Ukraine's UMCC signs deal to supply 80,000 tonnes of titanium feedstock to DuPont division
MOSCOW. Nov 21 (Interfax) -United Mining and Chemical Company or UMCC, a major Ukrainian titanium ilmenite ore producer, has signed contracts to export titanium feedstock without intermediaries.
"UMCC is entering the world market as a standalone player for the first time. We have already signed a contract with the DuPont Group's The Chemours to supply 80,000 tonnes of titanium feedstock to the United States," Ukrainian media said, quoting an UMCC press release.
UMCC continues to operate, and has dispensed with intermediary arrangement that unprofitable for the state. However, UMCC's business is adversely affected by the reduced capacity of border crossing points in Ukraine, rising logistics costs, stagnation in the markets for titanium feedstock and high energy prices in Europe. Foreign contractors have reduced purchase volumes as a result.
"We managed to swiftly redirect sales to Western markets. At present, 20,000 tonnes of ilmenite have already built up at the Polish port of Szczecin. Another 20,000 tonnes are at the Romanian port of Constanta. However it has not so far been possible to deliver feedstock to The Chemours because the State Export Control Service has not permitted the cargo to be exported," UMCC said.
However the Ukrainian State Property Fund gave its approval to the contract with The Chemours on November 14.
"Now the company's management is working closely with staff and the authorities to resolve these difficulties. A request is already being drafted for the Ukrainian President's Office, the Cabinet of Ministers and other agencies," UMCC said.
UMCC started to operate in August 2014 when the government transferred the assets of the Volnogorsk Mining and Metallurgical Plant in the Dnepropetrovsk region and Irshansk Mining and Processing Plant in the Zhitomir region, which had been leased from firms controlled by Dmitry Firtash, to it.
The government in August 2016 put UMCC on a list of enterprises subject to privatization, however its transition to private ownership has been put back on numerous occasions.
UMCC mines ilmenite ore and sells its products in more than 30 countries. Its main markets are the EU, China, Turkey, the U.S. and Africa.