Commodities
Home›Commodities›Mining›Ferrexpo halts Ukraine iron ore production after Black…
Ferrexpo halts Ukraine iron ore production after Black Sea disruptions
Ferrexpo said, without additional funding, it expects net accessible cash resources to last until mid-September.
Switzerland-based iron ore miner Ferrexpo has halted iron ore production in Ukraine after Russian attacks constrained its Black Sea export routes, leaving the company reliant on new funding to restart operations, Mining.com reports. The halt covers Ferrexpo’s mines and pellet plant near Horishni Plavni in central Ukraine, about 280 km southeast of Kyiv, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday. The company said it can still supply European steelmakers from stockpiles, but a restart depends in part on securing working capital. Ferrexpo warned that in the absence of additional funding, its net accessible cash resources are sufficient until mid-September. The company has faced further disruption after Russian drones struck a third-party vessel carrying Ferrexpo pellets in Ukrainian Black Sea waters late last month, killing one crew member and involving 55,000 tonnes of direct-reduction-grade pellets bound for Middle Eastern customers. Ferrexpo also said the shipment was part of 189,000 tonnes of pellets earmarked for sale, including about 90,000 tonnes of direct-reduction material held in stockpiles, which it put at roughly $20 million in production and delivery costs. Attacks around Ukrainian ports have prompted shipowners to cancel bookings and derailed Ferrexpo’s plan to expand Black Sea shipments to the Middle East in the second half of the year, while it continues to move some product west by rail and barge primarily for European customers.