The metallurgical complex is a set of industries that produce various metals. This complex consumes up to 25% of coal and energy, it accounts for up to 30% of freight traffic.

The complex includes black and color metallurgy.

90% of all metals used in modern production are ferrous metals, i.e. iron and alloys derived from it. However, the number of non-ferrous metals is much larger (there are more than 70 of them), they have very valuable properties. Therefore, non-ferrous metallurgy is of great importance for industries that ensure the development of scientific and technological revolution in the national economy.

Peculiarities.

The metallurgical complex of Russia has a number of features that affect its geography:

1. Metallurgy covers the entire process of metal production: mining and preparation of ores, fuel, metal production, production of auxiliary materials. Therefore, in metallurgical production, it is widely developed combination. In ferrous metallurgy, combination prevails on the basis of sequential processing of raw materials (ore - cast iron - steel - rolled metal), in non-ferrous metallurgy - on the basis of its integrated use: for example, several metals are obtained from polymetallic ores. Combines produce all pig iron, the main part of steel and non-ferrous metals.

2. In metallurgy high level of concentration and monopolization of production. The 200 largest enterprises (5% of their total number) produce 52% of ferrous metallurgy and 49% non-ferrous products.

3. Metallurgy - labor intensive industry(a large number of builders, workers + a city near the plant of 100,000 people).

4. Metallurgy is characterized by high material consumption. A modern metallurgical plant receives as much cargo as Moscow.

5. High cost to create and maintenance of the plant, with its slow payback.

6. Metallurgy - biggest polluter environment. 14% of industrial emissions into the atmosphere come from ferrous metallurgy and 21% from non-ferrous. In addition, the metallurgical complex produces up to 30% of wastewater pollution.

placement factors.

features of the raw materials used;

the type of energy used to produce the metal;

geography of raw materials and energy sources;

transport routes;

the need to protect the environment;

enterprises associated with the final stage of metallurgy - metal processing, are most often located in areas where finished products are consumed.

Geography of the metallurgical complex.

Ferrous metallurgy.

Ferrous metallurgy is a branch of heavy industry that produces various ferrous metals. It covers the extraction of iron ore and the production of ferrous metals - iron - steel - rolled products. Cast iron and steel are used in mechanical engineering, rolled steel in construction (beams, roofing iron, pipes) and transport (rails). The military-industrial complex is a major consumer of rolled steel. Russia fully meets its needs in ferrous metallurgy products and exports them.

The consumption of steel per unit of output in engineering in Russia exceeds that in other developed countries. With the economical use of the metal, Russia could increase the size of its exports.

Cast iron is smelted in blast furnaces - huge and expensive structures made of refractory bricks. Raw materials for the production of pig iron are manganese, iron ore, refractories (limestone). Coke and natural gas are used as fuel. 95% of coke is produced by metallurgical plants.

Steel is smelted in open-hearth furnaces, converters and electric furnaces. The raw materials for steel production are pig iron and scrap metal. The quality of steel increases with the addition of non-ferrous metals (tungsten, molybdenum). Rolled steel is produced on rolling machines.

The structure of ferrous metallurgy stimulated the development of intra- and inter-industry plants. Combination - the unification at one enterprise (combine) of several technologically and economically related industries of various industries (see Figure 45, Dronov, p. 134). Most metallurgical plants in Russia are plants that include three stages of metal production: pig iron - steel - rolled metal (+ coking plant, + thermal power plant or nuclear power plant, + production of building materials, + hardware plant).

For each ton of pig iron, 4 tons of iron ore, 1.5 tons of coke, 1 ton of limestone, a large amount of gas are spent, i.e. ferrous metallurgy is a material-intensive production that is confined to raw material bases or sources of fuel (coke). Placement factors:

Therefore, full-cycle enterprises are located: near iron ore or coke; at sources of raw materials and coke; between coke and raw materials (Cherepovets Metallurgical Plant). After the collapse of the USSR, 60% of ferrous metallurgy remained in Russia (the majority remained in Ukraine). 50% of rolled products and 60% of steel are produced on obsolete equipment.

The prospects of the country are connected with technical re-equipment and the latest technologies. We are talking about the modernization of existing enterprises. It is envisaged to replace open-hearth steel production with new methods of production - oxygen-converter and electric steel-smelting at the plants of the Urals and Kuzbass. The production of steel by the converter method is increasing up to 50%.

The following types of enterprises are distinguished in this industry:

Full cycle metallurgical plants (Combines) , producing pig iron - steel - rolled products (3/4 of all cast iron and 2/3 of all steel).

Steelmaking and rolling mills , as well as steelmaking enterprises - steel - rolled. Such enterprises smelt steel from cast iron or scrap metal and are located in large centers of mechanical engineering.

Domain Enterprises (production of cast iron only). They became few. Basically, these are factories in the Urals.

Enterprises of non-domain metallurgy where iron is produced in electric furnaces by direct reduction from iron ore pellets.

