Encouraged by higher export shipments in September, Ukraine's ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih has announced a resumption of operations at its mining department, earlier than previously scheduled. Specifically, in September the company managed to ship additional volumes of iron ore concentrate totaling 50,000 mt to Poland. Accordingly, despite the initial plans to keep operations idle as of August 1 for three months, the company has put one of its two pit mines and, concurrently, its crushing and iron ore beneficiation facilities into operation. Further commissioning of production facilities depends largely on the required consumption volumes and export opportunities.
A well-timed refocusing on the export of iron ore concentrate has helped the company to preserve value during the war. However, in summer the positions of the company were considerably weakened, with demand for concentrate and metal products in the European markets decreasing sharply, while the traditional markets remained out of reach for ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih due to the blockade of Ukrainian ports. In particular, logistics costs for the company have increased by five times. The developments in question forced the company to temporarily suspend its operations in order to reduce its expenses.