Moscow decided to temporarily prolong the moratorium on the export duty of 10% for tungsten ores and concentrates.
The duty was imposed in 2013. Last year on request of manufacturers the duty was cancelled until June 1, 2017. This helped Primorsky Mining and Processing Works stay afloat, as it saved some 1.2 billion rubles. The absence of payments has also positively influenced Novoorlovsky GOK. But it could not help Lermontovsky GOK – last October the company was shut down.
Now the miners have one more attempt to prove that the duty has to be cancelled for good. Otherwise Russia could lose this industry. (Ukrainian metal)