UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 7, 2019. Mayor of Yekaterinburg Alexander Vysokinsky signed an executive order to start area planning and demarcation for the second line of Yekaterinburg Underground; the news can be seen on the town council’s website. ‘The design work on the second line of the underground is in progress. A new underground line is still seen as one of the most important projects in celebration of Yekaterinburg’s 300-year anniversary. I should note that most town residents feel very positive about the project and believe the underground is vital to Yekaterinburg. The authorities

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, October 7, 2019. Managerial staff and trade union representatives at Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) congratulated the plant’s retired long-service employees on Senior Citizen’s Day, MMK’s Information & PR Department reports. ‘A special performance for the plant’s senior-age former workers took place at S.Ordzhonikidze Metallurgists’ Culture Palace on October 1. This year, some 1,000 former MMK employees came to see the show,’ the plant says. ‘It is human nature that we generally need a special occasion to say something nice to our parents, teachers, and

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, October 7, 2019. MMK Group’s 43d trade union conference took place at S.Ordzhonikidze Metallurgists’ Culture Palace in Magnitogorsk, the company’s Information & PR Department reports. Over 600 people (508 delegates and some 100 invited guests) took part in the event. Head of MMK Trade Union Boris Semenov presented the trade union’s performance report for the years 2017-2018. According to Semenov, MMK Group Trade Union currently has 48,500 members, which makes it the largest trade union organization in Russia’s mining and metallurgical sector. MMK Group Trade Union’s

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 4, 2019. Members of an ad hoc work team for Yekaterinburg’s District Akademicheskiy adopted a roadmap with all the stages of incorporating the district into the city as a new administrative unit, Sverdlovsk Region’s Information Policy Department says. ‘District Akademicheskiy keeps expanding; an ER unit got opened in the area a few days ago, which is the district’s first state-run establishment at the moment. The plan is to introduce a number of other organizations here that will cater to the locals’ consumer- and family-related needs right there. Akademicheskiy

UrBC, Moscow, October 4, 2019. MegaFon is now Russia’s first telecom company to enter into an agreement with one of the world’s game industry leaders Blizzard Entertainment, MegaFon’s press service reports. MegaFon’s customers can now get access to nine Blizzard products via MegaFon’s game service MegaFon.Igry. including battle.net prepaid cards and game keys for Diablo, Overwatch, andWorld of Warcraft. ‘This collaboration MegaFon and Blizzard are entering into, and the launch of a new, gamer-oriented entertainment product that grants users access to the world’s most popular games will

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 4, 2019. The first co-investment agreement involving money from a mortgage issued by Sberbank at 3.4% a year got signed in Yekaterinburg this week, the housing developer Brusnika’s press service reports. ‘This appealing interest rate results from Brusnika and Sberbank working together in accordance with the new legislative requirements. As early as April 2018, Brusnika and Sberbank were Russia’s first businesses to launch project financing mechanisms and escrow account schemes in the co-investment housing construction sector,’ the press service says. The developer

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 4, 2019. Miners from Uskovskaya Mine’s Section 5 (head: Yaroslav Yerchenko; foreman: Nikita Goryunov; mechanic: Evgeny Zuyev) extracted 2,000,000,000 kg of valuable Gzh coal from the mine in the nine months of 2019, EVRAZ Holding’s Raspadskaya Coal Company’s press service reports. ‘Uskovskaya Mine’s staff have always been known for their work achievements and energetic, highly productive performance. I hope you can keep up with this great work spirit and produce another 1,000,000,000 kg as soon as next year,’ says Executive Director at Raspadskaya Coal Company

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, October 4, 2019. MMK Group’s member enterprise MMK-METIZ’s trade union coordinated a conference this week, MMK’s Information & PR Department reports. The conference was attended by the company’s acting Director Ivan Teftelev and head of Russia’s Mining & Metallurgical Trade Union’s Regional Committee’s Coordination Department Vladimir Revenku. The plant has gone through quite a few social changes in the last two and a half years, MMK-METIZ Chair of Trade Union Elena Ramazanova told the conference participants. MMK-METIZ’s Collective Agreement serves as the primary

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 3, 2019. The new locomotive unit NP 1 got launched at EVRAZ Kachkanarsky Ore Mining & Processing Enterprise (EVRAZ KGOK) this week, EVRAZ Holding Ural’s Corporate Communications Center reports. One more unit will arrive at the enterprise before the end of the year as well. The locomotive units will be used in the active mines as well as at the new Sobstvenno-Kachkanarskoye titanium magnetite ore deposit. ‘NP 1 got manufactured in Novocherkassk and is currently one of Russia’s most productive locomotive units, comprising a loco and two engine-operated

