Ukraine's MGOK suspends manganese ore mining, processing

MOSCOW. Oct 31 (Interfax) - Marganetsky GOK (MGOK), Ukraine's largest manganese ore producer, suspended ore mining and processing in October, Ukrainian media reported, citing the company.

One of the reasons for the suspension is the draining of the Kakhovka reservoir, which has made it impossible to refill process water tanks used to process manganese ore, the company said. For a time, MGOK did some work without processing raw ore, operating only mines and storing the mined ore.

In addition, gas and fuel oil heating at the whole production site and mine shafts has been shut off for safety reasons.

Some workers are doing repairs and restoration work during the downtime. The main repair sites are the Grushevsky open-pit mine, the tailings management facility and water supply system. Work is being done on conveyor equipment, the rotary complex (loader, stacker) and walking excavator.

MGOK mined 29,500 tonnes of ore in September, which was down 4.85% from 31,003 tonnes in August. However, MGOK exceeded its mining target by 3,173 tonnes in September.

The rotary complex was being repaired all of September, so the target for conveyor overburden removal at the Grushevsky mine was not met.

Early on June 6, 2023 valves and other structures at the Kakhovka Hydropower Plant were destroyed. This led to an uncontrolled release of water from the Kakhovka reservoir downstream along the Dnepr River that flooded dozens of towns on both banks of the river. Russia blamed Ukraine for the destruction of the dam and opened a terrorism investigation.

MGOK, which mines the eastern section of the Nikopolskoye manganese ore deposit (Grushevsko-Basansky section), includes four underground mines, one of which is under construction; the Grushevsky pit mine and a processing plant. MGOK reduced manganese concentrate production by 41.2% to 324,000 tonnes in 2022.