Steel Products
Accidents Impact Severstal Coal Mine & ArcelorMittal South African Mill
Written by Sandy Williams
February 13, 2013
Written by: Sandy Williams
A blast at the Vorkutinskaya coal mine, owned by Russian steelmaker Severstal, killed 18 people on Monday and left nine missing. There were 259 men in the mine when a methane build-up ignited. Most of the miners were able to escape on their own while others were rescued from the site. Several of the rescued miners are seriously injured and the missing nine miners are believed trapped in the rubble. An investigation has been opened to determine if safety violations caused the explosion. An investigation into possible safety violations has been launched by the Investigative Committee. The mine has been in operation since 1973 and produces 1.8 million tonnes (1.98 million tons) of coal per year.
ArcelorMittal SA reported a fire at its Vanderbijlpark plant on Saturday caused extensive damage to its steel making facilities but no injuries to employees. The South African plant has been shut down while an assessment of the damage is undertaken. The Company’s shares dropped 6.76 percent following the announcement. It is unknown at the moment, what the potential loss of sales will be and how long it will take to effect repairs. The Company declared force majeure (a contractual provision removing liability for unavoidable catastrophes) since it will be unable to fulfill orders.
Vanderbijlpark is the largest supplier of flat steel products in sub-Saharan Africa and has 4500 employees. It includes two blast furnaces, three electric arc furnaces and three basic oxygen furnaces and an annual capacity of 3.7 million tons.
Sandy Williams
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