 2.6 million tons of chromites in the previous year). In 2001, Donskoy Mining and Dressing Plant set the first stage of the mine 10 Years of the Independence of Kazakhstan with the output of 600 thousand tons of ore p.a. As of today, this mine is the largest in the world in terms of chromium ore production.
In the recent decade, Aktyubinsk Ferroalloy Plant (Ferrochrome) implemented significant changes. The output increased by 40 %, the volume of marketable products increased two times as a result of a change in the product mix and an increase in production of more expensive alloys.
Apart from metallic chrome production, commissioned in 1997, the plant started to produce granulated ferrocilicium in 2000. The products of the new workshop ensured demand from the Kazakh mining enterprises, which allowed to surrender expensive products imported from Russia and Ukraine.
Two years ago, Ferrochrome commissioned production of metallic chrome to be supplied to a number of European countries. The in-house technology allows to generate metallic chrome of special purity with a low content of nitrogen and ingredients. The plant restored its vacuum heat-treating department of the experimental workshop for production of high quality azoted ferrochrome.

Aksu Ferroalloy Plant

In addition, Ferrochrome developed production of other types of products, which are new for Kazakhstan, such as ferrotitanium and titanic iron ore concentrate. High quality of the production is confirmed by ISO-9002.
Aksu Ferroalloys Plant, which has been functioning since 1968, was initially oriented to ferrosilicium production. Today, this enterprise is one of the largest and unique ferro-alloy facilities in the world. It concentrates broad-scale production of chromium, silicon and manganese alloys. The plant, in its development, builds primarily on the use of local raw materials, such as quartz rock, chromium ore, manganese concentrate and coal, which enables it to maintain relatively low production costs. The plant implements a programme of processing manganese sullage and, in doing so, ensures a complete disposal of ferrocilicium and silchrome sullage. In 2000, the processing operations covered all current production sullage with the volume exceeding 600 thousand tons.
Further consolidation of the own raw-material base is connected with the development of Tur manganese deposit in the Karaganda Region. The deposit concentrates 12 million tons of manganese ore, which accounts for more than a half of all explored oxidized ore deposits in Kazakhstan. The programme envisages the design capacity of 700 thousand tons of manganese ore p.a. The estimated value of the investment project, which will be implemented by 2005, is $20 million.
During the period of work in TNC Kazchrome, all its enterprises obtained certificate of conformity to ISO 9000. Aksu Ferroalloy Plant received a certificate of quality management system conformity to ISO 9001 from a German company TUV Management Service. Donskoy Mining and Dressing Plant received an ISO 9002 certificate of conformity from representatives of TUV SERT, a well-known German company. This event was preceded by year-on-year efforts of managers and specialists of the enterprise, which allowed to improve the level of quality of products and secure high quality of production and process management.
TNC Kazchrome enterprises employ 15 thousand people and take care of each of them. Kazchrome is a member of Eurasian Industrial Association, which unites several industrial enterprises of Kazakhstan. EIA approved itself as a reliable employer. This association does not limit itself just to the execution of the labour code of Kazakhstan. To prevent and treat occupational diseases, EIA enterprises implement regular medical inspections of employees, issue special vouchers to health centers and vacation hotels, financed by the employer. The enterprises annually allocate funds to trade-unions’ accounts for holding sport and cultural events.

Donskoy Mining and Dressing Plant. Poiskovy mine

EIA enterprises maintain a balance between economic development and protection of the environment on the basis of sustainable development principles. National experts of the project «Institutional Strengthening of Sustainable Development» studied the practice of implementing environment management standards by TNC Kazchrome enterprises. In the long-term, it will be implemented by all Kazakh enterprises.
Within cooperation with the Regional Ecological Center of Central Asia (REC CA), Eurasian Industrial Association contributed to the preparation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development. Bolat Svyatov, the Director of Aksu Ferroalloy Plant, a member of REC CA Counselling Board, demonstrates an example of close cooperation of the Kazakh business with international organisations.
Since December 2001, a representative of TNC Kazchrome is a member of the Committee for the Protection of Labour, Health and Environment of the International Chrome Industry Development Association (ICDA), a major nongovernmental organisation. ICDA was founded 18 years ago, and, for the first time, a representative of Central and South-East Asia participates in the work of one of its committees. Such cooperation allows Kazakh chrome producers to be informed about European Commission, Eurometaux and Euroinox projects relating to employment and social affairs. In the area of environmental defence, TNC Kazchrome cooperates with well-known industrial companies Avesta Polarit (United Kingdom), Elkem (Norway), Outokumpu (Finland), Hernic Ferrochrome LTD (South Africa) and others. The activity of TNC Kazchrome in this area aroused the interest among other Kazakh companies. The Board of Directors of Aktyubinsk Plant of Chrome Compounds showed interest in cooperation with ICDA, after which there arose a question of creating a regional representative office of the Association in Kazakhstan.

R    E    F    E    R    E    N    C    E  TNC Kazchrome is a key player of the world ferro-alloy market. The company exports the following products: Ferrochrome (65 % Cr min.) – up to 660 thousand tons p.a., including high-carbon ferrochrome – up to 600 thousand tons p.a., intermediate-carbon ferrochrome – up to 35 thousand tons p.a., and low-carbon ferrochrome – up to 25 thousand tons p.a. Metallic chrome (98.5 % Cr) – up to 1.5 thousand tons p.a. Ferrosilicium (65 – 75 % Si, 1,0 – 2,0 % Al) – up to 80 thousand tons p.a. Ferrochrome silicon (35 – 30 % Cr, 45 – 50 % Si) – up to 80 thousand tons p.a. Silicon manganese (65 – 75 % Mn, less than 0.2 % P) – up to 120 thousand tons p.a.

The participation of EIA enterprises in international grant initiatives allows to use in practice the experience of foreign companies in solving ecological problems. Currently, Ferrochrome, jointly with EnSafe (Memphis, Tennessee), is implementing the EcoLinks programme of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) «Development of a Solid Wastes Management System at Aktyubinsk Ferroalloy Plant (Low-Carbon Sullage)». This work will be implemented as a pilot project for the development of the Programme of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Kazakhstan «Management and Disposal of Production Wastes and Disturbed Lands Rehabilitation» and is a part of the overall environment management system of the enterprise.