Metinvest
Ukraine's largest integrated steel and mining group.
Last updated October 19, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
Metinvest is a Ukrainian mining and metals group with an integrated value chain extending from iron-ore and coal extraction through beneficiation, coking, ironmaking, steelmaking, rolling, pipe production, distribution, logistics, engineering and maintenance. Its assets are managed through Metinvest Holding LLC, while the group's principal holding company is Metinvest B.V., registered in the Netherlands. The business is associated with SCM and Smart Holding, which participate in its ownership and governance, and is beneficially owned by Ukrainian businessman Rinat Akhmetov. The group was established in 2006 and expanded rapidly during the following decade through acquisitions and consolidation of Ukrainian mining, steel, coke, refractory and trading assets. It acquired interests in Ingulets Iron Ore Mining and Processing Plant, Zaporizhstal, Pokrovske Coal, Dniprovskyi Coke and Chemical Plant and other industrial companies, while also developing an international steel-processing footprint. Its foreign operations have included rolling and steel-processing businesses in Italy, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom and the United States. Metinvest has also operated sales, service, shipping and engineering companies that support customers and production sites. Its product portfolio includes iron-ore concentrate, pellets and other raw materials; coking coal and coke; pig iron, slabs and billets; hot-rolled, cold-rolled, coated and galvanized sheet; heavy plate; long products; pipes; rails and other specialized steel products. These materials serve construction, infrastructure, machinery, energy, transportation, shipbuilding and industrial fabrication customers. A network of steel service centres and international sales channels gives the group access to customers in Ukraine and export markets. Metinvest has pursued modernization and environmental projects at its older steel and coke facilities. Measures described by the group and referenced in public sources include the retirement of open-hearth production at Azovstal and Ilyich Steel, improvements to sinter-gas treatment, upgrades to coke and aspiration systems, and the introduction of a hydrochloric-acid pickling line at Zaporizhstal. The company has also reported sustainability initiatives, membership in the UN Global Compact and participation in the World Steel Association. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 severely disrupted the group. Production at the Azovstal and Ilyich Steel plants in Mariupol was suspended after the facilities were damaged and the city became a major battlefield. Metinvest also reported a substantial reduction in group production capacity and the loss or interruption of access to several assets in occupied or contested territories. In response, the group directed resources toward employees, civilians and Ukraine's armed forces, produced protective equipment and decoys, and supported the Saving Lives humanitarian initiative with DTEK and the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation. The company remains an active Ukrainian industrial group, although its asset base and operating conditions have been materially affected by the war.
History
Metinvest Holding LLC was founded on 6 June 2006 to manage a newly assembled Ukrainian mining and metals group. In its first phase, the group combined trading, mining and steel assets, acquiring all of Leman Ukraine and a minority interest in Yenakiieve Iron and Steel Works. Expansion accelerated in 2007 and 2008, when Metinvest acquired a controlling interest in Ingulets Iron Ore Mining and Processing Plant and purchased rolling businesses in Italy and the United Kingdom. It also entered chemical production through a stake in NPO Incor & Co. The group broadened its raw-material base in 2009 by acquiring United Coal Company in the United States and a majority stake in Bulgaria's Promet Steel. It began issuing sustainability reporting in line with the Global Reporting Initiative, joined the United Nations Global Compact and became involved in international industry initiatives. During 2010–2014, Metinvest consolidated interests in Mariupol steelmaking, Makiivka Steel, Zaporizhstal, Central Mining and Processing Plant, Northern Mining and Processing Plant, coke producers and related industrial companies. SCM and Smart-Holding completed the merger of their mining and metals interests into Metinvest B.V. in 2014. Modernization and operational integration continued during the middle of the 2010s. The group created Metinvest-Promservice for equipment maintenance, established engineering and service capabilities, and supported the development of steel distribution and industry associations. It also retired obsolete open-hearth equipment at Azovstal and Ilyich Steel and carried out projects involving gas cleaning, aspiration, pickling and other pollution-control systems. In 2017, Metinvest announced that it had lost control of several assets in areas affected by the conflict in eastern Ukraine after declining to re-register them under the authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk entities. From 2018 through 2021, the group continued to build its coke and coal position. It acquired interests in Southern Coke, Unisteel, Dniprovskyi Coke and Chemical Plant and Pokrovske Coal, ultimately taking control of Pokrovske Coal Group in 2021. It also won the sale tender for the production complex of Dniprovskyi Iron and Steel Works. In education and workforce development, Metinvest founded Metinvest Polytechnic in 2020 as a private Ukrainian institution focused on engineering and industrial skills. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the group supplied hospitals with oxygen, medicines and equipment and supported wider anti-crisis relief efforts. The full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022 became the most consequential disruption in Metinvest's history. Its Mariupol plants, Azovstal and Ilyich Steel, suspended production after the city was attacked and the facilities were damaged. The group reported that overall production capacity fell by more than 40 percent, while access to some other eastern assets was interrupted by occupation or active hostilities. Metinvest redirected significant organizational capacity toward humanitarian relief, employee assistance and defence-related support, including the manufacture of decoys. Together with DTEK and the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, it helped establish Saving Lives, a humanitarian programme for Ukrainians affected by the war. The company continues to operate as a major Ukrainian mining and steel group, but its asset footprint, logistics and production profile remain shaped by the ongoing war.
