UMCC to resume the work of Irshan Mining in June

The company is negotiating the sale of the plant's products to Western partners

United Mining and Chemical Company (UMCC), under which management the Vilnohorsk Mining and Metallurgical Plant (VGMK) and the Irshan Mining and Processing Plant (IGOK) have been transferred, plans to resume mining and processing of ilmenite concentrate at the Mining. This is stated in press release on the company’s website.

Currently, UMCC is actively negotiating the sale of the plant’s products to Western partners. By the end of 2023, the plant plans to reach pre-war capacity and produce about 18,000 tons of ilmenite concentrate per month.

«Irshan GOK suspended its work in November 2022. Currently, there are almost 54,000 tons of ilmenite concentrate and 100,000 tons of rough concentrate in the company’s warehouses and ports. It needs to be sold in order to start the production of new raw materials,» said Dmytro Kalanidze, a member of the UMCC board, reports the press release of SPFU.

As Kalanidze expects, the first shipments of the IGOK products will take place already in June. Currently, the plant is engaged in the repair of equipment on its own, the funds for which have not been invested for a long time, and is preparing for launch.

«Restoration of product sales will allow us to gradually resume mining and processing. We will be able to return to work that part of the workers of the International Labor Organization, which is currently idle and receives 2/3 of the salary. This is a priority task for us,» he added.

According to the SPFU, the work of UMCC as a supplier of raw materials can be positively affected by the start of production at the Zaporizhzhia Titanium Magnesium Plant (ZTMK). Work on the launch of the titanium giant is already underway.

As GMK Center reported earlier, operating loss of UMCC in the first quarter of 2023 doubled to UAH 208 million. Recently, UMCC was considered as one of the most profitable state-owned enterprises and annually brought in profits ranging from UAH 150 to 600 million.

State Minings, which are part of the UMCC structure, are also going through far from the best times. Irshansk GOK has been idle since October 2022 and it is not known when it will be able to resume work. Vilnohorsk GOK worked only 10 days in April and will work for the same number of days in May.

The State Property Fund of Ukraine plans to put UMCC up for privatization at the end of 2023.