NLMK’s iron ore production is disrupted as a conveyor gallery used to transport ore at its Stoilensky site collapsed on September 7. Mining continues at the site but iron ore production operations are temporarily shut.
NLMK Lipetsk is the main consumer of the Stoilensky’s iron ore production. A spokesperson for NLMK confirmed that Lipetsk has a 10-day iron ore stock with negotiations for externally sourced feedstock in process.
Work towards a new conveyor system is underway, including design, dismantling, and manufacturing of metal structures. A restart has not yet been announced.
The previously planned pelletizer modernization in Stoilensky, which will help reduce concentrate production losses, was postponed from the originally planned October timeline to later in 2020.