ArcelorMittal receives approval for the construction of the III Map tailings dump

The Ministry of Environment provided the company with a conclusion on the environmental impact assessment of the planned activities

PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih has received an environmental impact assessment conclusion from the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine (MEPR) to adjust the project «New construction of the tailings dump «Map III» of the sludge management of iron ore dressing plant on the territory of Hrechano-Podivska and Novolativska village councils of Kryvyi Rih district, Dnipro region.» This is stated on the website of the executive committee of the Kryvyi Rih City Council.

Information on the receipt of the environmental impact assessment by ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is published in the Unified Register of Environmental Impact Assessment.

The planned activity envisages the construction of a tailings storage facility for tailings storage due to the fact that the existing storage facilities have reached the limits of economic feasibility and physical possibility of their expansion.

As noted earlier, the Map III tailings storage facility with a dam crest elevation of +100.0 m will allow for the introduction of additional storage capacity for tailings with a usable volume of 29.4 million cubic meters. The new tailings storage facility consists of five compartments and a guide channel.

It is planned to simultaneously operate the tailings storage facility and build up the dam embankments using the advance alluvial construction method.

As a result of the planned activities, 9 fugitive emission sources will appear on the territory of the new tailing dump. To reduce the negative impact of the sludge management on the environment, after the commissioning of the Map III tailing dump and the full implementation of the design decisions for the construction of the existing Map IV, Myrolyubivka and Central tailing dumps, it is planned to decommission them in stages. It should also be noted that the new tailing dump is being constructed using modern technologies that provide for the protection of groundwater and soil during its operation.

Emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere from the production activities of the Map III tailings dump amount to about 262.5 tons, excluding emissions from mobile sources.

Currently, ArcelorMittal operates three tailings dams, two of which – Myrolyubivka and Map IV – are planned to receive about $50 million in investments in 2020-2024. More than $15 million has already been invested in the third tailing dump, Central, and construction is underway.

In early March 2024, Mauro Longobardo, CEO of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, said that in 2024 the company plans to increase capacity utilization, in particular, of the metallurgical division to 50% and the mining division to the maximum possible level.

In January 2024, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih increased steel production by 23% y/y – to 76 thousand tons. Rolled steel production increased by 26% m/m – to 72 thousand tons, pig iron – by 10% m/m, to 149 thousand tons, iron ore concentrate – by 41% m/m, to 552 thousand tons, and coke – by 9% m/m, to 85 thousand tons.

PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is a full-cycle steelmaking enterprise in Ukraine. Its production facilities are designed to produce over 6 million tons of steel, 5 million tons of rolled products and 5.5 million tons of pig iron annually. The company employs over 20 thousand people.