ArcelorMittal remains committed to Ukraine and believes in its future, despite the huge difficulties in the work of its own mining and smelting plant, ArcelorMittal Krivoy Rog (AMKR), caused by full-scale armed aggression of Russia, said Vijay Goyal, ArcelorMittal executive vice president and CEO of ArcelorMittal CIS.
“Every day we lose more than $1 million. 10% of our staff is at war, 67 people died defending the country… But I not only hope, but I believe that we will come out victorious. We are willing, able and ready to rebuild,” he said at a business forum on the rapid reconstruction of Ukraine in Luxembourg organized by the Ukrainian-Luxembourg Business Club.
ArcelorMittal board member Michel Wurth noted that since buying Krivorozhstal in a privatization tender in 2005, more than $10 billion has been invested in Ukraine in total, and in 2021 the plant, which employs 26,000 people, was a record producer.
“We remain committed to Ukraine, to its people, and we plan to participate in the rebuilding of Ukraine as quickly as possible,” he stressed
Goyal noted that the management and staff of AMKR set an incredible example of indestructibility, organizing the work of the enterprise during blackouts, without access to the Black Sea ports, during shelling.
According to him, ArcelorMittal counts on the high quality of state administration after the war, continued anti-corruption efforts, efficient infrastructure, as well as the provision of security conditions given the large number of weapons in the country.
For its part, he said, the company is exploring all opportunities to better integrate AMKR into the global market and bring new technologies to Ukraine.
For his part, Wurth added that the issue of public-private partnerships and attracting financing remains important.
“ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is the largest producer of rolled steel in Ukraine. It specializes in the production of long products, in particular rebar and wire rod.
ArcelorMittal owns in Ukraine the largest mining and metallurgical plant “ArcelorMittal Krivoy Rog” and a number of small companies, in particular PJSC “ArcelorMittal Beryslav”.
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih PJSC (AMKR, Dnipropetrovsk oblast) with a $100mn loan to replenish its working capital.
“The loan will be used to finance the company’s working capital needs to ensure business continuity in Ukraine,” the bank said in a statement Thursday.
According to it, the bank’s board of directors approved the project at a meeting on Dec. 14.
The EBRD recalled that it provided financing to AMKR in 2017, developed a comprehensive Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) and monitored its implementation by PESM, making monitoring visits to the company in recent years.
“Overall, the company was on track for implementation and reported as required. The provision of working capital under the concept of sustainability of Ukraine will allow, among other things, to continue investment plans and implement the existing ESAP, which, in turn, will significantly improve the environment, health and safety at the site,” – pointed out the bank.
The EBRD clarified that a key aspect of the current investment program is the modernization of the sinter plant, and this investment process is ongoing, with work on the sinter lines as well as the air treatment facilities, but some investments planned for 2022-2023 have been postponed due to the ongoing war and the proximity of the front.
“ArcelorMittal Krivoy Rog is the largest producer of rolled steel in Ukraine. It specializes in the production of long products, particularly rebar and wire rod, and is owned by ArcelorMittal.
On November 24 this year, after the blackout caused by Russian missile attacks on the energy infrastructure, AMKR reported about critical limitation of electricity consumption and suspension of most of the production processes. According to the company, the available amount of electricity is not enough to maintain production even at 20% of capacity.
In addition, on the night of December 5, AMKR was hit by a Russian missile strike.
PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (Dnipropetrovsk region) at its coke chemical division in January-July this year reduced production of metallurgical coke by 59.4% compared to the same period last year, to 696,700 tonnes.
A representative of the company told Interfax-Ukraine that in July the company produced 43,500 tonnes of metallurgical coke.
At the same time, in January-July 2022, production of 6% moisture gross coke at the plant amounted to 800,000 tonnes, including 51,000 tonnes in July.
Coke production at ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih over seven months of 2021 increased by 11.9%, to 1.716 million tonnes, including 257,000 tonnes in July last year.
In January-July 2022, the company received 216,000 tonnes of domestic coal, 390,000 tonnes from Russia (before the war), 65,000 tonnes from Kazakhstan, 27,000 tonnes from Poland, 15,000 tonnes from the Czech Republic, 190,000 tonnes from the USA and 126,000 tonnes from Australia. In July, the plant delivered 68,000 tonnes of domestic coal, 32,000 tonnes from the United States, and 4,300 tonnes from Australia.
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is the largest producer of rolled steel in Ukraine. It specializes in production of long products, in particular rebar and wire rod.
PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (Dnipropetrovsk region) in January-November this year increased production of rolled iron ore by 3.3% compared to the same period last year – up to 10 million tonnes.
An enterprise representative told Interfax-Ukraine about 900,000 tonnes of concentrate were produced in November.
Earlier, the general director of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, Mauro Longobardo, reported that ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih in 2020 increased production of iron ore concentrate by 8.3%, to 10.7 million tonnes, ore extraction increased by 4.5%, to 25.6 million tonnes.
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is the largest manufacturer of rolled steel in Ukraine. It specializes in production of long products, in particular, rebar and wire rod.
ArcelorMittal owns the largest mining and metallurgical plant in Ukraine ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih and a number of small companies, in particular, PJSC ArcelorMittal Beryslav.
PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (Dnipropetrovsk region) in January-June 2021 reduced the output of general rolled products, according to operational data, by 2.1% year-over-year, to 2.3 million tonnes.
A representative of the company told Interfax-Ukraine that steel production during this period increased by 1.4%, to 2.45 million tonnes, cast iron by 10.4%, to 2,790 tonnes. At the same time, sinter production increased by 7.6%, to 4.95 million tonnes.
In June, about 390,000 tonnes of rolled products, some 420,000 tonnes of steel, some 470,000 tonnes of cast iron, some 880,000 tonnes of sinter were produced.
PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (Dnipropetrovsk region) is considering the possibility of putting into circulation 1,200 new rail cars in 2021-2022, while the company’s own car fleet will increase by 1.5 times.
According to a press release from the company, this will allow for faster deliver products to customers and timely supply raw materials for the plant.
Virdy Bikram, the chief procurement officer of the company, noted that several factors are pushing the company to the decision to purchase new cars on a large scale.
“Currently, we are increasing the shipments of our products for export. At the same time, we are not quite satisfied with the technical condition of the wagon base in Ukraine. The renewed wagon fleet will ensure safe and efficient transportation of our products to Ukrainian ports. We will be able to plan our logistics regardless of the situation on the railroad market/transportation and availability of wagons. This will help reduce the cost of delivery of outgoing and incoming goods. In addition, own wagons are cheaper – the approximate payback period is 3-4 years,” he said.
According to him, according to the company’s estimates, initiatives to write off high-sided cars that exceed the standard service life, presented to the government, could lead to a shortage in the market and a large jump in transportation prices. Also, some manifestation of the shortage of wagons can traditionally be expected in the summer-autumn period due to the revival of the construction cargo market.
“Therefore, we would like to count on our own modern wagons and be more flexible in terms of working with Ukrzaliznytsia and freight operators,” the top manager summed up.
