Metinvest Group, as part of Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front initiative, has built the country’s first underground hospital for the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, in coordination with the Vostok Medical Forces, to provide primary medical care and stabilize the condition of warriors after being wounded on the front line, having invested more than UAH 20 million, the group said in a press release on Tuesday
In turn, the Defense Ministry in a statement on its website indicated that the hospital was the first in a large-scale project implemented by the ministry in coordination with the Medical Forces Vostok, and in total it provides for the construction of more than two dozen underground stabpoints.
It is specified that the first facility is located near the front line and is designed to provide medical assistance to Ukrainian defenders in the safest possible conditions. The hospital is built on the basis of six enlarged steel bunkers-“kryivoks” developed by Metinvest, each of which is 7.6 meters long and 2.5 meters in diameter. Ventilation, water supply, drainage and alternative power supply systems have been installed to ensure the functioning of the facility.
Additional security measures have been taken during the installation of the underground hospital, in particular, it is additionally equipped with high-power REB systems and alternative power sources.
“Such underground stabpoints are critically important for preserving the lives of our military… This is the first step in a large-scale project that will strengthen our medical infrastructure and allow to support defenders on the front line even more effectively,” emphasized Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
“Metinvest” specified that the staffing of the hospital corresponds to the level of field hospitals of the second echelon (Role/Echelon 2) in accordance with NATO standards, and the investment included the cost of not only the construction of the hospital, but also the completion of its equipment.
“A medical hospital at a depth of many meters underground is the most ambitious and complex project we have had to implement since the beginning of the full-scale invasion within the framework of Akhmetov’s Steel Front initiative,” said Metinvest’s Chief Operating Officer Oleksandr Mironenko.
It is noted that the steel underground hospital is not inferior to civilian hospitals in terms of medical equipment. In particular, Metinvest has equipped the hospital with oxygen concentrators, ventilator, cardiac monitors, defibrillators, operating equipment and lighting, sterilizers, patient heating systems, medical furniture for the total amount of more than UAH 7 million.
“This underground hospital is the best of stabilization points. It will allow to provide medical care to more than 100 patients per day, saving hundreds of lives of our heroes. I hope that the number of such facilities will grow,” said Roman Kuzev, acting commander of Medical Forces Vostok.
Metinvest Group, as part of Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front military initiative, has built the country’s first underground hospital for the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, in coordination with the Vostok Medical Force, to provide primary medical care and stabilize soldiers after they are injured on the front line, investing more than UAH 20 million, the group said in a press release on Tuesday.
For its part, the Ministry of Defense noted in a post on its website that the hospital was the first in a large-scale project implemented by the ministry in coordination with the Vostok Medical Force, and in total it involves the construction of more than two dozen underground staging areas.
It is specified that the first facility is located near the front line and is designed to provide medical care to Ukrainian defenders in the safest possible conditions. The hospital was built on the basis of six enlarged steel bunkers, each of which is 7.6 meters long and 2.5 meters in diameter, developed by Metinvest. Ventilation, water supply, drainage and alternative power sources have been installed to ensure the facility’s operation.
Additional safety measures were taken during the installation of the underground hospital, including the addition of high-powered electronic warfare systems and alternative power sources.
“Such underground stations are critical for saving the lives of our military… This is the first step in a large-scale project that will strengthen our medical infrastructure and allow us to more effectively support our defenders on the front line,” said Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
“Metinvest clarified that the hospital’s staffing level corresponds to the level of a second echelon field hospital (Role/Echelon 2) in accordance with NATO standards, and the investment included not only the cost of building the hospital but also the cost of its equipment.
“A medical hospital many meters underground is the most ambitious and complex project we have had to implement since the beginning of the full-scale invasion as part of Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front initiative,” said Metinvest’s Chief Operating Officer Alexander Mironenko.
It is noted that the steel underground hospital is not inferior to civilian hospitals in terms of medical equipment.
In particular, Metinvest has equipped the hospital with oxygen concentrators, a ventilator, cardiac monitors, defibrillators, operating equipment and lighting, sterilizers, patient heating systems, and medical furniture worth more than UAH 7 million.
“This underground hospital is the best of the stabilization centers. It will allow us to provide medical care to more than 100 patients a day, saving hundreds of lives of our heroes. I hope that the number of such facilities will increase,” said Roman Kuzev, acting commander of the Medical Forces ‘East’.
