st week, together with my colleagues, we visited the Karmet plant in the city of Temirtau, the industrial center of the Karaganda region. After visiting the mine, visiting the metallurgical complex, and talking with the company's employees, I got detailed information about the conditions under which the asset was given to the Kazakh investor. I think that if there was no deal, next year we would have seen a real tragedy - either a serious accident would have happened at the station, or the CHP would have shut down and left a part of Temirtau without energy. This is clear now.
I thought the situation was serious, but in reality it turned out to be a near disaster. Currently, only two of the remaining 8 mines (there were 15 of them in 1995) are more or less operational, but Saransk and Abay are gradually coming back to life, where new furnaces are being put into operation. The plant lacked coal, plans were not implemented due to low investment and serious accidents.
The plant's heat and power supply infrastructure and coke batteries are in dire straits, requiring investment in safety. Before leaving, the Mittal group did not leave a stock of ferroalloys, coke for steel smelting, or money in their accounts. The asset was returned in a damaged state and without the necessary stock for production.
