Ferrexpo Ready to Facilitate Green Transition for Steelmakers – Bias

The issue of the shortage of high-quality iron products for Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) production, which is critical for the metallurgical industry, does not significantly concern Ferrexpo, as the group has reserves that will last for more than 50 years. This information is reported by Fastmarkets, citing Nick Bias, the Group Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications.

Bias emphasised that in the second quarter of 2024, Ferrexpo resumed the production of Direct Reduction (DR) pellets, which had been halted since the onset of Russia’s full-scale aggression. He believes that demand for these pellets will increase: in the Middle East and North Africa due to the availability of cheap gas for DRI production, and in Europe due to legislative requirements.

The main factors that will determine the margin on green iron and steel, according to Bias, are carbon emissions and the origin of these products.

«Governments must facilitate this transition, but ultimately it is the end consumer who must implement it. As a European producer of high-quality iron ore pellets, we will help European, Middle Eastern, and North African steel mills transition to low-carbon steel production,» he noted.

Commenting on current results, Nick Bias pointed out that in the first half of 2024, the company increased flexibility and adaptability across all four production lines to offer different product quality depending on customer demand. However, in the second quarter, the group’s enterprises faced higher cost pressures and reduced margins amid rising electricity prices and falling iron ore prices.

As GMK Center reported earlier, Ferrexpo increased pellet production by 76% in the first half of 2024 compared to the second half of 2023, reaching 3.297 million tonnes.