Small metallurgy enterprises with the production of steel and rolled products at machine-building plants.

Pipe plants .

Ferroalloy production – iron alloys with alloying metals (manganese, chromium, tungsten, silicon).

Due to the high electricity consumption - 9000 kW / h per 1 ton of products, ferrous metallurgy enterprises gravitate towards cheap sources of electricity, combined with the resources of alloying metals, without which the development of high-quality metallurgy is impossible (Chelyabinsk, Serov - Ural).

In 1913, Russia ranked 5th in the world (USA, Germany, England, France) in iron ore mining and metal production. 1980 - 1990 - one of the first places in the world in the extraction of iron ore and the first in steel and iron smelting. Now Russia has been pushed aside by Japan and the United States.

Russia is fully provided with raw materials for ferrous metallurgy, except for manganese ores, which are imported from Ukraine and Georgia, as well as chromium ores, which are imported from Kazakhstan. Russia has 40% of the world's iron ore reserves. 80% of iron ore is mined by open pit mining. Russia exports 20% of the mined ore.

Geography of iron ore deposits:

In the European part, KMA is rich in iron ore. It contains ores rich in content (iron is up to 60%), which do not require enrichment.

In the Urals - the Kachkanar group of deposits. There are large reserves of iron ore, but it is poor in iron (17%), although it is easily enriched.

Eastern Siberia - Angara-Ilimsk basin (near Irkutsk), Abakan region.

Western Siberia - Mountain Shoria (south of the Kemerovo region).

Northern region - Kola Peninsula - Kovdorskoye and Olenegorskoye deposits; Karelia - Kostomuksha.

There are ores in the Far East.

Geography of manganese deposits:

Western Siberia - Usinskoye (Kemerovo region).

Historically, ferrous metallurgy originated in the central part of the country. Starting from the 18th century, the production of ferrous metallurgy appeared in the Urals. The development of capitalism in Russia and the successful combination of iron ore with coal and manganese, as well as the favorable territorial and geographical position in relation to the main areas of metal consumption, highlighted the south (Donbass and the Dnieper region of Ukraine).

Metallurgical enterprises are located on the territory of Russia not evenly, but are concentrated in certain areas. A group of metallurgical enterprises that uses common ore or fuel resources and provides the main needs of the country is called metallurgical base . Within Russia, there are three metallurgical bases: Central, Ural and Siberian.

Ferrous metallurgy bases:

Ural – produces 43% of steel and 42% of rolled products. Used imported coke from Kuzbass and Karaganda. Iron ore 1/3 uses its own - the Kachkanar group of deposits (north of the Sverdlovsk page), and 2/3 - imported (Sokolovsko-Sarbayskoye deposit in the Kustanai region, as well as KMA ore). Manganese - from the Polunochnoye deposit (north of the Sverdlovsk region). The western slopes of the Urals - pig metallurgy. The eastern slopes are factories created in the Soviet era.

Combines- Nizhny Tagil (Sverdlovsk region), Chelyabinsk, Magnitogorsk (Chelyabinsk region), Novotroitsk city (Orsko-Khamilovsky plant). They use their own alloying metals and produce the bulk of the metal.

Pitch metallurgy- Yekaterinburg (Verkhne-Isetsky plant), Zlatoust (Chelyabinsk region), Chusovoy (Perm region), Izhevsk. Used scrap metal.

Pipe plants- Chelyabinsk, Pervouralsk (Sverdlovsk region).

Ferroalloys- Chelyabinsk, Chusovoy (Perm region).

central base is actively developing and today it is almost equal to the Ural one. It produces 42% of steel and 44% of rolled products. The main part of the production is produced in the Central Black Earth and Northern economic regions.

Coke- imported from the eastern wing of the Donbass, the Pechora basin, Kuzbass. Iron ore- from KMA, manganese - from Nikopol (Ukraine). Used scrap metal.

Full cycle- Cherepovets plant, located between the iron ore of Karelia (Kostomuksha) and the Kola Peninsula (Olenegorsk, Kovdor) and coke of the Pechora basin. Novolipetsk and Novotulsk combines use KMA ore. Within the KMA, the production of metallized pellets began in cooperation with the Federal Republic of Germany. Based on them, a homeless electrometallurgy(Stary Oskol - Oskol Electrometallurgical Plant).

There are many businesses within the central base conversion metallurgy(Moscow Elektrostal and others).

Siberian base produces 13% of steel and 16% of rolled products.

Combines- Novokuznetsk (Kuznetsk Iron and Steel Works), 20 km from Novokuznetsk (West Siberian Iron and Steel Works). Both enterprises use Kuzbass coke; iron ore from Mountain Shoria, Khakassia and the Angara-Ilim basin; manganese from the Usinsk deposit.

Pitch metallurgy- Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Petrovsk-Zabaykalsky (Chita region), Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

Ferroalloys- Novokuznetsk.

