Arcelor in South Africa suffers a meltdown

Equipment failure that put a huge dent in production and which is now the subject of a $140 million insurance claim, higher input costs as a result of increased electricity charges, and three fatalities and a pricing dispute with a unit of Anglo American were the main reasons given for a headline loss of $58 million for the quarter.

Moneyweb reports Nonkululeko Nyembezi-Heita, chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal described the results for its third quarter that ended on September 30 as worse than expected and that it has been a “difficult and challenging time”.

New Age reports the main issue facing the steelmaker is the outcome of an ongoing dispute over iron ore prices with Kumba Iron Ore, a unit of Anglo American. The two companies have been at loggerheads over iron ore prices since February last year. The case will go to an arbitration hearing in May next year and will decide if the steelmaker can keep sourcing iron ore from Kumba at a discount.