Encouraged by higher export shipments in September,Ukraine'sArcelorMittalKryvyi Rih has announced a resumption of operations at its mining department, earlier than previously scheduled. Specifically, in September the company managed to ship additional volumes ofiron oreconcentrate totaling 50,000 mt to Poland. Accordingly, despite the initial plans to keep operations idle as of August 1 for three months, the company has put one of its two pit mines and, concurrently, its crushing andiron orebeneficiation facilities into operation. Further commissioning of production facilities depends largely on the required consumption volumes and export opportunities.
A well-timed refocusing on the export ofiron oreconcentrate has helped the company to preserve value during the war. However, in summer the positions of the company were considerably weakened, with demand for concentrate and metal products in the European markets decreasing sharply, while the traditional markets remained out of reach forArcelorMittalKryvyi Rih due to the blockade of Ukrainian ports. In particular, logistics costs for the company have increased by five times. The developments in question forced the company to temporarily suspend its operations in order to reduce its expenses.