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25 February 2025

Titanium business оf Group DF restores operations of enrichment plant


Mezhdurechensk Mining and Processing Plant, part of Group DF’s Titanium Business, has launched an enrichment plant for the production of ilmenite concentrate (TiO₂). The plant has reached its design capacity of 20-25 tons of ilmenite concentrate per hour or 12-15 thousand tons per month.

 Dmitriy GOLIK, Director of  Mezhdurechensk Mining and Processing Plant:

The team has successfully restored the plant’s operations after a period of downtime. We have also regained lost sales markets and reestablished business ties—several strong contracts have already been signed with European partners, and we are actively working on their implementation. In addition, we are rebuilding our team.
The launch of the plant was delayed primarily due to personnel shortages caused by mobilization—every eighth employee of our enterprise is currently serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of our specialists, the plant is once again becoming an international player, having restored all disrupted logistics links and steadily increasing production volumes. This recovery benefits not only our partners and businesses but also local communities and the national economy. Moreover, this marks a crucial step in boosting the country’s exports and strengthening the entire industry.

The resumption of the enrichment plant’s work was possible due to significant support from local government bodies and local self-government. The launch allowed 100% of the staff to be involved, and salary levels to be restored. About 400 employees work at Mezhdurechensk Mining and Processing Plant, 50 of whom serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Mezhdurechensk Mining and Processing Plant remains a city-forming enterprise for two settlements in the Zhytomyr region (urban-type settlements Irshansk, Novaya Borovaya, and others).

In 2023, Mezhdurechensk MPP mined only 500 thousand tons of ilmenite ore and produced 22.1 thousand tons of ilmenite concentrate. According to the results of work in January-February 2024, production amounted to 520 thousand tons of ilmenite ore. The production capacity of Mezhdurechensk MPP allows for mining 4 million tons of ilmenite ore per year and producing 180 thousand tons of ilmenite concentrate per year.

Mezhdurechensk MPP consists of two complexes – ilmenite ore mining/rough concentrate production and an enrichment plant producing ilmenite concentrate. The enterprise produces its main product – titanium dioxide (sulfate ilmenite concentrate) – and works exclusively in the chemical titanium segment, the products of which cannot be used in the military industry due to their chemical properties. This is a raw material for the production of pigments used in the paintwork industry, paper production, plastics, and building materials.

Our strategic goal is to restore pre-war production levels, but this will largely depend on global market conditions,” Golik emphasized. “The European economy is gradually recovering, and we anticipate a rise in demand for ilmenite concentrate. Positive signals are emerging for global players, and once the war is over, the world market is expected to rebound rapidly in 2025-2026. This will undoubtedly have a favorable impact on our business.

In 2017-2019, Group DF invested more than $7 million in the enrichment plant at the Mezhdurechensk Mining and Processing Plant, and the plant itself was put into operation at the beginning of 2019.