At present, the formation of the Far Eastern metallurgical base is underway. A conversion plant operates in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

The history of mankind has more than one thousand years. Throughout the entire period of the existence of our race, there has been a steady technological progress, an important role in which was played by the ability of a person to handle metal, create and mine it. Therefore, it is quite logical that metallurgy is something without which it is impossible to imagine our life, the normal performance of work duties, and much more.

Definition

First of all, it is worth understanding how scientifically, from a technical point of view, they call the modern sphere of production.

So, metallurgy is a branch of science, technology, which covers the process of obtaining various metals from ore or other materials, as well as all processes related to the transformation of the chemical composition, properties and structure of alloys.

Structure

Today, metallurgy is the most powerful industry. In addition, it is a broad concept that includes:

• Direct production of metals.
• Processing of metal products both hot and cold.
• Welding.
• Application of various metal coatings.
• Section of science - materials science. This direction in the theoretical study of physical and chemical processes focuses on the knowledge of the behavior of metals, alloys and intermetallic compounds.

Varieties

All over the world there are two main branches of metallurgy - ferrous and non-ferrous. Such a gradation has developed historically.

Ferrous metallurgy is the processing of iron and all alloys in which it is present. Also, this industry involves the extraction from the bowels of the earth and the subsequent enrichment of ores, steel and iron foundry production, rolling of billets, production of ferroalloys.

Non-ferrous metallurgy includes work with ore of any metal except iron. By the way, they are conditionally divided into two large groups:

Heavy (nickel, tin, lead, copper).

Lightweight (titanium, magnesium, aluminum).

Scientific Solutions

There is no doubt that metallurgy is an activity that requires the introduction of innovative technologies. In this regard, many countries of our planet are actively conducting research, the purpose of which is to study and put into practice a wide variety of microorganisms that would help to solve, for example, such a topical issue as wastewater treatment, which is a mandatory component of metallurgical production. In addition, processes such as biological oxidation, precipitation, sorption, and others have already become a reality.

Separation by technological process

Metallurgy plants can be conditionally classified into two main groups:

Pyrometallurgy, where processes take place at very high temperatures (melting, roasting);

Hydrometallurgy, which consists in the extraction of metals from ores with the help of water and other aqueous solutions using chemical reagents.

The principle of choosing a site for the construction of a metallurgical plant

In order to understand on the basis of what conclusions a decision is made to build an enterprise in a particular place, it is worth considering the main factors for the location of metallurgy.

In particular, if the question concerns the location of a non-ferrous metallurgy plant, then criteria such as:

• Availability of energy resources. The production associated with the processing of light non-ferrous metals requires an enormous amount of electrical energy. Therefore, such enterprises are being built as close as possible to hydroelectric power plants.
• Required amount of raw materials. Of course, the closer the ore deposits are, the better, respectively.
• environmental factor. Unfortunately, the countries of the post-Soviet space cannot be classified in the category where metallurgy enterprises are environmentally friendly.

Thus, the location of metallurgy is a most complicated issue, the solution of which should be given the closest attention, taking into account all kinds of requirements and nuances.

In order to form the most detailed picture in the description of metal processing, it is important to point out the key areas of this production.

Ferrous metallurgy enterprises have several so-called redistributions in their composition. Among them: sintering, steelmaking, rolling. Let's consider each of them in more detail.

Domain production

It is at this stage that iron is released directly from the ore. This happens in a blast furnace and at temperatures above 1000 degrees Celsius. This is how iron is smelted. Its properties will directly depend on the course of the melting process. By adjusting the smelting of the ore, one can ultimately obtain one of two conversion (used later for the production of steel) and foundry (iron blanks are cast from it).

Steel production

Combining iron with carbon and, if necessary, with various alloying elements, the result is steel. There are enough methods for its smelting. Let us especially note the oxygen-converter and electrosmelting, which are the most modern and highly productive.

Converter melting is characterized by its transience and the resulting steel with the required chemical composition. The process is based on blowing oxygen through the lance, as a result of which the pig iron is oxidized and transformed into steel.

The electric steelmaking method is the most efficient. It is thanks to the use of arc furnaces that the highest quality alloyed steel grades can be smelted. In such units, the heating of the metal loaded in them occurs very quickly, while it is possible to add the required amount of alloying elements. In addition, the steel obtained by this method has a low content of non-metallic inclusions, sulfur and phosphorus.

alloying

This process consists in changing the composition of steel by introducing calculated concentrations of auxiliary elements into it for subsequent imparting certain properties to it. Among the most commonly used alloying components are: manganese, titanium, cobalt, tungsten, aluminum.

rental

Many metallurgical plants have a rolling group of workshops. They produce both semi-finished products and fully finished products. The essence of the process is the passage of metal in the gap between the mill rotating in opposite directions. Moreover, the key point is that the distance between the rolls should be less than the thickness of the passed workpiece. Due to this, the metal is drawn into the lumen, moves, and eventually deforms to the specified parameters.

After each pass, the gap between the rolls is made smaller. An important point - often the metal is not ductile enough in a cold state. And therefore, for processing, it is preheated to the required temperature.