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 3, 2019. Cash loans remain the most frequently applied-for loan type in the Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development’s consumer lending segment, the bank’s press service reports. According to the UBRD, consumer loans amounted to 46% of loans issued by the bank as of September 1, 2019; credit cards amounted to 37.7% of newly issued loans. In monetary terms, cash loans and credit cards make up, respectively, 57% and 10.3% of all the loans. The demand for consumer loans is still on the rise, going up by 14% in January-August 2019 against one year earlier.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 3, 2019. A new forced-air ventilation system is now getting assembled at OOO FORES’s Asbest branch’s propping agent department, the company’s press service reports. The company intends to direct RUB 20m to the project. The new ventilation system is meant to improve both the quality and the circulation of air within the facility. ‘Our gas-filtering facilities get upgraded along with our production sites. However, fresh air needs to come and replace the air that gets sucked by our powerful sock filters. The new ventilation system is expected to replace the air and

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, October 3, 2019. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) is currently coordinating Best Young Worker Contest, the company’s Information & PR Department reports. ‘This traditional contest aims to enhance the prestige of blue-collar jobs and help contestants improve their professionals skills and is open to MMK Group’s young workers in the under-30 age group who have at least one year’s work experience with the company,’ the Department says. There are two rounds to the competition: the first, selective round will take place at the plant’s various production departments

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 3, 2019. Rosatom/TVEL’s Novouralsk-based member enterprise Ural Electrochemical Combine launched a steeplejack practice range with all the safety appliances and harnesses in place, the company’s press service reports. The project (the range itself plus the assembly and installation) cost around RUB 1m to implement. ‘The introduction of a practice range minimizes the company’s industrial safety and job safety-related risks of steeplejack jobs considerably. Our employees can now complement their theoretical training with practice,’ says the combine’s Job Safety

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 2, 2019. Sverdlovsk Region’s agricultural production index rose by 5.8% in 2018 compared with the year 2017. According to Sverdlovskstat, the index went up by 14.8% in the crop husbandry segment and by 0.7% in the animal husbandry one. RUB 8,495,960,000 worth of agricultural produce got made in 2018 all in all (including RUB 3,317,770,000 worth of crops and vegetables and RUB 5,178,190,000 worth of animal-based products).

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 2, 2019. Metcombank came sixth in the rating of Russian banks with the best asset growth dynamics in the first half of 2019, the bank’s press service refers to Kommersant Publishing House’s research as indicating. Metcombank also came eighth in the rating of most foreign currency-oriented banks. In terms of all the primary financial performance parameters, the bank was No. 73 on the list of Russia’s top hundred banks. ‘Metcombank is one of the Urals’ largest banks set up in Kamensk-Uralsky in 1993. The bank has expanded considerably throughout the years and now

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 2, 2019. District Akademicheskiy’s first ER opened at 32 Ryabinin St. The solemn opening ceremony, which took place on the district’s anniversary, was attended by Sverdlovsk Region Government officials, members of Yekaterinburg Council, and representatives of the construction company Renova Group. The place has RUB 2.655m worth of medical equipment and furniture; the money got supplied from Yekaterinburg’s budget. Five teams (61healthcare professionals and 39 ambulance drivers) will be there for first aid and emergency treatment. The teams will have to ensure

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 2, 2019. EVRAZ Holding’s Raspadskaya Coal Company purchased five new mining vehicles, spending more than RUB 300m. The company bought two self-propelled Petitto Mule units and three Sandvik fixtures, Raspadskaya’s press service reports. Petitto Mule’s SP units got successfully tested at Raspadskaya Mine during Coalface 5а-7-32 face transfer. In September, workers at the Equipment Assembly/Dismantling/Repair Department learned how to operate Sandvik LS190s units in the course of a workshop conducted by a Sandvik engineer who works with explosion-proof

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, October 2, 2019. ChelPipe Group and the German firm Dillinger held a coordination council meeting on Chelyabinsk Pipe Rolling Plant (ChelPipe) premises; the meeting was attended by heads and representatives of the two parties’ Logistics, Sales, and Tech Departments. According to ChelPipe Group’s press service, Dillinger is one of the rolled metal sheet suppliers for ChelPipe and ETERNO. The two companies make pipes together, including those used in the The Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India Pipeline. ‘ChelPipe Group and Dillinger have been cooperating successfully for

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 1, 2019. A new ER station will open in Yekaterinburg’s District Akademicheskiy on October 1, the town council’s Information Policy Department reports. The ER opens on the day the district is going to celebrate yet another anniversary. Sverdlovsk Region Government officials, members of the town council, and representatives of the construction business Renova Group have all been invited to attend the opening ceremony. ‘Sverdlovsk Region Government purchased the new building from Renova Group and handed it over to Yekaterinburg ER free of charge. This is the first

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, October 1, 2019. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) Energy-Saving Department is celebrating its birthday this week, MMK’s Information & PR Department reports. The department got set up in September 1957, when a heating engineering lab was founded at the metallurgical plant; the lab comprised a group of heating engineers from the Electrical Control & Instrumentation Department, the Gas Laboratory staff, and designers from the Furnace Engineering Department. ‘Among other things, the lab was in charge of programming the best thermal parameters for open-hearth