Kazakhstan mulls sale of ArcelorMittal Temirtau to Russian investors

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan announced the possibility of selling the country’s largest metallurgical plant ArcelorMittal Temirtau to Russian investors. This is reported by a number of local media, GMK Center reported.

The decision to change the company’s shareholders was made against the background of high mortality at work and a weak investment policy. Currently, the Kazakh authorities are negotiating with the company’s shareholders on their exit from the Kazakh business, the report said.

“Over the years of work of ArcelorMittal Temirtau, there are more than 100 dead miners at the enterprise. Recent fatal tragedies were in 2021 and 2022 and 2023,” the media noted, as per the report.

The prosecutor’s office of Kazakhstan tried to obtain data on what measures are being taken to prevent accidents, strengthen security measures and save the lives of workers, but the company did not provide answers to requests. After an inspection of the company’s mines in 2023, a number of safety violations were discovered.

As per the Prime Minister of the country Alikhana Smoilova, the owners of ArcelorMittal Temirtau paid attention only to making a profit, without creating an adequate level of safety for workers.

According to the Minister of Finance of Kazakhstan, Erulan Zhamaubaev, there is a possibility of transferring the assets of the enterprise to the ownership of the Russian metallurgical company Severstal, the report added.

It should be noted that on August 17, 2023, a conveyor belt caught fire at a mine owned by ArcelorMittal Temirtau in the Karaganda region, after which a plan was introduced to eliminate the accident and evacuate workers - 227 miners. The number of injured due to the incident is 13 people, including 3 fatalities. The search for two more people is underway, the report said.