MINEX Forum

Tag: Qarmet

  • Qarmet plans to once again become one of the leading metallurgical enterprises in the region

    Qarmet plans to once again become one of the leading metallurgical enterprises in the region

    The owner of Qarmet Andrey Lavrentyev told the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev about the current state of the plant and the prospects for its further development. The investor reported that the company intends to once again become one of the leaders in the country’s metallurgical market. Information about the meeting between Mr. Lavrentyev and the head of state appeared on the official website of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. 

    Qarmet management reported on the results of negotiations with the trade union of metallurgists and coal miners. The key topic of discussion was working conditions. The heads of departments agreed with the employees to develop a collective agreement, which in the future will be able to satisfy the requests of employees to discuss with them decisions that are significant for the team.

    Qarmet aims to increase production volumes and regain the once lost status of one of the largest metallurgical plants in Central Asia and the CIS. According to Andrey Lavrentyev, with a successful restart, the plant could receive this title by 2028. As for how to achieve this goal, the company plans to increase steel production to 5 million tons per year (+64%) and increase the production of iron ore concentrate to the same level (+88%). Annual coal production should be 9 million tons (+47%). 

    The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan also discussed with the owner of Qarmet the updating of working equipment in order to prevent repeated accidents at work. The key issue on the environmental agenda of the meeting was gasification of the enterprise. 

  • Current operational issues of the Qarmet company were considered by the government

    Current operational issues of the Qarmet company were considered by the government

      Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov held a regular meeting of the working group on the activities of the Qarmet company.

          With the participation of the new investor, measures to ensure stable operation and further development of the enterprise, issues of taxation, use of the main railway network, as well as compliance with environmental legislation were discussed.

           In addition, plans to update industrial safety requirements for mines in the Karaganda coal basin were discussed at the meeting.

            Following the discussion, the head of the Government gave government agencies a number of necessary instructions.

  • Qarmet management outlined plans for 2024

    Qarmet management outlined plans for 2024

    Last year, the future of the Qarmet plant (formerly ArcelorMittal Temirtau) was actively discussed in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Then, during the negotiations, acute problems of the enterprise were identified. In the new year, the heads of all Qarmet departments met in Temirtau to approve ways to gradually solve problems and plans for the further development of the plant. This information was reported by the press service of the akimat of the Karaganda region.

    When Andrey Lavrentyev became an investor, the plant had only 11 teams carrying out tunneling work in the mines. It is known that the situation has now been improved: the number of teams has been increased to 23. In addition, work has already begun at the Abayskaya mine; It is planned to open two more mines by April of this year.

    In the next two years, restoration work will be carried out, which will make it possible to have two working longwalls at the Kazakhstanskaya mine by 2026. The Saranskaya mine will have so many longwalls this year, and the volume of production, according to experts, will be 1.3 million tons of coal. The stagnant period also ends for the mine. Lenin. According to forecasts, 1.2 million tons of coal will be mined here this year.

    Director of the coal division Jakan Mukhamedzhanov said that Qarmet is entering the stage of stabilizing production processes, but admitted that in the current situation there is no talk of grandiose projects yet. This year, coal production will decrease by 2%.

    This year, the management of the iron ore division plans to increase production volumes by an average of 10% (up to 2.5 million tons). The department is also ready to produce manganese concentrate and dephosphorize iron (up to 60%). This year, Qarmet metallurgy production will increase by 13% (to 3.3 million tons).

    The Qarmet steel department paid special attention to the work of the marketing department: the managers had a number of questions and proposals in this regard.

    Lavrentiev expressed his readiness to invest in new projects, in particular, he expressed interest in creating a foundry.

  • At the Kostenko mine it was prohibited to resume production for a while

    At the Kostenko mine it was prohibited to resume production for a while

    Qarmet management decided not to resume production at the Kostenko mine, where 46 people died as a result of the accident, until all possible factors for a repetition of the tragedy have been eliminated. This was reported on the company’s Telegram channel , Turantimes.kz reports.

    Management representatives carried out an inspection at the mine at a depth of more than 600 m, in close proximity to the accident site, and became familiar with the current situation. 

    Mine director Andrei Boyko reported on the results of inspections carried out at the site, planned work to eliminate the causes and consequences of the incident, and prospects for resuming coal mining.

    “The management of Qarmet, represented by Andrei Lavrentyev and Vadim Basin, expressed gratitude for the complex work being carried out, but prohibited the resumption of production in the mine until any possible factors of a repetition of the tragedy were eliminated. They noted that all the necessary means for execution are available to the engineers of the Coal Department,” the statement says. company message.

    Let us recall that on the night of October 27-28, an explosion occurred at the Kostenko mine, owned by ArcelorMittal Temirtau, in the Karaganda region. At the time of the accident in the mine named after. Kostenko there were 252 people. 46 people died. The Minister of Emergency Situations told the details of what happened. 

    After the tragedy, the President instructed the Government to stop investment cooperation with the ArcelorMittal Temirtau company. And about. Vadim Basin was appointed General Director of ArcelorMittal Temirtau , who said that the change of owner of ArcelorMittal Temirtau will not affect the employees.

    Kazakh entrepreneur Andrey Lavrentyev became the new investor of AMT . ArcelorMittal Temirtau was renamed Qarmet. 

    Minister of Emergency Situations Syrym Shariphanov named the names of the AMT leaders suspected of causing an accident at the mine. 

  • QARMET employees were paid salaries that ArcelorMittal Temirtau did not pay

    QARMET employees were paid salaries that ArcelorMittal Temirtau did not pay

    Investor Andrey Lavrentiev , who bought the metallurgical company ArcelorMittal Temirtau (now QARMET), has repaid debts to employees and suppliers, Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population  Svetlana Zhakupova said at a CCS briefing .

