According to the data released by Rudprom - Association of Russian
Iron Ore Producers - for the January-September 2006 period,
Russia increased
iron ore production by 8 percent year on year to 77.29 million metric tons.
In particular during the period in question, Russian enterprises produced 4.03 million metric tons of agglomerate- down 5.4 percent, 74.3 million metric tons of concentrate- up 6.8 percent and 28.66 million metric tons of pellets- up 9.2 percent, compared with the same period of last year.
Ukraine and
Kazakhstan also saw increases in their
iron ore production during the same period. During the first nine months of 2006,
iron ore production in
Ukraine rose by 6.7 percent to 54.17 million metric tons, while
iron ore production in
Kazakhstan indicated a 13.6 percent increase to 13.82 million metric tons.
In the first nine months of 2006, combined
CIS iron ore production (including the figures from
Russia,
Ukraine and
Kazakhstan) increased by 8 percent to 145.27 million metric tons.