MMZ temporarily halts steelmaking shop operations

Friday, 02 July 2010 17:46:58 (GMT+2)

As of June 28, Moldavian Metallurgical Plant (MMZ) has decided to temporarily stop the operations at its steelmaking shop's units, due to lack of orders and high prices for scrap.

In addition, in July MMZ plans also to start the repair works at its continuous light-section rolling mill 320/150, which will also influence the decrease of the plant's rolled steel product output, the production plan of which is to be made according to received orders and scrap supply.

According to the reports, by the end of June MMZ produced about 42,3000 mt of steel - down 36 percent month on month, and about 38,000 mt of rolled steel products - down 29 percent month on month, of which 30,500 mt was rebar (up 10 percent), with the rest being wire rod.

In the first half of the current year MMZ produced about 250,000 mt of steel - up 75 percent year on year, and 215,000 mt of rolled steel products - up about 30 percent, including 130,000 mt of rebar.

In early June this year, MMZ also decided to delay the project for the construction of its new one million mt capacity electric arc furnace, with investments estimated at $200 million, from 2011 to 2013, and to freeze the construction of its new continuous caster, due to the instability of the steel market.

According to the minister of economy of the unrecognized Transdniestrian Moldavian Republic, such a difficult situation at MMZ is caused not only by the crisis, but also by the need of the plant to repay preferential credits provided under the anti-crisis program. The amount MMZ must repay to the state amounts to about $10.6 million.

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