MOSCOW. Aug 4 (Interfax) - Ferrexpo plc, whose main asset is Ukrainian iron ore producer Poltava Mining, is thinking of expanding out of the country, the Financial Times said.

"We are seriously looking at the right price, and the right time, and the right way, to diversify geography and diversify our markets, the FT quoted Kostyantin Zhevago, controlling shareholder and chief executive, as saying.

Zhevago told the FT that London-listed Ferrexpo - one of Europe's biggest iron ore producers, would not be expanding regionally to become an eastern European champion. There were not enough iron ore deposits in the region, he told the paper, adding that Ferrexpo would remain a "pure" iron ore company and would not consider diversifying into other commodities such as coking coal.

"We are looking at where the iron ore is," he said. "We are looking at Canada, Australia, Brazil." South Africa was too risky, he told the paper, citing the country's electricity deficit and other problems.

The FT said Zhevago wanted to expand out of Ukraine not just because booming iron or prices were flushing Ferrexpo's balance sheet with cash, but also, it said, due to political risks, given that he is close to opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko's political faction.

Zhevago, however, denied that political risks had changed either for better or worse, saying, "I am a promoter of Ukraine," the FT reported.

The London-listed Ferr