Consumption of secondary raw materials

In modern conditions, the market for the consumption of recycled materials, both ferrous and non-ferrous metals, is steadily developing. This is largely due to the fact that ore resources, unfortunately, are not renewable. Each year of their production significantly reduces reserves. Taking into account the fact that the demand for metal products in mechanical engineering, construction, aircraft building, shipbuilding and other sectors of the national economy is steadily growing, it seems quite reasonable to develop the processing of parts and products that have already exhausted their resource.

It is safe to say that the development of metallurgy is to some extent explained by the positive dynamics of the industry segment - the use of secondary raw materials. At the same time, both large and small companies are engaged in the processing of scrap metal.

World trends in the development of metallurgy

In recent years, there has been a clear increase in the output of rolled metal products, steel and cast iron. This is largely due to the real expansion of China, which has become one of the leading planetary players in the metallurgical production market.

At the same time, various factors of metallurgy allowed the Celestial Empire to win back almost 60% of the entire world market. The remaining ten major manufacturers were: Japan (8%), India and the United States of America (6%), Russia and South Korea (5%), Germany (3%), Turkey, Taiwan, Brazil (2%).

If we consider 2015 separately, then there is a tendency to reduce the activity of metal product manufacturers. Moreover, the largest decline was noted in Ukraine, where the result was recorded, which is 29.8% lower than last year.

New technologies in metallurgy

Like any other industry, metallurgy is simply unthinkable without the development and implementation of innovative developments.

Thus, employees of the Nizhny Novgorod State University have developed and started to put into practice new nanostructured wear-resistant hard alloys based on tungsten carbide. The main direction of application of innovation is the production of modern metalworking tools.

In addition, a grate drum with a special ball nozzle was modernized in Russia in order to create a new technology for processing liquid slag. This event was carried out on the basis of the state order of the Ministry of Education and Science. Such a step fully justified itself, since its results ultimately exceeded all expectations.

The largest metallurgy enterprises in the world

• ArcelorMittal is a company headquartered in Luxembourg. Its share is 10% of the total world steel production. In Russia, the company owns the Berezovskaya, Pervomaiskaya, Anzherskaya mines, as well as the Severstal Group.
• Hebei Iron & Steel- a giant from China. It is wholly owned by the state. In addition to production, the company is engaged in the extraction of raw materials, its transportation and research and development. The company's factories use exclusively new developments and the most modern technological lines, which allowed the Chinese to learn how to produce ultra-thin steel plates and ultra-thin cold-rolled sheets.
• Nippon Steel- representative of Japan. The management of the company, which began its work in 1957, is seeking to merge with another enterprise called Sumitomo Metal Industries. According to experts, such a merger will allow the Japanese to quickly reach the first place in the world, overtaking all their competitors.

Ferrous metallurgy includes the extraction of non-metallic raw materials (refractory clays, fluxes, etc.), coke production, the production of cast iron, steel, rolled metal, ferrous metal powders, blast-furnace ferroalloys, secondary processing of ferrous metals (cutting scrap and waste of ferrous metals).

Ferrous metallurgy enterprises can have a full cycle (production of iron, steel and rolled products), relate to pig metallurgy (only steel and rolled products, without the production of pig iron) or small metallurgy (machine-building plants engaged in the production of steel and rolled products).

Ferrous metallurgy enterprises are located near the sources of raw materials. Metallurgical plants producing iron and steel are located near iron ore deposits. Their construction takes into account the availability of electricity, natural gas and water.

The largest steel companies in Russia are Severstal, NLMK Group, MMK Group, Evraz, Metalloinvest, Mechel, OMK.

The largest pipe manufacturing companies are TMK Group, ChTPZ Group, Severstal, OMK, Ural Pipe Plant.

Ural Metallurgical Base

Ore sources: Kachkanar deposits, Kursk magnetic anomaly, Kustanai deposits (Kazakhstan).

The largest enterprises of the full cycle: Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, Chelyabinsk Iron and Steel Works (Mechel), Nizhny Tagil Iron and Steel Works (Evraz), Ural Steel Combine (Novotroitsk, Metalloinvest), Beloretsk Iron and Steel Works (Mechel), Ashinsky Steel Works, Nadezhda Steel Works (Serov, UMMC-Steel), Chusovoy Metallurgical Plant (OMK).

The largest converter metallurgy enterprises: VIZ-Steel (Yekaterinburg, NLMK Group), Izhstal (Izhevsk, Mechel), Chelyabinsk Pipe Rolling Plant (ChTPZ Group), Pervouralsky Novotrubny Plant (ChTPZ Group), Seversky Pipe Plant ( TMK Group), Sinarsky Pipe Plant (TMK Group), Chelyabinsk Ferroalloy Plant (the largest ferroalloy producer in Russia), Serov Ferroalloy Plant, Ural Pipe Plant (Pervouralsk), Zlatoust Metallurgical Plant, NLMK-Ural (NLMK Group).

