Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant is a producer of Manganese Ferroalloy and related material located in Ukraine.
Background
The plant is one of the largest global producers of manganese alloys, and is situated in the Dnepropetrovsk region of Ukraine, close to large manganese ore deposits. The two main products of the plant are
Ferromanganese
Ferromanganese is a ferroalloy with high manganese content (high-carbon ferromanganese can contain as much as 80% Mn by weight). It is made by heating a mixture of the oxides MnO2 and Fe2O3, with carbon (usually as coal and coke) in either a bla ...
(FeMn) and Ferrosilicomanganese (FeSiMn)
Plant capacity is over 1 million metric tonnes of silicomanganese and 250,000 tonnes of high carbon ferromanganese, along with significant production capabilities in materials required for manganese production (fluxes).
Additionally waste slag supplies the construction industry.
The alloys are produced from manganese ore and coke in an electric arc furnace.
Company history
In 1958 the
USSR council of ministers
The Council of Ministers of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Совет министров СССР, r=Sovet Ministrov SSSR, p=sɐˈvʲet mʲɪˈnʲistrəf ɛsɛsɛˈsɛr; sometimes abbreviated to ''Sovmin'' or referred to as the '' ...
gave a decree for the construction of a
manganese
Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...
ferroalloy plant at Nikopol in Ukraine. Including the factory buildings a water supply and electricity supply had also to be built. By 1966 the factory was sufficiently complete for the first tapping of No.1 furnace.
By 1975 over 2 million tonnes of silico-manganese had been produced. In the troubled times of the 1990s brought about by the collapse of the Soviet Union and Ukrainian independence the factory had difficulty obtaining raw materials, and even the electricity to power the furnaces was in short supply. Nevertheless, by 2004 furnace No. 14 produced its first million tons of alloy.
Privatisation and de-privatisation
In 2003 as part of a governmental privatisation plan a 50% stake in the plant was sold to
Interpipe Group
Interpipe Group, or simply Interpipe, is a Ukrainian industrial company, a global producer of steel pipes and railway wheels. Interpipe headquarters and production facilities are located in Nikopol, Ukraine. The network of sales offices covers th ...
for 80million dollars considered to be a fraction of its true worth. A further 26% was acquired by the
Privat Group.
The sale later became part of a political scandal in Ukraine relating to privatisations as well as court proceedings to undo the privatisation.
The situation echos similar problems with the privatisation of other major Ukrainian industrial concerns, including
Luhanskteplovoz
Luhanskteplovoz ( uk, Луганськтепловоз or Luhansk Locomotive Works), earlier known as Voroshilovgrad Locomotive Works is a large industrial company in Luhansk, Ukraine, manufacturing locomotives, multiple unit trains (both electr ...
and
Kryvorizhstal
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (former Kryvorizhstal ( uk, Криворіжсталь) is Ukraine's largest integrated steel company, founded in 1934 and located in Kryvyi Rih, in central Ukraine.
Bought in 2005 by Mittal Steel, the steel plant is ...
; both being also sold for under market value, in privatisation sales that were later reversed. The company was also fought over by the two major stake holders
Privat Group and
Interpipe
Interpipe Group, or simply Interpipe, is a Ukrainian industrial company, a global producer of steel pipes and railway wheels. Interpipe headquarters and production facilities are located in Nikopol, Ukraine. The network of sales offices covers th ...
.
Investigations into abuse of authority by the state officials during the initial privatisation have taken place,
and the sale was declared illegal in 2005
with attempts to block any further privatisation attempts made in 2006.
See also
*
FC Elektrometalurh-NZF Nikopol
References
{{Metallurgy in Ukraine
Steel companies of Ukraine
Steel companies of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
Privat Group
Companies based in Nikopol, Ukraine
Nikopol, Ukraine