“Metinvest, Ukraine’s largest mining and metals holding, increased its total production of iron ore concentrate (IOC) by 87% year-on-year to 8.892 million tonnes in January-June this year, and pellets by 25% to 3.193 million tonnes, but reduced its total output of coking coal concentrate by 31% to 2.085 million tonnes.
According to the operating report of the parent company Metinvest B.V. on Monday, the production of commercial iron ore products more than doubled to 8.021 million tons, and the production of commercial iron ore concentrate increased 3.4 times to 5.023 million tons, which was facilitated by the unblocking of Ukrainian Black Sea ports from August 2023 and an increase in the order book for coking coal pellets.
It is noted that due to limited electricity production in Ukraine due to Russian shelling since mid-March 2024 and high demand for imported electricity, its cost affects the workload and configuration of the group’s mining and processing plants.
At the same time, Metinvest distributes the workload of its mining and processing plants based on the availability of electricity, its cost, market prices for iron ore products and other factors to ensure efficient production.
As a result, in Q2 2024, total iron ore production decreased by 17% quarter-on-quarter to 4.033 million tonnes, while the output of commercial iron ore products decreased by 13% to 3.814 million tonnes, including the production of commercial iron ore pellets, which decreased by 22% to 2.205 million tonnes. At the same time, the production of commercial pellets remained almost at the level of the previous quarter at 1.609 million tons.
According to the report, the group’s coal concentrate production in 2Q2024 decreased by 8% quarter-on-quarter to 999 thousand tons.
It is noted that the main factor behind this was a 12% decline in production at Pokrovske Coal Group (Ukraine) to 562 thousand tons, among other things due to the planned redistribution of mining operations in view of the capacity of production sites.
United Coal Company’s (USA) production of coal concentrate remained almost at the level of the previous quarter – 437 thousand tons. It is noted that in 1H2024, the group’s coal concentrate production decreased by 31% mainly due to a 39% decrease in production at United Coal Company due to the suspension of production at Carter Roag mines and a decrease in production at some Wellmore mines. In addition, Pokrovske Coal Group’s coal concentrate production decreased by 25% mainly due to optimization of mining operations due to changes in mining and geological conditions.
“Metinvest comprises steel and mining companies located in Ukraine, Europe and the United States. Its major shareholders are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%), which jointly manage it.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
Since the beginning of the year, Uglepromtrans LLC, a member of Metinvest Group, has transported 2 million tons of coking coal and coal concentrate within the framework of Metinvest Pokrovskugol, which manages the enterprises of Pokrovsk Coal Group (Pokrovskoye).
According to the company, Vuglepromtrans trains are responsible for delivering premium concentrate to customers. Despite the war, the railroaders are working in a stable mode, increasing their speed and shunting operations.
In addition, it is reported that locomotive crews at Shakhtnaya station are providing railcars for loading coal concentrate to their main customers, Pokrovskoye Mine Administration and Svyato-Varvarinskaya Concentrator.
Currently, the rolling stock service employs 63 people, and one in four of them is a diesel locomotive driver.
As reported, in 2023, Vuhlepromtrans railroaders built 68 meters of track and three turnouts. The plans for this year are to lay another turnout and 60 meters of track, which will facilitate access to the diesel locomotive garage.
Nikolay Vishnevsky, Director of Vuglepromtrans, noted that in the face of a full-scale invasion, Metinvest transformed its business in a timely manner and set up logistics to maintain key production facilities and, most importantly, retained its staff.
“Metinvest created Metinvest Pokrovskugol, which manages the Pokrovske Coal Group’s enterprises. It includes, among others, Pokrovske Mine Administration and Svyato-Varvarinskaya Concentrator.
Svyato-Varvarinskaya Enrichment Plant is a premium coal concentrate producer in Ukraine. Its production capacity is about 8 million tons of raw coking coal per year with the ability to enrich five different classes of coal.
Pokrovskoye (formerly Chervonoarmeyskaya-Zapadnaya No. 1) is Ukraine’s largest coking coal producer.
The major shareholders of Metinvest B.V. are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding Group (23.76%), which jointly manage the company. Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
Metinvest Group’s Central, Ingulets and Northern Mining and Processing Plants (MPPs), which were transformed into United Mining and Processing Plant (UMPP), paid UAH 2.8 billion in taxes in January-June 2024.
According to the company’s press release on Thursday, in the same period of 2023, YuGOK, Central GOK and InGOK transferred UAH 1.4 billion to the state and municipal budgets.
“Despite the ongoing war, economic difficulties and challenges, Metinvest’s Kryvyi Rih enterprises remain one of the largest taxpayers and a strong pillar of the region and Ukraine,” the company said.
