The construction of No. 5 blast-furnace at Metallurgical Industrial Complex of Nizhny Tagil JSC (part of Evraz Group) has reached its final stage. The builders completed mounting of the stoves, the furnace unit and the casting beds. All parts of the blast-furnace equipment, including the software, have already been tested. The first hot proving of all the furnace complex units is scheduled for September 26, 2006. The blast-furnace will be able to produce about 1.7m tons of cast iron annually. It is equipped with the fully enclosed casting beds and a new external cooling system; it will also

The industrial enterprises of Sverdlovsk Region have produced 46.3bn RUR worth of goods (apart from weapons and ammunition) in the eight months of the year. The production of oil field equipment has gone up by 60.9%, that of drilling rigs by 58%; the volume of ac generator output has increased by 39.4%, that of large motor generating units by 15.8%, that of medical equipment by 67%, that of computer-aided facilities and appliances by 53%, that of haulers by 36%, reports the spokesperson for Sverdlovsk Region Ministry of Industry, Power Engineering and Science.

The French visitors will take part in the proceedings of a business forum in Yekaterinburg on September 25, 2006. A similar event will take place in Moscow as well. The local forum will be attended by the French Minister for Foreign Trade Christine Lagarde, who is going to meet the local entrepreneurs interested in doing business with their French counterparts. The Minister is planning to have a look at the construction site of Auchan and a five-star premium class hotel. The French party includes representatives of over 30 companies dealing in metallurgy, construction activity, woodworking,

Former CEO of Klyuchevsk Ferroalloy Works Sergey Odinokov was appointed First Deputy GD of Russian Special Alloys Management Company. He will now assist the current General Director Sergey Gilvarg. Vladimir Dorokhov was appointed the company’s Financial Department Director, Maxim Balakin was appointed Economics Department Director, and Nikolai Kuzmin became CEO of Klyuchevsk Ferroalloy Works. A number of top managers from Russian Chrome 1915 will now combine their jobs with the positions in the management company. Valeriy Ladygin was appointed Chrome Compound Production Counselor to GD, Yuriy

‘Unfortunately, Eureka Mining is not the most transparent company in the world; this is why it is rather difficult to get any information on its finances. It certainly is involved in a lot of projects all over the world, yet developing Mikheevskoye deposit will require at least $300m,’ the expert of FINAM Investment Company Alesya Breenkova said to UrBC representative. ‘Given the money the company has already invested in the project, it might be actually short of money, which is why Eureka Mining is likely to cooperate with a large Russian mining and metallurgical enterprise. Besides, Eureka