The Russian military’s offensive near Pokrovsk in Ukraine’s Donetsk region has forced the suspension of coal operations at a critical mine run by Metinvest, Ukraine’s largest private company.
The mine, located in the village of Pishchane, has ceased work due to escalating shelling and safety concerns, prompting the evacuation of staff and their families, the company announced.
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The mine, operational for over 40 years, is a cornerstone of Ukraine’s steel industry, providing half of Metinvest’s coal production and serving as the largest supplier of coking coal for blast furnace operations.
“The site provided around half of Metinvest’s total Ukrainian coal extraction volumes. Other key facilities continue to operate,” the statement said.
Analyst Denis Sakva from Dragon Capital told Bloomberg that it contributed over a third of Metinvest’s profits in the first half of the year. The shutdown poses a severe threat to Ukraine’s steel output.
Oleksandr Kalenkov, head of the Association of Metallurgists of Ukraine, told Reuters in October that steel production could plummet from a projected 7.5 million tons to as low as 2-3 million tons annually if control over the mine is permanently lost.
This would mark a dramatic decline from the pre-war annual steel production of over 21 million tons, which had already dropped to 6.2 million tons by 2023.
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Replacing the lost coal domestically is unlikely, forcing Metinvest to rely on costly imports, according to Sakva.
The situation in Pokrovsk remains dire. Russian forces advanced within 10 kilometers of the strategic supply hub in recent months, and defenders have warned of its potential destruction and occupation in the coming months.
***Updated on Dec. 14, 2024, to clarify that the closure represents half of all coal extraction done in Ukraine by Metinvest.
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