Titanium business of Group DF restored exports of ilmenite concentrate

According to Group DF press service, Mizhrichenskiy MCC LLC, a Group DF titanium business enterprise with assets for the extraction of titanium-containing ores in Irshansk (Zhytomyr region), secured approval from the State Service for Export Control of Ukraine to export 35,000 t of ilmenite concentrate by the end of 2022 allowing it to resume the export of finished products.

 

The first batch of concentrate was shipped to the Czech Republic.

“The Group’s titanium business submitted all the documents and secured approval to export its products, i.e. Ilmenite concentrate, to consumers in the EU. Unblocking the export is an absolutely logical decision. Within 6 months of 2022, Ukraine reduced the export of titanium-containing ores and concentrate by 46.2%. The logic behind the licensing was clear, but the restrictions hurt the industry.

 

Without this decision to issue an approval, we would not be able to pay wages and subsequently would significantly reduce output. The growth of exports in any industry in Ukraine is now extremely important from the point of view of macroeconomics, the balance of payments and the exchange rate. In our case, a very important result will include not only export earnings, but also additional taxes to the central and local budgets, and jobs.

 

Unblocking exports means that we will continue to help local communities and the army. Our titanium industry enterprises are city-forming; entire communities depend on them. We made no secret of the fact that due to export restrictions and logistical issues that came up during the war, the titanium business experienced a drop in production, so now it is extremely important to gradually bring the output to pre-war levels. The liberalization of exports and the removal of artificial restrictions is the right step on the part of the Government to restore the economy,” – commented Oleg Arestarkhov, Head of Corporate Communications, Group DF.

 

It is worth reminding that the State Service for Export Control of Ukraine introduced export restrictions for specific types of products by its decision of July 6, 2022 (in accordance with Article 10 of the Law of Ukraine “On the State Control over International Transfers of Military and Dual-Use Goods”).

 

The main consumers of Ukrainian ilmenite concentrate remain the Czech Republic (52.18% of supplies expressed in monetary terms), the USA (15.28%) and China (6.71%).

 

The titanium business is one of the core lines of efforts for Group DF. It includes “Mizhrichenskiy MCC” LLC and Valki-Ilmenit LLC (Zhytomyr region), as well as Motronovsky MPP (Dnipropetrovsk region).

 

Since the beginning of the war, Group DF enterprises and their shareholder Dmitry Firtash have provided assistance to Ukraine worth $9.7 million. Other than direct assistance to the army and the territorial defense forces, the largest lines of assistance include the restoration of infrastructure and destroyed houses, direct humanitarian aid to internally displaced persons and residents of affected communities, the provision of medicines to hospitals throughout Ukraine, the supply of food and water.

 

According to previous reports, in the first half of 2022, Group DF’s titanium business enterprises mined 1.07 million m3 of ilmenite ore and produced 62,000 t of ilmenite concentrate.