Metalloinvest's Q3'21 iron ore production up YOY

AO Holding Co. Metalloinvest's iron ore production in the third quarter inched up 1.0% year over year to 10.3 million tonnes from 10.2 Mt.

Pellet production grew 9.6% to 7.2 Mt from 6.6 Mt and production of hot-briquetted iron/direct reduced iron, or HBI/DRI, was up 9.1% to 1.8 Mt.

Hot metal production jumped 15.4% to 630,000 tonnes while steel output was flat at 1.2 Mt, the company said Oct. 29.

Iron ore shipments fell 10.0% to 2.1 Mt, pellet shipments dropped 10.2% to 3.7 Mt and shipments of HBI/DRI climbed 14.3% to 1.0 Mt.

Pig iron shipments increased 26.4% to 273,000 tonnes and steel shipments sank 6.5% to 1.0 Mt.

Metalloinvest said demand from its European partners focused on high-quality iron ore and steel products and reflects the decarbonization trend in the global metals and mining industry.

In October, Metalloinvest signed an agreement to build the new HBI-4 plant at its LGOK iron ore operation in Russia with a capacity of 2.1 Mt. The company expects the project to strengthen its position as a top HBI supplier amid the transition to greener steel production.