Georgia - November 01, 2024 [Note: speech in Georgian] The Zestaponi Ferroalloy Plant will temporarily suspend operations from November 1 of this year until March 1, 2025. During this period, all production capacities will be completely shut down, and the production of ferroalloys will cease. Under these conditions, the plant will pay employees 60% of their salaries and will fully maintain their insurance packages. Employees involved in ongoing and planned capital repair work will receive 100% of their salaries. The decision was driven by a sharp decline in global prices for silicomanganese and decreased demand—a trend that has persisted for two years. Additionally, the situation is compounded by a shortage of ore. Our contractor, Chiatura Mining Company, has been unable to supply the plant with ore due to the picketing of mines by local residents in Chiatura over the past eight months. This has led to a 70% reduction in ore production, with 7 out of 12 mines currently paralyzed. Due to the crisis in the global ferroalloy market, we reduced silicomanganese production as of October 2. It is also worth noting that, over the past month, we have been unable to export ferroalloys to our main market in the United States. Despite the current situation, we are hopeful that global market conditions will improve soon, allowing us to resume operations ahead of the scheduled timeframe.