Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
The Guardian reports the billionaire chief of ArcelorMittal Lakshmi Mittal is planning a giant new opencast mine 300 miles inside the Arctic Circle in a bid to extract a potential $23bn worth of iron ore.
The mega-mine – which includes a 150km railway line and two new ports – is believed to be the largest mineral extraction project in the Arctic and highlights the huge commercial potential of the far north as global warming makes industrial development in the region easier.
Documents seen by the Guardian show that Mittal’s company, the world’s biggest steel-making group, ArcelorMittal, admits the operations will be undertaken in an area inhabited by unique wildlife including polar bear, narwhal and walrus.
The company has just spent nearly $600m (£373m) alongside a US private equity firm buying Baffinland Iron Mines, to seize control and develop the Mary river deposits in the Nunavut region of the Canadian Arctic.
