Ukraine has reduced the production of iron ore

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine said that the production of iron ore and iron ore concentrate in the country in total decreased slightly during the period from January to September compared to production in the previous year.

At the same time, production of iron ore in the country decreased by 6 percent to 16.8 million tons, compared with the previous year, and production of iron ore concentrates to 51.4 million tons, with a slight decrease compared to the previous year.

On the other hand, the production of sintered iron ore reached the limit of 29.5 million tonnes, which also represents a decrease of 9 percent compared to production in the same time last year.

The main reason for the decline in production is assumed to be a significant drop in the price of iron ore due to excess supplies to the global markets of iron ore giants from Australia, such as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. At the same time, the largest miners have reduced their production costs and increased production volumes.

Thus, they produce large quantities of iron ore at a cost price that is half that of Ukrainian iron ore producers. Ukraine has failed to keep pace with the downward trend in the cost of world mining companies. In addition, the Cabinet of Ministers raised the tax rate for the use of mineral resources in the process of iron ore mining from 5 percent to 8 percent.