Canada
May 18, 2026
CRU: ArcelorMittal-linked company seeks bankruptcy protection
Written by CRU
This item was first published by CRU. To learn about CRU’s global commodities research and analysis services, visit www.crugroup.com.
Financially burdened Baffinland Iron Mines is applying for shelter from creditors under Canada’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). Meanwhile, co-shareholder ArcelorMittal has been fined for pollution from other mines in Canada.
Baffinland says it is opting for the CCAA route after carefully considering all alternatives including discussions with lenders and stakeholders.
It plans to use any stay of proceedings granted by the Ontario superior court of justice to evaluate strategic alternatives, including recapitalization or a potential sale, while continuing discussions with all stakeholders. The court has given the company an initial 10-day pause in proceedings, local media reported.
In the meantime, Baffinland says it expects no disruptions to operations at its Mary River iron ore mine, the associated Milne Port and it also intends to continue work on the Steensby expansion plan. The goal is to increase production capacity to 22 million tons per year from 4.2 million, but the project faces opposition from Inuit hunters and trappers in Nunavut, worried the railway to be built will disrupt their traditional way of life.
Baffinland is 74.77% owned by the Energy and Minerals Group and 25.23% by ArcelorMittal.
Separately, ArcelorMittal Exploitation Miniere Canada was fined C$100 million (US$73.0 million, €62.3 million) by the court of Quebec after pleading guilty to 100 counts of violating the Fisheries Act. The financial penalty was the highest ever imposed in Canada under the act.
The conviction relates to harmful substances deposited from the Mont-Wright and the Fire Lake iron ore mines into rivers and lakes in the Fermont region of Quebec between May 2014 and May 2022.