Central metallurgical base

Ore sources: Kursk magnetic anomaly, deposits of the Kola Peninsula.

The largest enterprises of the full cycle: Cherepovets Metallurgical Plant (Severstal), Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant (Lipetsk, NLMK Group), Kosogorsk Metallurgical Plant (Tula), Oskol Electrometallurgical Plant (Stary Oskol, Metalloinvest).

The largest steelmaking enterprises are: Cherepovets Steel-Rolling Plant (Severstal), Orlovsky Steel-Rolling Plant (Severstal), Izhora Pipe Plant (St. Petersburg, Severstal), Vyksa Metallurgical Plant (OMK), Elektrostal Metallurgical Plant (Elektrostal).

Siberian metallurgical base

Ore sources: deposits of Gornaya Shoria, Abakan deposits, Angaro-Ilim deposits.

The largest enterprises of the full cycle: United West Siberian Metallurgical Plant (Novokuznetsk, Evraz), Novokuznetsk Ferroalloy Plant. The largest enterprise in the conversion metallurgy is the Novosibirsk Metallurgical Plant named after Kuzmin.

Non-ferrous metallurgy

Non-ferrous metallurgy includes the extraction and enrichment of non-ferrous metal ores, the smelting of non-ferrous metals and their alloys: heavy (copper, zinc, lead, nickel, tin) and light (aluminum, magnesium, titanium).

Heavy non-ferrous metal production facilities are located close to ore sources as they do not require much energy. Enterprises for the production of light non-ferrous metals are located near sources of cheap energy.

Aluminum

Almost all Russian aluminum production capacities are concentrated in the RUSAL holding. Largest enterprises: Bratsk aluminum plant, Krasnoyarsk aluminum plant, Boguchansky aluminum plant (under construction), Irkutsk aluminum plant, Sayanogorsk and Khakass aluminum plants, Novokuznetsk aluminum plant, Volgograd aluminum plant, Kandalaksha aluminum plant, Achinsk alumina plant, Boguslavsky aluminum plant, Ural aluminum plant plant, Boksitogorsk alumina refinery.

Not included in RUSAL: Kamensk-Uralsky Metallurgical Plant, Stupino Metallurgical Company, Samara Metallurgical Plant (Arkonik SMZ).

Copper, zinc and lead

The production of metals in this group is mainly divided between two holdings: the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company (UMMC) and the Russian Copper Company.

UMMC enterprises: Mednogorsk copper and sulfur plant, Svyatogor (former Kirovgrad copper smelter), Sredneuralsk copper smelter, Uralelectromed, Safyanovskaya copper, Chelyabinsk zinc plant, Electrozinc plant, Buribaevsky GOK, Gaisky GOK, Uchalinsky GOK.

Enterprises of the Russian Copper Company: Karabashmed, Kyshtymsky Electrolytic Copper Plant, Novgorod Metallurgical Plant, Uralgidromed, Ormet.

Independent enterprises: Ryaztsvetmet, Dalpolimetall, Novoangarsk enrichment plant and Gorevsky GOK.

Nickel and cobalt

All existing Russian capacities for the production of these metals are owned by Norilsk Nickel. Its enterprises are located in Norilsk and in the Murmansk region (Monchegorsk, Zapolyarny and Nikel). Nornickel also produces more than half of Russian copper.

Other metals

Titanium, magnesium, rare metals. VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation, Solikamsk Magnesium Plant, Lovozero GOK.

Tungsten and molybdenum. Soyuzmetallresurs Company: Sorsky ferromolybdenum plant, Zhirekensky ferromolybdenum plant, Sorsky and Zhirekensky GOKs. Wolfram Company: Hydrometallurgist, Unech Refractory Metals Plant. Kirovgrad plant of hard alloys, Lermontovsky GOK, Primorsky GOK, Novoorlovsky GOK, Tyrnyauzskoye and Zabytoye deposits.

Tin. Rusolovo (Seligdar holding): Pravourmiyskoye deposit, assets of the former Solnechny GOK. Novosibirsk tin plant.

Mining of gold, silver and platinum

Russia's largest gold and silver mining companies: Polyus Gold, Petropavlovsk Group of Companies, Polymetal, Chukotka GGK (owned by Canadian Kinross), Nordgold N.V., Highland Gold Mining, Yuzhuralzoloto, Vysochaishy, ​​Sovrudnik , Susumanzoloto, Seligdar, Russian Platinum, Atomredmedzoloto.

The largest producers of platinum are Norilsk Nickel and Russian Platinum.

The metallurgical complex occupies the third position in the structure of industrial production and belongs to the basic industries. Ferrous metallurgy plays an important role in the development of the economy of any country.

Its sectoral composition includes organizational and technological measures for the production of cast iron and rolled products. In addition, it includes:

• mining, enrichment of ores;
• obtaining non-metallic and auxiliary raw materials for this industry;
• secondary redistribution;
• manufacturing of refractories;
• metal products for industrial purposes;
• coal coking.

