The Russian steelmaker and iron ore producer Evraz Group (Evraz) has been forced from March 1 to stop its iron ore mining and switch to minimal operations at its Ukraine-based Sukhaya Balka iron ore mining and processing complex, due to the inability to ship products to its customers, which in turn has resulted in an overloading of the company's warehouses. As a result, more than 1,300 workers (i.e., about half of the company's staff) have been sent on temporary forced leave.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, Evraz said that since February 4 the Krivoy Rog Iron Ore Industrial Complex (KRZhK), which owns the transport system and access roads to the mine in question, has been blocking rail entrances to Sukhaya Balka, thus hindering shipments of products and, in particular, exports to Europe.
Sukhaya Balka plans to resume its iron ore shipments in two weeks' time using alternative railway tracks. It is reported that since November 2009 Sukhaya Balka has been building its own railway system.
In the first two months of 2010, Sukhaya Balka registered a 64.3 percent increase year on year in its sintered ore production to 396,000 mt, of which 200,000 mt were produced in February. In January-February this year, the company did not deliver any products to the domestic market.
In 2009, Sukhaya Balka produced 1.687 million mt of sintered ore - down 37.4 percent year on year.