Ukraine: Blackouts put the country’s steel production at risk
Russian forces continue to launch missile attacks on Ukraine's cities and energy networks. These destructions have led at least one steel mill and one iron ore producer to reduce their production levels to a minimum.
Integrated long-range manufacturer ArcelorMittal Kriviy Rih recently announced that it will limit the electricity consumption of its most energy-intensive plants. According to a telegram of 11 October, the loading and shipping of finished products will continue normally for the time being. ArcelorMittal Kriviy Rih is located in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast area. The site is capable of producing around 6 million tons of crude steel per year through the BF / BOF process. The site is capable of producing approximately 6 million tonnes of crude steel via the BF / BOF route and transforming it into billets to be rolled into long products such as wire rods, rods and commercial bars.
Iron ore company Ferrexpo also suspends operations "Three steel mills in the areas of the country under the control of Kiev – ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih, Kamet Steel and Zaporizhstal – are operating on average at 50-60% of capacity, for a total of 13.5 million tons per year, ”the sources said. “The tube manufacturing group Interpipe, in Dnipro, also produces around 1.3 million tons of round billets per year through an electric arc furnace. It is not clear, however, whether the plant is currently in operation ”.
“The engineers are currently carrying out an assessment of the damage suffered by the electrical infrastructure,” said Ferrexpo. The company also added that it is trying to make an "estimate of the period of production downtime during repairs".
Ferrexpo's iron ore mining and enrichment activities are located in Poltava, Yeristovo and Belanovo. In an October 9 press release, the company said total commercial production for the first nine months of 2022 was 5.72 million tonnes. This figure indicates a decrease of almost a third compared to the 8.43 million tons of the previous year. "The group can confirm that it currently has a sufficient volume of products, in transit or in stock, to meet the expected sales volumes, provided that the logistics corridors remain available," reads the Ferrexpo statement.
However, the problems do not stop at the steel mills. On October 10, Ukrainian Railways sent telegrams warning that damage to overhead cables could block electric trains and locomotives, further slowing iron ore refining. The state-owned rail operator said it was preparing diesel locomotives in response to the power outage.
Ukraine was a major steel exporter, especially to Europe
Now this status is being questioned, indeed in great danger, by the war and the Russian attacks. Many EU countries will have to look for alternative suppliers in the midst of a global crisis. Not an easy goal.
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The article Ukraine: blackouts put the country's steel production at risk comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/ucraina-i-black-out-mettono-a-rischio-la-produzione-di-acciaio-del-paese/ on Tue, 25 Oct 2022 09:00:43 +0000.