"Six million tonnes of pellets is a testimony to the success of NLMK Group’s key Strategy 2017 investment project," said Sergey Napolskikh, general director of NLMK’s Stoilensky mining division. 

Stoilensky completed construction on the US$680 million plant in November 2016. It is one of the largest pelletizing plants in Europe and the first in Russia to use high-efficiency hyperbaric filters in the de-watering process. 

Napolskikh said the company plans to push production to 6.4 million metric tons this year. 

"We are planning a further 20% expansion of this capacity down the line to reach 7.2 million tonnes of pellets per year. Achieving the set goals will enable us to supply NLMK Group’s future growth projects with low cost raw materials," he said.