Jan 9 2008
ArcelorMittal announces the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding with Societe Nationale Industrielle et Miniere (SNIM), Mauritania, on 26th December 2007. Under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding, SNIM and ArcelorMittal will jointly develop a large iron ore mining project, using the El Agareb Iron ore resource in Mauritania, which is estimated to contain more than 1 billion tonnes rich grade of Magnetite resource. In the first phase of project development, ArcelorMittal will conduct exploratory works and a feasibility study. Onward project execution will be progressed by a Joint Venture Company to be created between SNIM and ArcelorMittal.
At the exploratory and prospecting stage, ArcelorMittal's share will be 30% with an option to increase the stake to 70% once project execution starts. Subject to the feasibility study, ArcelorMittal intends to develop a 25 Million tonnes per year mine.
Aditya Mittal, CFO and member of ArcelorMittal’s Group Management Board, commented: “ Mauritania ’s strategic location in West Africa makes it an ideal choice for iron ore supplies to ArcelorMittal’s European steel mills. This large iron ore project would further strengthen our existing presence in the region and will create substantial employment opportunities for the people of Mauritania while accelerating growth in Mauritanian economy.”
SNIM is one of the oldest Iron ore producing companies in Africa, producing more than 12 million tonnes per year of iron ore with world class production facilities and infrastructure. ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel company, is one of the oldest consumers of SNIM’s iron ore, having been a customer for more than two decades.