Russian mining and steelmaking company Evraz Group has announced its production results for the first quarter this year, stating that its crude steel production decreased by 5.5 percent to 3.3 million mt compared to the fourth quarter last year, primarily as a result of lower pig iron production due to the negative influence of severe weather conditions on iron ore supply logistics in January and February this year, the technical condition of blast furnaces Nos. 1 and 3 at EVRAZ ZSMK, the shutdown of blast furnace No. 6 at EVRAZ NTMK and the disposal of EVRAZ DMZ in March this year.
In the first quarter this year, the company’s total steel product sales amounted to 3.21 million mt, falling by 5.6 percent from the fourth quarter of 2017, due to lower crude steel production. Sales of semi-finished products fell by 16.6 percent quarter on quarter, primarily due to reduced pig iron and crude steel production. This was partly offset by a 5.7 percent quarter-on-quarter increase in the sales of finished products (mainly construction products, driven by stronger demand for rebars and channels).
According to the company's statement, in the given quarter, production of raw coking coal went up by 6.7 percent quarter on quarter to six million mt following the completion of scheduled longwall repositioning at the Alardinskaya and Uskovskaya mines.