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In this paper, the authors outline the revised plan for the future of the Russian steel industry to 2005. This emphasises a reduction in its present dependence on exports, an increase in BOS and CC capacity and a phasing out of obsolete plant. Of particular interest is a predicted demand for large diameter pipe to replace much of the country's 2Mkm network.
The Russian iron and steel industry plays a very important role in the country's economy, it is the basis for the whole industrial development and has great possibilities for export. Today Russia is placed fourth in world steel production at 48.4Mt (after China, Japan and USA) and first in steel trade (in 1997 Russia became the world's biggest net exporter of steel products at 26Mt).
In the Russian steel industry 100% of the key steel enterprises (about 200) have been privatised: 27 mines and concentrators, four ferro-alloys plants, 46 steel works, 13 special steel plants, 14 tube mills, 18 refractory plants, five coke plants, 14 wire mills and around 80 scrap processing plants. The conversion of these enterprises to joint-stock company QSC) status and privatisation commenced in 1992-93 and was completed during 1995-96 with over 75% of the shares sold by non-public subscription and at auctions. The State is temporarily retaining its influence on blocks of shares (not more than 20%) for federal ownership on six large plants.
Around 80-90% crude steel output is concentrated at the nine biggest integrated iron and steel works (Table 1). These large works are located in regions where the principle raw materials for steelmaking and coal are to be found; in the North, Central-Chernozemny, Urals and West Siberia regions. The Ural region has around 60% of the total steelmaking capacity and imported 50% of its iron ore from other Russian regions and around 5Mt/y of ore from Kazakhstan. These regions (Cheliabinsk, Kemerovo, Vologda and others) have large steel production capacities and play the same role as major steel producing countries in the world (Fig 1 &2).
At present the largest steel works dominate the town of their location and a large proportion of the inhabitants depend on them (Table 2). The main integrated steel works in Russia were originally built as gigantic plants and the city...