Feb 26 2007
Arcelor Mittal, the world’s largest and most global steel company, today announces that it has signed various Agreements with the State of Senegal in West Africa to develop iron ore mining in the Faleme region of South East Senegal.
The project is expected to entail an investment of approximately $ 2.2 billion. The total estimated reserves are approximately 750m tonnes, located in 4 locations in the Faleme region and comprising both haemetite and magnetite deposits.
The project is an integrated mining project and will encompass the development of the mine, the building of a new port near Dakar and the development of approximately 750 km of rail infrastructure to link the mine with the port.
The mine is expected to commence production in 2011. The project will be developed in phases to achieve an annual production capacity of between 15 million 25 million tonnes per year at peak operations. The Company will also consider selective investments in the downstream steel facilities.
The agreements will become effective upon fulfillment of certain conditions precedent by the State of Senegal.
The Company has also pledged its support to the community and the people of Senegal as part of its commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility in the countries in which it operates.
Commenting, Mr.Lakshmi N. Mittal, President and CEO, Arcelor Mittal said:
“We are delighted at having signed the binding agreements with the State of Senegal in Dakar yesterday and are now looking forward to moving forward with this important project. Once completed, the Faleme project will prove to be an important and competitive source of iron ore supplies for our European plants “This project is an important step in our strategy of creating West Africa as a mining hub for iron ore supplies to our steel plants around the world. We are confident Senegal will prove to be a strategic location to extend our existing footprint in the promising West African markets.”