Statement re. press speculation concerning EVRAZ Highveld Steel and Vanadium
9 July 2013 - EVRAZ (LSE: EVR) ("EVRAZ") confirms the recent press speculation that EVRAZ Highveld Steel and Vanadium ("EVRAZ Highveld"), EVRAZ's South African subsidiary, and Arkein International ("Arkein") have signed an agreement to establish a joint venture, Nyanza Light Metals (PTY) Limited ("Nyanza"). The joint venture has been set up to perform feasibility studies around the possible extraction of titanium from the waste steel slag produced by EVRAZ Highveld and its beneficiation to produce the titanium dioxide pigment. EVRAZ Highveld will initially own a 20% share in the joint venture.
At present the project is at an early stage and does not require significant capital investment. It would be premature at present to estimate the potential size of likely capital expenditure. EVRAZ Highveld's future level of participation and actual share in the project will depend on the results of the feasibility studies and the decisions by EVRAZ Highveld's future owner.
The entry into the joint venture project will not affect the ongoing negotiations for the sale of EVRAZ Highveld, which is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter of 2013.
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For further information:
Media Relations:
Vsevolod Sementsov
VP, Corporate Communications
London: +44 207 832 8998 Moscow: +7 495 937 6871
[email protected]
Investor Relations:
Sergey Belyakov
Director, Investor Relations
London: +44 207 832 8990 Moscow: +7 495 232 1370
[email protected]
EVRAZ is a vertically integrated steel, mining and vanadium business with operations in the Russian Federation, Ukraine, USA, Canada, Czech Republic, Italy and South Africa. EVRAZ is among the top 20 steel producers in the world based on crude steel production of 15.9 million tonnes in 2012. In 2012 EVRAZ sold 15.3 million tonnes of steel products. A significant portion of the company's internal consumption of iron ore and coking coal is covered by its mining operations. The company's consolidated revenues for the year ended 31 December 2012 were US$14,726 million, and consolidated EBITDA amounted to US$2,012 million.
