Posted on 08 Mar 2022
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (AMKR) has declared force majeure due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kallanish notes.
“Force majeure has been announced in relation to all active contracts to date, which are suspended until the end of this crisis,” the company writes in a letter to counterparties.
Last week, AMKR suspended all steelmaking operations amid the intensifying war in Ukraine (see Kallanish passim). The process to idle all blast furnaces began on Thursday and will last between seven and ten days.
The Ukrainian prosecutor's office and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) have meanwhile withdrawn charges against AMKR of non-payment of taxes after the company transferred UAH 2.24 billion ($75 million) to the state budget for the needs of the military.
Meanwhile, Metinvest says its Mariupol-based steel plants, Azovstal and Ilyich Steelworks, continue to be under Ukrainian control and there are no Russian military units at any of its enterprises. Earlier, media reports in the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic claimed most of Ilyich Steel’s territory had been seized.
Metinvest previously suspended production at Ilyich and Azovstal, as well as at Zaporizhkoks and Zaporizhstal in the Zaporizhzhia region (see Kallanish passim). The company also declared force majeure.
Ferrexpo says it continues production and shipments to customers. It has also created a humanitarian fund to support the communities in which the group's enterprises operate, as well as to help Ukraine as a whole. The pellet producer has donated $1.5 million to the fund. The group says it continues to monitor developments and will provide additional funding as needed.
Centravis extended the shutdown of production until 9 March, after it stopped work on 28 February.
Other major Ukrainian mills like DMZ and Interpipe were still operating on Monday.
Source:Kallanish
