EVRAZ

Vanadium is widely used in the production of high-strength steels, titanium, and chemical and petrochemical products. We believe that vanadium usage, particularly in steel, offers the potential for growth.

Evraz is the only producer of vanadium-rich ore in Russia, and one of the largest producers of vanadium slag globally. As part of its extensive mining and steelmaking facilities, Evraz owns a large mine, KGOK, that contains vanadium-bearing iron ore. During the steelmaking process, the vanadium in the ore ends up in the vanadium slag. Until recently, Evraz had no processing facilities to produce vanadium products from slag and had to sell the slag to a ferrovanadium producer in Russia who could reclaim it.

Acquisitions of Stratcor and Highveld add vanadium processing capabilities and technical know-how and allow Evraz to capitalise on strong trends in vanadium market. Vanadium currently enjoys strong demand and higher pricing on the back of growth in steel output, new introduced standard for construction steel in China and new applications for high-purity vanadium. Attractive acquisitions in vanadium sector should improve Evraz’s integration in vanadium products, and allow it to extract higher margins and cash flows from vanadium products.