Swiss-headquartered miner Ferrexpo, whose main interests are in Ukrainian iron ore assets, has announced its production results for the second quarter this year, while indicating that its operations and logistics continued to operate with minimal impact from the coronavirus during the given quarter.
In the second quarter this year, the company’s iron ore production increased by two percent year on year and by six percent compared to the previous quarter to 2.93 million mt. In particular, the company’s output of pellets totaled 2.85 million mt, increasing by five percent quarter on quarter and down by 0.8 percent year on year, reflecting the successful completion of pelletizer upgrade work during the prior period. Ferrexpo’s output of pellets from iron ore with 65 percent Fe content totaled 2.76 million mt, up 0.5 percent year on year and up four percent compared to the first quarter. A final pelletizer line upgrade is planned for the third quarter this year, with the company’s overall pelletizer capacity to increase by 500,000-1 million mt per year following completion of this work.
In the first half this year, the company’s iron ore production increased by two percent year on year to 5.71 million mt, while its pellet production rose by 0.6 percent to 5.56 million mt. In the first six months this year, Ferrexpo’s output of pellets from iron ore with 65 percent Fe content totaled 5.43 million mt, up two percent year on year. The company’s total sales volumes in the given half totaled 5.6 million mt, down by nine percent year on year.
Ferrexpo stated that it continues to develop its offering of direct reduction 67 percent Fe pellets, with this pellet type representing the pathway to low-carbon steel production. In the first half of 2021, the company signed its first long-term contract for the supply of direct reduction pellets, with further trial shipments and samples for testing dispatched to additional prospective customers.
The company also recorded additional production of 85,000 mt of high-grade concentrate for sale in the second quarter, linked to the commissioning and ramp-up of its concentrate stockyard project.