Zaporizhstal as a part of Metinvest received a registration certificate from the Ministry of Health of Ukraine for the production of liquid oxygen for use as a medical treatment. From April 2, 2021, the Works began transferring oxygen to medical institutions in Zaporizhzhia region on a free basis. In total, the Works will be able to supply hospitals with about 450 tons of medical oxygen per month.
“The COVID-19 pandemic that has swept the entire world does not give up and takes human lives every day. At the end of 2020, realizing what a heavy load our healthcare system is experiencing, we decided to obtain a license for the production of medical oxygen in order to transfer it to the city’s hospitals free of charge. It was a rather long and tense process, but we went through this difficult path, realizing that people will urgently need our help in the fight against coronavirus,” said Aleksandr Mironenko.
The air separation unit VRU-60 in the oxygen compressor shop at Zaporizhstal is responsible for the production of oxygen – both technological and medical: here the atmospheric air is purified, compressed and divided into components.
From the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Zaporizhstal and Metinvest, together with the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, have been providing assistance to Zaporizhzhia health care: doctors received 15 artificial lung ventilation units, 34,000 rapid tests and tens of thousands of COVID-19 protective equipment from Rinat Akhmetov Foundation. In addition, Zaporizhstal, together with the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation and Metinvest, financed the construction of an oxygen station, which, after commissioning, will supply oxygen to 172 beds in the COVID department of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Infectious Disease Clinical Hospital.
In 2021, Metinvest Group celebrates the 15th anniversary of its foundation. Metinvest is an international vertically integrated mining and metallurgical group of companies. Its structure includes mining and metallurgical enterprises in Ukraine, Europe and the USA, as well as a sales network in all key regions of the world. The company controls the entire production chain – from the extraction of ore and coal to the production of semi-finished products and finished products.