Mauro Longobardo, CEO of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (AMKR), the Ukrainian subsidiary of global steelmaker ArcelorMittal, has stated in an interview with Ukrainian news agency Interfax Ukraine that the company’s mining division is currently operating at around 75 percent of full capacity.
This corresponds to approximately 7.5 million mt of iron ore concentrate per year, a level sufficient to supply the company’s own metallurgical production as well as export deliveries to other ArcelorMittal subsidiaries in Europe and to China. Before the war, the site had a mining capacity of roughly 1 million mt per month.
According to Longobardo, the steelmaking division is currently operating two blast furnaces. However, production has been repeatedly disrupted by power shortages and blackouts resulting from missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Raw material supply stable but logistics face disruptions
On the raw materials side, the company reported that supplies remain stable. Coking coal is imported from suppliers in Australia and the United States through the ports of Pivdennyi and Odessa and processed into coke at the company’s own facilities.
However, attacks on port infrastructure have caused delays in vessel unloading. Limestone supplies from the Beryslav deposit in the Kherson region continue, though consumption is lower than before the war due to reduced steel production levels.
Energy costs become dominant burden
The company said the cost environment has deteriorated sharply. Electricity prices averaged above $220/MWh in January and around $230/MWh in February, with peak levels reaching $370/MWh.
Natural gas prices have also risen significantly. ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih now purchases gas either from European markets at hub prices plus delivery costs or from domestic suppliers based on import-parity pricing with an added premium.
As a result, electricity and natural gas now account for around 40 percent of total production costs, compared with approximately 18 percent in 2020.
CBAM causes order cancellations in Europe
The company also highlighted the impact of the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). According to management, European customers cancelled orders once they learned that Ukrainian steel imports would face additional CBAM-related costs of around $60-90/mt.
In 2025, European buyers purchased approximately 920,000 mt of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih’s steel products. However, during the first quarter of this year the company accumulated roughly 300,000 mt of unsold steel due to cancelled orders.
Management said it had hoped that Ukraine might receive a temporary exemption from CBAM due to wartime conditions, but the European Union rejected this request.