Ferrous metallurgy products have found application in most sectors of the economy. Its main consumers are the machine-building, metal-working industry, construction, and railway transport. It is also interconnected with the light and chemical industries.

Ferrous metallurgy is a dynamically developing industry. But this is a complex production area, and Russia has quite strong competitors in the face of Japan, Ukraine, and Brazil. She manages to maintain one of the leading positions, while it is advantageous to stand out with a low cost. In the field, as well as iron smelting and coke production, she managed to achieve the greatest success. This is facilitated by the continuous improvement of technological processes, the development of strategic plans and the improvement of anti-crisis management.

Types and features of enterprises

The natural basis of ferrous metallurgy is fuel and.

Russia is rich in minerals and raw materials for the development of this industry, but their territorial distribution is uneven. Therefore, the construction of plants is tied to certain areas. There are three types of ferrous metallurgy, the geographical location of production complexes directly depends on them:

• full-cycle metallurgy, which implies the presence of all production stages that are carried out on the territory of one enterprise;
• incomplete cycle metallurgy is distinguished by the fact that one of the processes is separated into a separate production;
• small metallurgy, which is characterized by separate metallurgical shops as part of machine-building complexes.

The full production cycle includes both the main production of iron, steel, rolled products, as well as the preparatory stage for the smelting of iron ores - its enrichment to increase its iron content. To do this, waste rock is removed and roasted to eliminate phosphorus, carbon dioxide,.

To ensure the quality of the final product, the following components must be used:

• process fuel;
• water;
• alloying metals;
• fluxes;
• refractory materials.

The main fuel is coke from high-calorie, low-ash, low-sulfur and high-strength coal, as well as gas. Metallurgical enterprises of the full cycle are mostly located close to fuel, raw materials and water resources, as well as to auxiliary materials.

In production, 90% of the costs go to fuel and raw materials. Of these, coke accounts for about 50%, iron ore - 40%. Full cycle enterprises are located close to sources of raw materials - in the Center and in the Urals, fuel bases - complexes in Kuzbass, as well as plants between points - in Cherepovets.

Full cycle

In part-time metallurgy, the emphasis is on one type of product - cast iron, steel or rolled products. Converting plants are a separate group specializing in the manufacture of steel without iron smelting, it also includes pipe rolling plants.

The location of such industries depends on the proximity to sources of recyclable materials and consumers of finished products. In the case of machine-building plants, this is one person, since they are both consumers and sources of scrap metal.

For small metallurgy, which is part of the enterprises, as is clear from the location, the main reference point is consumers.

The production of ferroalloys and electric steel is also part of the iron and steel industry.

The first are alloys with alloying metals such as ferrosilicon, ferrochromium. They are produced at conversion plants (iron-steel, cast iron) or full-cycle plants.

They are important for the development of high-quality metallurgy. They are obtained electrometallurgically at specialized plants, but a large amount of electricity is consumed at the same time - up to 9 thousand kWh is needed per 1 ton. The production of electric steels is most developed in the areas of the necessary accumulation of scrap metal and energy sources.

In modern mechanical engineering, which needs metal of different grades, high quality, limited lots, products of mini-factories are in special demand. They do not require large capacities, they are able to quickly smelt a specific metal in a small amount.

Their advantage is a quick response to changes in market conditions, maximum satisfaction of consumer demands and high quality of the steel obtained, a feature of melting by the progressive electric arc method.

Production and use of iron and steel

Metallurgical bases: characteristics and placement

Metallurgical enterprises that use common resources - fuel and ore, providing the country with the required amount of metal are called metallurgical bases. The oldest of them is located in the Urals. It has been smelting the largest volume of pig iron and steel in Russia since the 18th century and remains the leader to this day.

The following positions are occupied by the Central and Northern regions, as well as Siberia and the Far East. In addition, outside the main ones, there are other centers of ferrous metallurgy - Severstal (Cherepovets) a full-cycle plant, as well as a converting type - in the Volga region, in the North Caucasus.

The Ural ferrous metallurgy uses imported fuel - Kuznetsk, Karaganda coal, and minerals mined in the Kizel basin can only be used in a mixture.

Raw materials are supplied from Kazakhstan, as well as from the Kursk magnetic anomaly. Own raw material base is represented by promising developing Kachkanar and Bakal deposits.

There is a lot of iron ore in the Urals, which contains alloying components, and there are deposits of manganese ores in the Polunochnoye deposit.

The leading role in this area is played by full-cycle enterprises, while small factories have been preserved and are developing.

Partial cycle enterprises are mainly located on the western slopes. The peculiarity of the region is that only there they produce the smelting of naturally alloyed metals and cast iron on charcoal.

The central metallurgical base uses imported fuel. Ore mining is mainly carried out in the Kursk and Belgorod regions. Most of the steel and cast iron is smelted by the Novolipetsk Combine, one of the largest and most technologically advanced in Russia.

Of particular interest is the plant located in Stary Oskol, where iron and electric steel are produced from iron ore concentrate through chemical reduction, while bypassing the stage of iron smelting.