    How much debt did AMT have? Zhakupova reported that about 286 million tenge were allocated for repayment.

    “The new investor assumed obligations for the debts that Arcelor, the former investor, had. And repayment of debts to employees, even to the extent of repayment of debts to suppliers. About 286 million will be used directly to pay off debts,” Zhakupova said.

    The minister added that the employees have already received the money – there are no arrears either in salary or in payments to the Unified Pension Fund.

    Context. In early December, it became known that ArcelorMittal Temirtau faced financial problems due to the blocking of its accounts by court decision. The reason for this was a lawsuit with the contractor Backup Service Resorts LLP (BSR), which provided food and recreation services for AMT workers. 

    The company then stated that, due to the blocking of accounts, they could not transfer pension contributions and contributions to the Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund (CMHI) to all employees for October. Including those injured during the accident at the Kostenko mine. The miners in need of treatment  feared that they might be left without medical care

  • Temirtau plans to revive Qarmet

    Temirtau plans to revive Qarmet

    The authorities of the Republic of Kazakhstan discussed with investor Andrey Lavrentyev the phased development of the Qarmet metallurgical plant. The new management of the plant was given a number of important tasks, including modernization of equipment and compliance with industrial safety requirements. In addition, the authorities reminded the new investor about the timely fulfillment of all obligations to Qarmet employees.

    The notorious ArcelorMittal Temirtau metallurgical plant, after a change of owner, was returned to its previous name – Qarmet. Now the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan is monitoring the resumption of work at the plant, reports the press service of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov.

    At the initial stage, about $1.3 billion will be allocated for the development of Qarmet. These funds will be used to purchase new equipment, introduce modern technologies and eliminate production disruptions in the plant. In the future, these measures should lead to an increase in the volume of products produced.

    First of all, an underground positioning system will appear at the enterprise’s mines, which will allow tracking the movement of employees underground. Communication with personnel will enable the dispatcher to maintain work processes and promptly make the right decisions in unexpected situations.

  • Lavrentiev will invest $1.3 billion in the first stage of modernization of the former ArcelorMittal Temirtau

    Lavrentiev will invest $1.3 billion in the first stage of modernization of the former ArcelorMittal Temirtau

    The company will update equipment, introduce modern technologies and raise safety standards.

    The government of Kazakhstan held a meeting on the development of Qarmet, the former ArcelorMittal Temirtau, with the participation of ministers and the company’s new investor Andrey Lavrentiev, reported in the Prime Minister’s Office

    “We discussed measures to stabilize the operational processes of the enterprise, provide it with the necessary raw materials, and carry out a number of legal procedures. We separately considered the implementation of the investment program, which provides for the modernization of the plant’s equipment, the introduction of modern production technologies and raising industrial safety standards. At the first stage, about $1.3 billion will be allocated for these purposes,” the statement says.

    Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov emphasized that the enterprise must fulfill all obligations to employees in a timely manner.
    “The head of government pointed out the importance of further dynamic development of production, growth in product output and the gradual elimination of identified environmental violations. He instructed central government agencies to provide the necessary support to the enterprise in resolving current issues and, together with the investor, to develop specific action plans for each area of ​​Qarmet’s development,” the prime minister’s office said.

  • ArcelorMittal Temirtau in Kazakhstan has been renamed to Qarmet

    ArcelorMittal Temirtau in Kazakhstan has been renamed to Qarmet

    The team was introduced to a new investor who took on production and social obligations

    ArcelorMittal Temirtau, which was sold to state private equity fund Qazaqstan Investment Corporation (QIC) last week, has been renamed Qarmet. This was reported by the press service of the administration of the Karaganda region of the country.

    The head of the region, Ermaganbet Bulekpayev, introduced a new investor to the team: the Qazaqstan Steel Group (QSG) company and its founder Andrey Lavrentiev.

    “The new owner faces important tasks, primarily to ensure and create working conditions, improve the well-being of workers, and will also have to actively participate and help develop the local community through social projects,” he noted.

    Vadim Basin became the CEO of Qarmet . Basin served as executive director of ArcelorMittal Temirtau in 2017-2021, and at the end of October this year, after the death of miners at the mine named after. Kostenko, the President of Kazakhstan instructed him to head the enterprise.

    “QSG, represented by Kazakh businessman Andrey Lavrentyev, has reached an agreement with the Ministry of Industry and Construction of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the acquisition of the assets of ArcelorMittal Temirtau. Under the terms of the agreement, QSG will purchase AMT’s assets for $286 million and will also make guaranteed deferred payments of $450 million, payable in four equal annual installments. In addition, an additional $250 million will be paid at the time of closing as payment of AMT’s outstanding intercompany indebtedness,” the company said in a statement.

    In addition to the acquisition of assets, the Kazakh investor undertakes to invest another $3 billion in modernizing production and protecting the region’s environment, of which $1.3 billion will be invested next year.

    The new investor calls his short-term goals, in particular, a radical improvement in production safety indicators and the environmental situation, modernization and reorganization of production, increasing the size, range and types of products.

    On December 12 , President of Kazakhstan Kasim-Jomart Tokayev commented on the arrival of a new investor – a Kazakh company – at ArcelorMittal Temirtau (Qarmet), writes Zakon.kz.

    “Now the government’s job is to help it, especially in the initial phase of operation, and then the demand from the new owner will be very tough,” he said.

    Let us recall that last week the steel corporation ArcelorMittal sold its assets in Kazakhstan – QIC acquired all shares of the metallurgical enterprises ArcelorMittal Temirtau and ArcelorMittal Tubular Products Aktau. During the negotiations, ArcelorMittal requested $3.5 billion, which did not correspond to the calculations of international consultants. The State reduced the value of assets from this amount to $286 million.