It is specified that in the first half of 2024, the main sources of budget revenues from Northern GOK, Central GOK and InGOK were the subsoil use tax – UAH 1.7 billion. The treasury also received a single social contribution of almost UAH 357 million and personal income tax of UAH 318 million. The list of the largest contributions includes land fees and environmental tax.
According to the press release, Kryvyi Rih enterprises remain the largest employer in the region. In addition, the GOKs continue to support Kryvyi Rih and the community by implementing joint humanitarian, educational and infrastructure projects.
As a reminder, in the first half of 2024, Metinvest Group increased its tax payments to the Ukrainian budget by one and a half times, to UAH 10 billion.
As reported, Metinvest is implementing a new model for the operation of Kryvyi Rih mining enterprises, uniting mining and processing plants in Kryvyi Rih under one management.
“Given the current challenges, with no objective way to bring the workload of the GOKs to the optimal level, we are looking for the effect of combining their capabilities and business processes. To this end, the company sees its GOKs not as separate facilities with separate teams, but as one large production site and one large team, and tries to use the advantages of each GOK in a single technological chain. The creation of a single administrative and management center, so to speak, a consolidated GOK, will significantly simplify, speed up and increase the efficiency of these processes, as well as contribute to the creation of new synergies between the enterprises,” explained Yuriy Ryzhenkov, CEO of Metinvest, earlier.
In 2023, Metinvest’s Kryvyi Rih enterprises paid a total of UAH 4.6 billion in taxes and fees to the budgets of all levels.
“Metinvest comprises mining and metallurgical enterprises located in Ukraine, Europe and the United States. Its major shareholders are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%), which jointly manage it.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
Metinvest Mining and Metallurgical Group plans to carry out a large-scale green transformation of its Ukrainian assets – GOKs, Kametstal and Zaporizhstal – worth about $9 billion within 5-10 years after the end of the war.
According to a report by dsnews.ua, this will require external financing.
It is specified that as soon as the hostilities end, the group will increase production (currently, its enterprises are 65-70% utilized), so the equipment needs to be prepared for operation in advance, which is being done now.
At the same time, the strategy remains unchanged: to create a global company with Ukrainian roots based on green and digital transformation of production facilities. This requires high-quality raw materials, semi-finished products and sufficient clean energy sources.
Meanwhile, the large-scale green modernization of enterprises in Ukraine has been put on hold due to an acute shortage of electricity of any origin. However, Metinvest can help develop Ukrainian assets by investing in cleaner production. For example, the construction of a green rolling plant in Italy with a capacity of about 3 million tons of products per year will increase the utilization of the group’s Ukrainian iron and steel plants, which can no longer sell products in Ukraine after the occupation of Mariupol’s steel mills. The Italian plant is to be built jointly with partners in three to four years with up to $2 billion of credit and partnership funds.
In addition, the GOKs that receive orders will be able to modernize their production to produce high-quality pellets. In particular, Northern GOK is currently competing in the European market thanks to its upgraded production of pellets with improved characteristics.
Metinvest’s strategy for transitioning to green steel production long before the war included the conversion of blast furnaces at its steelmaking facilities to DRI (direct reduction of iron) technology. This process requires improved pellets as raw materials. Successful tests of the production of such DRI pellets were carried out at Central GOK at the beginning of the war.
The war has put major strategic projects on hold, but the Group is responding quickly to adapt its investment program to maintain efficient production, primarily by investing in existing facilities that need to be modernized. Since the beginning of the war, Metinvest has invested over $300 million annually.
In 2023, Zaporizhstal and Kametstal overhauled blast furnaces. In addition, Zaporizhstal overhauled its rolling mill equipment and Kametstal overhauled its coke oven batteries. In total, UAH 23 billion has been invested in the modernization of these two enterprises over the past two years.
“Metinvest is also consistently launching new coking coal longwalls at Pokrovskoye Coal Group. At the beginning of the year, the 11th longwall for coking coal production in Block 10 of the Pokrovskoye Mine Administration was launched.
In addition, targeted investments are important. For example, the modernization of the roasting machine in the pellet production shop at Pivdennyi GOK in 2023 helped to establish the production of homogeneous pellets with an iron content of 65%, which allowed the GOK to maintain a competitive position in the European iron ore market.
This year, the company plans to invest $320 million in capital and about $350 million in operating investments in equipment and work sites. The priority is to repair blast furnaces and sintering machines, maintain the GOK’s equipment and develop the mine management department in Pokrovsk.