Method features

This progressive method does not require the use of coke, high water consumption, which is important for an area with a shortage of fresh water and its own fuel resources. Major iron foundries, steel mills and steel mills include:

• Novotulsky;
• "Electrostal";
• enterprise in Orel;
• Kosogorsky.

Less powerful steel plants in the Volga-Vyatka region: Vyksunsky, Kulebaksky, Omutninsky. The central region is famous for small-scale metallurgy and has a huge plus - its location next to the iron ore basin, as well as proximity to engineering centers and other consumers.

The Siberian and Far Eastern metallurgical bases operate on Kuzbass coal, as well as iron ores from the Altai Mountains and the Angara region.

There are factories, full cycle plants - Kuznetsk and West Siberian.

Converting plants operate in the following cities:

• Krasnoyarsk;
• Komsomolsk-on-Amur;
• Zabaikalsk;
• Novosibirsk.

Engaged in the production of building and machine-building rolled metal profiles, the West Siberian Metallurgical Plant produces 44% of the total volume of reinforcement and 45% of wire, and also exports products to 30 countries of the world.

The smelting of a ferroalloy - ferrosilicon - takes place at the Kuznetsk Ferroalloy Plant, the largest in Russia.

Ferrous metallurgy production process

Market Condition and Industry Development Trends

In Russia, the volume of exports in the iron and steel industry exceeds domestic consumption. The share of production is directly affected by the ability to export, as well as the level of competition and trade policy of importers.

If exports decrease, there is also a reduction in investment activity, and, accordingly, the active development of this area. Under such circumstances, the industry is more dependent on domestic demand - industries that need these products.

The main trend in the prospects of the industry is the transition to a higher quality and cleaner ferrous metallurgy.

The time is coming for economically alloyed steels, which are distinguished by a high tensile strength.

Manufactured structures are metal-intensive and have a long service life.

In the development of the sphere of ferrous metallurgy, the following areas become relevant:

• Modernization, use of the latest technologies, reorientation of enterprises whose products are not competitive. Cherepovets, Magnitogorsk, Nizhniy Tagil, Kuznetsk, Novolipetsk, Chelyabinsk and other large pipe plants will remain the main producers.
• Growth in the share of conversion metallurgical industries, since such metal is cheaper. It is promising to create mini-factories, maximally focused on the needs of consumers. They are able to provide high quality metals, be highly specialized and fulfill small orders.
• Orientation to consumers, which is associated with the development of scientific and technological progress, the improvement of ore dressing methods, a large accumulation of recyclable materials in old industrial areas.
• Construction of factories away from densely populated areas, as more importance is given to measures for the protection of nature and environmental safety.
• The closure of factories where obsolete equipment is still used on the "lower" floors.
• Strengthening the specialization of factories to improve the quality of steels, complex types of rolled products. The activity of metal production for the transport, construction, automotive and electronic industries will begin.

Technologies and production safety

The pace of technological re-equipment of the Russian ferrous metallurgy exceeds other industrial sectors.

The modernization of the basic processing units carried out in recent years has made it possible to reduce production costs, which is the main competitive advantage.

And also increased energy efficiency, the need for resources, which led to a decrease in energy costs at environmentally harmful, which is now produced at converter, as well as electric steelmaking facilities.

One of the urgent problems at this stage of development of metallurgy is the rational use of natural resources and ensuring the safety of the environment. During the operation of the equipment used in the production of ferrous metals, harmful emissions into the atmosphere are carried out, which negatively affects both the environment and human health.

In terms of air emissions, this industry is in third place, ahead of it is only the energy sector and.

Among the main sources of pollution with harmful substances are crushing and grinding equipment, sintering machines, as well as pellet roasting. Dangerous are also places where loading and unloading operations, transfer of materials take place.

In cities where large factories operate, which are engaged in the processing, smelting and production of goods in this industry, there is a level of pollution in the air with various impurities with a high hazard class.

A particularly high concentration of impurities is recorded in Magnitogorsk, where ethylbenzene, nitrogen dioxide have threatening indicators, as well as a similar situation in Novokuznetsk with nitrogen dioxide.

The growth of production provokes an increase in waste discharges, that is, water pollution occurs. According to research results, every ninth cubic meter of wastewater generated by the operation of Russian industrial enterprises is waste from ferrous metallurgy.

Although this problem is quite acute, in the current situation of ever-increasing competition with producers from the CIS, large-scale work is unlikely that requires serious financial injections aimed at solving environmental problems. The importance of ferrous metallurgy often exceeds the importance of ecology in the country. Enterprises specializing in the production of steel rarely think about the cleanliness of the environment. Therefore, a company arises that specializes in checking the work of black enterprises.

The metallurgical complex of Russia is the main synonym for the well-being and prosperity of our entire state, its confidence in the future.

First of all, it serves as the basis of all currently existing mechanical engineering. Understanding this, we will find out what enterprises are included in the mining and metallurgical complex.

