The loss of Pokrovsk will lead to a collapse in metallurgy by at least 60%

This is reported by NV.

"Currently, the duty staff is working in bulletproof vests, and the miners are safely located in shelters at a significant distance from the frontline. Underground and above-ground concrete ’shelters’ are operating in the area," notes Andriy Akulych, General Director of Metinvest Pokrovskvuhillya.

Under such circumstances, 3,500 people still work at the enterprises of the Pokrovsk site. This number of personnel ensures the basic viability of the mine, coal mining, and enrichment. Even in 2023, Ukraine provided more than 90% of its own coking coal.

"In the event of losing Pokrovsk, our enterprises will be forced to exclusively use imported coking coal. However, the volume of such imports may not meet the metallurgists’ needs for coke at the necessary level," explained the association Ukrmetallurgprom.

Experts of the metallurgical association believe that it will take plants at least 1-1.5 years to restructure logistics to receive large batches of imported coking coal. However, this will inevitably lead to a significant increase in the cost of Ukrainian products – by tens of percent.

The loss of Pokrovsk will also lead to a decline in the metallurgical industry by 50% or more (at enterprises that use pig iron in the steelmaking process).

"Instead of increasing production to 10 million tons, it may decrease to 3.5 million tons per year or even lower. For example, in the previous 2 years (2022 and 2023), Ukrainian enterprises produced 6.26 and 6.23 million tons of steel. In 2024, it is expected to be 7.2-7.3 million tons," the publication reports.

Earlier, Bloomberg also stated that Pokrovsk’s coking coal should remain under Ukraine’s control after the war, as "Pokrovskvuhillya" is the only enterprise in Ukraine that mines coking coal, an important component used in the steel production process, which supports Ukraine’s defence industry and will be vital for the country’s recovery after the war.