SSGPO (Kazakhstan) wants to supply MMC with 900 th. tons of raw material from May

/IRBIS, Feb.29, 00/ - REUTERS informs, with the reference to public relations department of the company, that metal ore Sokolovsko-Sarbaiskoe gorno-proizvodstvennoe obedinenie (SSGPO) of Kazakhstan plans to increase raw materials shipments to Magnitogorsk metal combine of Russian Federation from about 600 th. tons up to 900 th. tons. The representative of SSGPO said they hoped to ship 900 th. tons of ready output from May, and that they had to load MMC to its full capacity as this year Magnitogorsk workers plan to produce 8.3 mln tons of steel. It is said, this January SSGPO shipped about 1.16 mln tons of iron concentrate and rolled briquettes to metallurgical companies of Russia, Kazakhstan and China. However, there is no information for the same period of last year. Last year 7.9 mln tons of blast-furnace raw materials were shipped. The company plans to increase the shipments up to 1.20 - 1.25 mln tons a month by effective use of resources and the equipment, he said. To do so, the company purchased 7 BelAZ trucks for $3 mln and signed an agreement to obtain 10 Caterpillar trucks, said the public relations department. The company had to reduce the production in the middle of 1998 due to rouble devaluation and drop in metal prices, which made the Russian plants unable to buy Kazakhstani raw materials. The shipments to Magnitogorsk and other Russian metallurgical companies resumed in June, 1999, and they are increasing now. SSGPO is one of the biggest industrial enterprises of Kazakhstan and it is part of group of companies controlled by Eurasian bank. It produces iron ore, including concentrate and fluxed rolled briquettes. The enterprise is one of potential "blue chips" by the definition of the government, which owns 39.5% of its shares.