The presence of iron ore in the regions around
Kryvyi Rih has been confirmed since at least 1781 and was rumored to have existed long before Iron ore production expanded rapidly during the next few years. By 1896, 20 mines in the
Kryvyi Rih Basin were producing over 1,000,000 tonnes of ore. Industrial expansion continued in the region up to 1917. Production dropped during the
First World War. In 1931, the chairman of the
Supreme Economic Council of the USSR,
Grigori (Sergo) Ordzhonikidze, signed a decree ordering the construction of the facility; that same year, the
foundation stone of the metallurgical plant was laid. In August 1934, the first metal was produced at Kryvorizhstal, later known as 'Kryvyi Rih Metallurgical Plant'. Before the onset of the
Second World War, the plant operated with three blast furnaces (of 3,160 m3) and two
open hearth furnaces, along with a
heat and
power plant. In 1941, a
blooming mill with a yearly capacity of 1.7 million tonnes, a fourth blast furnace and a third open hearth furnace came online, shortly before the
Nazi occupation. Before German troops arrived, equipment and employees were evacuated to
Nizhny Tagil, east of the
Ural Mountains. After recapturing of the area, the plant was rebuilt and continued its growth. Blast Furnace 7 was built in 1962, and Blast Furnace 8 was completed in 1970, making the plant the largest in Europe. In 1974, Blast Furnace 9 opened,
Ukrainian independence In 1996, restructuring took place, combining the mining and ore concentrating unit
Novokrivorozhsky HZK (
Новокриворізький ГЗК (НК ГЗК)) (NK-HZK) with the Kryvyi Rih State Mining and Metallurgical Combine (Kryvorizhstal) (
Криворізького державного гірничо-металургійного комбінату "Криворіжсталь"). Kryvyi Rih coking plant (
Криворізький коксохімічний завод (ККХЗ)) was included in the group in 1997,) against a government-set reserve price of $714 million, to a consortium called Investment-Metallurgical Union. Higher offers from foreign investors, including a joint bid from
Severstal/
Arcelor, and a bid from
Tata Steel, were rejected on bidding technicalities. The deal was widely criticized by the opposition and from abroad as an example of
corruption and state property mismanagement. The bidding process was broadcast live on Ukrainian television, (Ukrainian :
ВАТ «Міттал Стіл Кривий Ріг»), and later in 2007, after the takeover of Arcelor by Mittal steel to form
ArcelorMittal, the company was renamed
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih. During the
Great Recession, steel production dropped from 8.1 million tonnes in 2007 to 6.2 million in 2008 and 5 million in 2009, with decreases in other production metrics and revenues, with the company registering a net loss of ₴120 million in 2009 (down from a profit of ₴4.7 billion the year before). Production levels recovered to 2008 values in 2010.
Investments 2006-2024 Between 2006 and 2022 in Ukraine, the company's total investments amounted to $10 billion (including $ 4.8 billion – take over amount during the privatization + $ 5.2 billion - investment in production development). Major investment projects from 2006 to 2022 included: • Reconstruction of Coke Oven Batteries 3 and 4 ($199 million); • Category 1 reconstruction of Blast Furnace No. 8 ($127 million); • Reconstruction of Oxygen Block 2 ($45 million); • Construction of ladle furnace and
Continuous Caster Machine 1 ($112 million); • Construction of the new packing line at Light Section Mill 2 ($16 million); • Category 1 reconstruction of Blast Furnace 6 ($117 million); •
Pulverized coal injection built at Blast Furnace 9 ($60 million); • Reconstruction of Coke Oven Batteries 5 and 6, along with the implementation of environmental measures and an automated
environmental monitoring system ($157 million); • Modernization of Sinter Shop 2 (over $180 million); • Construction of two new continuous Casting Machines 2 and 3 (over $160 million); • Reconstruction of Light Section Mill 250-4 (over $60 million); • Construction of new gas cleaning plants for Basic Oxygen Furnaces 4, 5, and 6 with СО combustion and implementation of automated environmental monitoring system ($65 million); • From 2008 to 2015, approximately $500 million were invested to replenish old
crushers, build new sections at the
beneficiation plants (total of three sections), purchase new
ball mills, modernize the haulage fleet and in-pit equipment, open a new horizon at the Artem underground mine (1 135 m), and reconstruct the
tailing ponds. • In February 2022 the Russian large-scale invasion of Ukraine caused ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih to put it temporarily on hold several major investment projects, including a pellet plant construction initially slated to open in 2023. The company makes an exception only for those projects without which the production might stop completely. Such an example is the construction of a new tailing dump Tretya Karta, which is vital for the continuation of ore mining and safe storage of production waste. The commissioning of the new tailing dump will make it possible to abandon two old similar facilities and reduce the anthropogenic load on the nearby territories. ArcelorMittal company is investing over $150 million in this project. • As of September 2024, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih plans to continue its operations even with the current challenges of declining iron ore prices and stagnation in the European steel market. Another obstacle is the mobilization campaign in Ukraine, as more than 3,000 employees have joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces, 233 of them were killed or missed. Mauro Longobardo was appointed
chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, effective 18 February 2020. ==Production==