Wed Mar 2, 2011 3:14pm GMT
* Steel output nears pre-crisis levels
* Iron ore mine opens new $41.5 mln pit
SARAJEVO, March 2 (Reuters) - Bosnian steelmaker ArcelorMittal Zenica, a unit of world steel major ArcelorMittal (ISPA.AS: Quote), said it produced 590,000 tonnes of metal last year, near its pre-crisis levels.
Spokeswoman Dijana Bozic-Srdanovic said on Wednesday the total amount of steel products slated for sale was 580,000 tonnes, of which 55 percent was exported to the Western Balkans, the European Union and North Africa. The rest went to the local market.
ArcelorMittal Zenica had earlier said it did not expect to return to pre-crisis output levels before 2012, despite some signs of recovery in the global market.
Its Luxembourg-based owner, which makes 6-7 percent of the world's steel, has said global steel consumption is set to grow by 6.5-7 percent in 2011, about half the rate of last year.
ArcelorMittal Zenica had reached output of 633,670 tonnes of metal in 2008, but lower demand in 2009 forced it to halve both output and sales.
The company produces steel mainly for the construction and infrastructure sectors, which were hit hard by the global economic crisis following several boom years after the end of the country's 1992-95 war.
Its partner, iron ore miner ArcelorMittal Prijedor, said it produced 1.4 million tonnes of iron ore concentrate and was planning to increase output by a quarter this year.
It said it had opened a new iron ore pit after investments of around 30 million euros ($41.5 million), which would extend the exploitation of ore for another 20 to 25 years.
Steel demand in the Balkan country in the medium-to-long term could get a boost from expected investment in infrastructure projects such as the building of a north-south highway, energy and reconstruction of a railway network.
Spokeswoman Dijana Bozic-Srdanovic said on Wednesday the total amount of steel products slated for sale was 580,000 tonnes, of which 55 percent was exported to the Western Balkans, the European Union and North Africa. The rest went to the local market.
ArcelorMittal Zenica had earlier said it did not expect to return to pre-crisis output levels before 2012, despite some signs of recovery in the global market.
Its Luxembourg-based owner, which makes 6-7 percent of the world's steel, has said global steel consumption is set to grow by 6.5-7 percent in 2011, about half the rate of last year.
ArcelorMittal Zenica had reached output of 633,670 tonnes of metal in 2008, but lower demand in 2009 forced it to halve both output and sales.
The company produces steel mainly for the construction and infrastructure sectors, which were hit hard by the global economic crisis following several boom years after the end of the country's 1992-95 war.
Its partner, iron ore miner ArcelorMittal Prijedor, said it produced 1.4 million tonnes of iron ore concentrate and was planning to increase output by a quarter this year.
It said it had opened a new iron ore pit after investments of around 30 million euros ($41.5 million), which would extend the exploitation of ore for another 20 to 25 years.
Steel demand in the Balkan country in the medium-to-long term could get a boost from expected investment in infrastructure projects such as the building of a north-south highway, energy and reconstruction of a railway network.
The metal sector is key in the impoverished Balkan country, with exports accounting for about 80 percent of total output. (Reporting by Maja Zuvela; Editing by Adam Tanner and Jane Baird)
Thomson Reuters
Tags: Bosnian iron ore miner, investment in iron ore pit,
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment