SG Signs MOU to Supply Slag to Ukrainian Steel Company... "Equivalent to 57 Billion Won in Ascon"

Ascon specialized manufacturer SG's local subsidiary in Ukraine, SG Ukraine (SGU), is accelerating the establishment of a foundation for manufacturing Eco Steel Ascon by securing additional slag procurement sources locally.

On the 10th, SGU announced that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to receive up to 600,000 tons of steelmaking slag annually from Pobuzhsky Ferronickel Kombinat (PFK) in Ukraine. This corresponds to approximately 57 billion KRW in sales when converted to Eco Steel Ascon revenue. Based on Eco Steel Ascon manufacturing technology, SGU plans to supply Ascon for highway construction and reconstruction within Ukraine.

The two companies signed a long-term agreement, extended every three years, for infrastructure reconstruction projects in Ukraine. SGU purchases steelmaking slag generated during the smelting process from PFK at nearly free cost, at 1 Hryvnia per ton (UAH/ton, approximately 34 KRW per ton). Through this, SGU has secured an additional raw material supply source besides the volume supplied by Metinvest, Ukraine's largest steel company, since March.

Nazarenko, CEO of SGU, stated, "We can now secure economic feasibility by receiving large quantities of raw materials necessary for Eco Steel Ascon manufacturing locally at low cost," adding, "With the slag supply source secured, we will accelerate the acquisition of the local Ascon plant and complete preparations to participate in reconstruction projects."

He continued, "We will actively communicate with the Ukrainian government and local authorities to participate in large-scale national infrastructure reconstruction projects and establish a foundation for stable business operations locally."

Meanwhile, PFK, established in 1972, is Ukraine's only ferronickel producer. Based on locally mined nickel ore, it supplies nickel for producing high-quality stainless steel at low production costs. Currently, it produces 22,000 metric tons (M/T) of nickel and over 1.1 million metric tons of laterite ore annually.