Ferrexpo iron ore pellet production rises in first quarter

LONDON, April 8 (Reuters) - Ukrainian iron ore miner Ferrexpo (Other OTC: FEEXF - news) said on Tuesday its iron ore pellet output rose more than 9 percent in the first quarter this year, helped by higher production of high grade pellet.

The Swiss-headquartered miner said total pellet production was 2.7 million tonnes in the first quarter, up 9.2 percent from the same period last year.

The company, majority owned by Ukrainian billionaire and parliamentarian Kostyantin Zhevago, is investing more than $650 million to ramp up production to a run rate of 12 million tonnes of pellets in 2014.

It is also focusing on increasing the grade of its pellets in an attempt to better access the growing Middle Eastern market where strict grade controls are in place.

In 2013, the company produced 10.81 million tonnes of pellet, 11.6 percent up from the previous year, and exported all its production to Europe and Asia. (Reporting by Silvia Antonioli; editing by Stephen Eisenhammer)