Ukraine's UMCC Titanium resumes mining at Irshansk
MOSCOW. July 12 (Interfax) - Ukraine's UMCC Titanium has resumed mining titanium raw material and full operations at the open-pit mines of its Irshansk Mining and Processing Plant (IMPP).
This division of the company was shut down in October 2022 due to the absence of contracts to sell ilmenite concentrate and substantial inventories of finished product in storage, Ukrainian media reported, citing UMCC's press service.
The company's management has now secured a major contract for IMPP's product with a North American customer, so operations needed to be fully restored, the press service said.
"We began to gradually prepare for the full-scale resumption of the branch's operations, specifically the full restoration of mining, back in April. We made all the necessary purchases, carried out the maximum amount of repair work. Now we have an active contract with an American end buyer for 70,000 tonnes of IMPP's ilmenite concentrate," UMCC's acting CEO, Yegor Perelygin was quoted as saying in the press release.
He said another 25,000-40,000 tonnes are "now at the stage of discussions," and the company is preparing to start negotiations to supply 30,000 tonnes to a European customer, with delivery planned for the fourth quarter of this year.
"Since we have already almost sold old inventory in storage, which is good news, the resumption of mining work is simply critically necessary," Perelygin said, adding that the company plans to produce 12,000 tonnes of ilmenite concentrate per month until the end of this year.
He said UMCC travelled a long and difficult road to qualify IMPP's ilmenite concentrate on the North American market and it is strategically important for the company to maintain the momentum of exports in 2025, as then it will be possible to talk about long-term contracts.
"This will make it possible for us to move to planning horizons of one to three years," and more broadly develop the local resource base, including by resuming the implementation of the company's capital expenditure program, "which has virtually been on pause the last two years due to the absence of long-term money and due to the large number of unpredictable events," Perelygin said.
UMCC began actual operations as a state company in August 2014, when the Ukrainian government decided to give it control of the assets of the Volnogorsk Mining and Metallurgical Plant and IMPP. They were previously leased by companies controlled by businessman Dmitry Firtash.
UMCC previously sold its products to more than 30 countries and was one of the world's largest producers of titanium raw materials, with a 4% share of the global market.