These are mainly those industries that extract, enrich, melt, roll and process raw materials. The company has its own clear structure:

1. Ferrous metallurgy - ore and non-metallic raw materials.
2. Non-ferrous metallurgy: light metals (magnesium, titanium, aluminum) and heavy metals (nickel, lead, copper, tin).

Ferrous metallurgy

An industry with its own nuances. It is important to understand that not only the metal is important for it, but also mining with subsequent processing.

Highlight its important features:

• more than half of the products serve as the basis for the entire engineering industry of the country;
• a quarter of the products are used in the field of creating structures with increased load capacity.

Ferrous metallurgy is production, coal coking, the secondary limit of alloys, the production of refractories and much more. The enterprises included in the ferrous metallurgy are of the greatest importance and, in fact, are the basis of the industry of the entire state as a whole.

The main thing is that around them there are production facilities for the processing of various wastes, especially after the smelting of cast iron. Metal-intensive machine building and electric power production are considered the most frequent satellite of ferrous metallurgy. This industry has great prospects for the future.

Ferrous metallurgy centers in Russia

First of all, it should be remembered that Russia has always been and is the absolute leader in terms of the density of ferrous metal production. And this championship without the right to transfer to other states. Our country is confidently holding its positions here.

The leading plants are, in fact, metallurgical and energy-chemical plants. Let's name the most important centers of ferrous metallurgy in Russia:

• Ural with iron and ore mining;
• Kuzbass with coal mining;
• Novokuznetsk;
• Locations of KMA;
• Cherepovets.

The metallurgical map of the country is structurally divided into three main groups. They are studied at school and are the basic knowledge of a modern cultural person. It:

• Ural;
• Siberia;
• Central part.

Ural Metallurgical Base

It is she who is the main and, perhaps, the most powerful in terms of European and world indicators. It has a high concentration of production.

The city of Magnitogorsk is of paramount importance in its history. There is a famous metallurgical plant. This is the oldest and hottest "heart" of ferrous metallurgy.

It produces:

• 53% of all cast iron;
• 57% of all steel;
• 53% of ferrous metals from all indicators that were produced in the former USSR.

Such production facilities are located near raw materials (Ural, Norilsk) and energy (Kuzbass, Eastern Siberia). Now the Ural metallurgy is in the process of modernization and further development.

Central metallurgical base

It includes factories of cyclical production. Represented in the cities: Cherepovets, Lipetsk, Tula and Stary Oskol. This base is formed by iron ore reserves. They are located at a depth of up to 800 meters, which is a shallow depth.

The Oskol Electrometallurgical Plant was launched and is successfully operating. It introduced an avant-garde method without a blast-furnace metallurgical process.

Siberian metallurgical base

Perhaps she has one feature: she is the "youngest" of the existing bases today. It began its formation during the USSR period. Approximately one fifth of the total volume of raw materials for pig iron is produced in Siberia.

The Siberian base is a plant in Kuznetsk and a plant in Novokuznetsk. It is Novokuznetsk that is considered the capital of Siberian metallurgy and the leader in terms of production quality.

Metallurgical plants and the largest plants in Russia

The most powerful full cycle centers are: Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk, Nizhny Tagil, Beloretsk, Ashinsky, Chusovskoy, Oskolsky and a number of others. All of them have great prospects for development. Their geography, without exaggeration, is huge.

Non-ferrous metallurgy

This area is busy with the development and enrichment of ores, participating in their high-quality smelting. According to its characteristics and purpose, it is divided into categories: heavy, light and valuable. Its copper-smelting centers are almost closed cities, with their own infrastructure and life.

The main areas of non-ferrous metallurgy in Russia

The opening of such areas depends entirely on: the economy, environmentalists, raw materials. This is the Urals, which includes factories in Krasnouralsk, Kirovgrad and Mednogorsk, which are always built next to the production. This improves the quality of workmanship and the turnover of raw materials.

Development of metallurgy in Russia

Development is characterized by high rates and volumes. Therefore, huge Russia is in the lead and is constantly increasing its exports. Our country produces: 6% iron, 12% aluminum, 22% nickel and 28% titanium. Read more thisit is reasonable to look at the information in the tables of productions presented below.

Map of metallurgy in Russia

For convenience and clarity, the issue of special maps and atlases has been arranged. They can be viewed and ordered online. They are very colorful and comfortable. The main centers with all divisions are indicated there in detail: copper smelters, places for the extraction of ore and non-ferrous metals, and much more.

Below are maps of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy in Russia.

Factors of location of metallurgical plants in Russia

The fundamental factors influencing the location of plants in the country are literally the following:

• raw materials;
• fuel;
• consumption (this is a detailed table of raw materials, fuel, small and large roads).

Conclusion

Now we know: there is a clear division into ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy. This distribution by extraction, enrichment and smelting depends directly on the main components: raw materials, fuel and consumption. Our country is the European leader in this field. The three main geographical "pillars" on which it stands are: the Center, the Urals and Siberia.