United Coal Company, which operates in the Appalachian region of the United States, has sent its first 80,000-ton shipment of coking coal to Ukraine steel producer Metinvest.
The shipment aims to support sustainable steelmaking following the suspension of operations at Pokrovske Coal due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Pokrovske Coal was Ukraine’s only producer of coking coal. It supplied a significant share of coal for Metinvest’s own use, as well as substantial volumes to customers both in Ukraine and abroad.
Metinvest will receive one vessel with 80,000 tonnes of UCC coking coal per month to cover some share of the demand at Zaporizhstal JV and Kamet Steel.
“Supplies of U.S. coal will not only support steel production at Kamianske and Zaporizhzhia, but will also provide jobs for tens of thousands of employees and contractors, the logistics sector and the railway, tax revenues to the Ukrainian budget and a significant share of Ukraine’s foreign currency exports. Although coking coal import is more expensive than its domestic equivalent due to logistics, this is an important step to help the Ukrainian economy,” said Yuriy Ryzhenkov, CEO of Metinvest.
UCC was founded in 2004 and was acquired by Metinvest in April 2009.
Source: Metinvest