Metalloinvest increased its crude steel production by 2pc to nearly 5mn mt in 2020 against 2019. The growth was driven by the reconstruction of electric arc furnaces using FMF technology at Ural Steel, modernization activities at OEMK, and the recovery in demand for rolling mill products.
In 2020, hot metal production decreased by 16.3pc to 2.3mn mt compared to the previous year due to a decrease in the productivity of blast furnace No 3 at Ural Steel as the company prepared it for the upcoming reconstruction.
Iron ore production increased by 0.5pc to 40.4mn mt in 2020 against 2019, on rising productivity due to the processing of higher-quality ore. Pellet production in 2020 decreased by 1.8pc to 27.6mn mt against the prior year as a result of the reconstruction of pellet plant #3 at MGOK in Q3 2020.
Metalloinvest decreased HBI/DRI production by 0.9pc to 7.8mn mt in 2020 compared to the prior year. The downward trend was due to the overhaul of HBI Plant #1 and HBI Plant #3 and the modernization of DRI Plant #1 in Q3 2020. However, production recuperated in Q4.
The steelmaker’s iron ore product shipments to third parties increased by 6.5pc to 28.7mn mt in 2020 against the prior year, with HVA iron ore products (pellets and HBI/DRI) making up 72pc of the total shipments, primarily driven by pellet demand in Europe.
The company’s shipments to the domestic market decreased slightly to 48.8pc in 2020 from 52.5pc in 2019 while its total export volumes increased by 15.6pc with shipments to Europe and the Middle East climbing by 43.8pc and 16.7pc, respectively, compared to the prior year.
Pig iron supplies to third parties decreased by 29.4pc to 1.2mn mt in 2020 from 1.7mn mt in 2019. A ball rolling facility was launched at OEMK in October 2020 and this plant shipped 9,300mt of the product in Q4, all of which was shipped to LGOK and MGOK within Metalloinvest.