- 2022
Mariupol production suspended
[1]Azovstal and Ilyich Steel halted operations after Russia's invasion and the fighting in Mariupol.
- 2021
Pokrovske Coal control consolidated
[1]Metinvest gained control of the Pokrovske Coal Group, a major Ukrainian coking-coal producer.
- 2020
Metinvest Polytechnic founded
[1]The group founded a private mining and metallurgical university focused on industrial engineering education.
- 2017
Loss of control over eastern assets
[1]Metinvest announced that it no longer controlled several companies in conflict-affected parts of eastern Ukraine.
- 2014
Mining and metals assets consolidated
[1]SCM and Smart-Holding completed the merger of their mining and metals assets within Metinvest B.V.
- 2011
Zaporizhstal investment
[1]Metinvest acquired half of the steel business associated with Zaporizhstal and continued modernization of Mariupol assets.
- 2009
United Coal and Promet acquisitions
[1]Metinvest expanded into United States coking coal and Bulgarian steel rolling through major acquisitions.
- 2008
International rolling expansion
[1]The group acquired the rolling businesses of Trametal in Italy and Spartan UK.
- 2007
First Ukrainian World Steel Association member
[1]Metinvest joined the World Steel Association, then known as the International Iron and Steel Institute.
- 2006
Management company founded
[1]Metinvest Holding LLC was established to manage the Metinvest group.
Products and positioning
Vertically integrated Ukrainian mining and steel producer with a mine-to-metal value chain and international sales footprint.
Mining and raw materials
Iron-ore products
Metinvest operates iron-ore mining and processing assets in Ukraine, including mining and beneficiation complexes producing concentrate and related feedstock for blast-furnace and steelmaking operations. These products form the upstream base of the group's integrated mine-to-metal model and are also sold to external customers in export markets.
Mining and chemicals
Coke and coking coal
The group mines or sources coking coal and operates coke and chemical facilities that convert coal into metallurgical coke. Coke supports blast-furnace ironmaking, while associated chemical operations produce industrial by-products and materials used across the metals value chain.
Steel products
Flat steel
Metinvest produces slabs and a range of flat-rolled products, including hot-rolled, cold-rolled, heavy plate, galvanized and other coated steels. These materials are used in construction, infrastructure, machinery, energy, transportation, shipbuilding and industrial fabrication.
Steel products
Long steel
Long products and semi-finished steel from the group's Ukrainian and international operations serve construction, engineering and fabrication customers. The portfolio includes billets and other products that can be further processed into structural and industrial steel goods.
Steel products
Pipes and specialized steel products
Metinvest's industrial portfolio has included pipes, rails and other specialized steel products made through affiliated or managed enterprises. These products extend the group beyond commodity steel into infrastructure, transport and industrial applications.
Marketing campaigns
- 2022Saving Lives
Ukraine
Metinvest, DTEK and the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation established a humanitarian initiative for people affected by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Outcome. The initiative supplied humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians and became one of the group's principal wartime relief programmes.
- 2020COVID-19 relief programme
Ukraine
Metinvest supported the pandemic response by supplying hospitals with oxygen, medicines and equipment and by contributing to broader emergency-relief efforts.
Outcome. The programme provided medical and emergency support during the 2020 coronavirus crisis.
Brand decisions
2022
Suspension of Mariupol steel productionStrategyBackground
Russia's full-scale invasion and the battle for Mariupol damaged the Azovstal and Ilyich Steel facilities and made normal operations impossible.
Action taken
Metinvest suspended production at both plants and redirected resources toward employee assistance, humanitarian relief and support for Ukraine's defence.
Aftermath
The group reported a reduction of more than 40 percent in production capacity, while the future operating status of the Mariupol assets became dependent on the war and reconstruction conditions.
2020
Creation of Metinvest PolytechnicStrategyBackground
The Ukrainian metals sector needed engineers and technical specialists capable of supporting modernization and industrial transformation.
Action taken
Metinvest founded a private mining and metallurgical university focused on engineering and industry-relevant education.
Aftermath
The institution became part of the group's workforce-development and industrial-education platform.
2017
Refusal to re-register conflict-zone assetsStrategyBackground
Authorities associated with the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk entities required companies to re-register or operate under new arrangements in territory affected by the conflict.
Action taken
Metinvest declined to re-register the affected enterprises and subsequently announced that it had lost control over them.
Aftermath
The group ceased to control several steel, coke, mining and trading assets in the affected areas.
Recent events
- Unconfirmed
EU imposes steel import restrictions affecting Metinvest[3]
Reported:
The EU recently imposed restrictions on steel imports, including a cap on the amount of steel that can enter the EU tax free. Metinvest CEO Yuriy Ryzhenkov said the measures unfairly affect Ukraine and called for a carve-out.
Sources3 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/metinvest · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled