In the 3rd quarter of 2020, pig iron production at Metinvest's metallurgical plants increased by 17% compared to the previous quarter - up to 2,305 thousand tons - thanks to the launch of two blast furnaces at the Mariupol plants in May due to the recovery in market demand.
As a result, iron production at Azovstal Iron and Steel Works (Azovstal) increased by 186 thousand tons, and at MMK im. Ilyich (IMCI) - by 143 thousand tons.
Steel production in Q3 2020 increased by 22% qoq to 2 million 188 thousand tonnes due to an increase in pig iron production at both mills.
For 9 months of 2020, compared to the same period in 2019, pig iron production increased by 5% - to 6 million 371 thousand tons - due to an increase in production at Azovstal by 226 thousand tons as a result of the launch of a high-performance blast furnace No. 3 after major overhaul with modernization in June 2019.
In addition, the production of cast iron at MMKI increased by 104 thousand tons, mainly due to the shutdown of blast furnace No. 5 for repairs in May-July 2019.
Steel production for 9 months of 2020 increased by 4% compared to the same period last year - to 6 million 151 thousand tons - mainly due to an increase in production at MMKI by 168 thousand tons due to the redistribution of pig iron in favor of production steel and launch of new equipment. The increase in production at Azovstal by 78 thousand tons was caused by an increase in pig iron production.
In the 3rd quarter of 2020, the production of total iron ore concentrate at Metinvest's mining and processing complexes remained practically unchanged compared to the previous quarter and amounted to 7 million 643 thousand tons due to an increase in production volumes at Central GOK, the effect of operational improvements, and the use of third-party ore for concentrate production at the Central GOK.
In the 3rd quarter of 2020, the production of salable iron ore products decreased by 11% compared to the previous quarter and amounted to 4 million 554 thousand tons. At the same time, the production of salable concentrate decreased by 17% to 3 million 413 thousand tonnes, mainly due to an increase in the production of pellets both for intra-group consumption and for sale to third parties. As a result, the production of commercial pellets increased by 13% - up to 1 million 141 thousand tons.
For 9 months of 2020, production of total iron ore concentrate increased by 5% compared to the same period in 2019 - to 22 million 817 thousand tonnes - due to an increase in ore production at three GOKs, the effect of operational improvements, as well as ore processing third parties at the Central GOK.
For 9 months of 2020, the production of commercial iron ore products increased by 12% compared to the same period in 2019 - up to 14 million 382 thousand tons. At the same time, commercial concentrate production increased by 52% - to 10 million 701 thousand tonnes - mainly due to an increase in total concentrate production and optimization of the order book at Severny GOK. As a result, the production of salable pellets decreased by 37% to 3 million 681 thousand tons. At the same time, the production of pellets with an iron content of 67.5% amounted to 892 thousand tons during this period due to the modernization of the beneficiation plant at the Central GOK.
Metinvest is an international vertically integrated mining and metallurgical group of companies. The structure of the group includes mining and metallurgical enterprises in Ukraine, Europe and the USA, as well as a sales network in all key regions of the world. The company controls the entire production chain - from mining ore and coal to the production of semi-finished products and finished products.
