Ukrainian mining and steel producing group Metinvest has announced that in the second quarter of the current year its crude steel production increased by two percent quarter on quarter to 1.98 million mt, mainly due to its subsidiary Azovstal increasing output by 105,000 mt in the given quarter due to greater pig iron output, which fully compensated for a decrease of 64,000 mt in output at Ilyich Steel amid the shutdown of basic oxygen furnace No. 3 for a scheduled major overhaul. In addition, in the second quarter Metinvest also produced 7.25 million mt of iron ore concentrate, up one percent compared to the previous quarter. In the same quarter, the coal concentrate production of Metinvest increased by eight percent quarter on quarter to 731,000 mt.
In the first half of the current year, Metinvest's crude steel output amounted to 3.92 million mt, up three percent year on year due to an increase in production of 257,000 mt at Ilyich Steel, as pig iron was redirected to make steel and downstream products instead of merchant pig iron due to the commissioning of the new continuous casting machine No. 4. In addition, in the first half, iron ore concentrate output increased by three percent year on year to 14.45 million mt. In the first half this year, Metinvest’s coal concentrate production increased by five percent year on year to 1,4 million mt.
In the second quarter, the group's output of finished products increased by two percent to 1.54 million mt compared to the previous quarter, while in the first half the finished steel output volume increased by three percent year on year to 3.04 million mt.