KAZAKHSTAN: A fire at one of the steel firm ArcelorMittal’s mines in Kazakhstan has claimed the lives of at least 21 persons.
President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, issued an order to stop investing in the company on the same day that the fire broke out because he wants it to be nationalised.
The company’s local division, ArcelorMittal Termitau, stated that 23 more of the 252 employees who worked at the Kostenko mine are unaccounted for. Treatment has been administered to 18 patients thus far.
While offering his sympathies to the relatives of the victims, President Tokayev has separated his administration from the business. He has demanded an end to “investment cooperation,” and the government said that it was nearing completion on a plan to nationalise the business that owns the largest steel plant in the nation.
This is the second deadly incident at an ArcelorMittal factory in Kazakhstan in the previous two months. 4 miners lost their lives in August when a fire started at the Karaganda mine.
Furthermore, a methane gas leak at a nearby mine in November 2022 resulted in the deaths of 5 individuals and the hospitalisation of 4 more. In Kazakhstan, ArcelorMittal Temirtau is the owner of fifteen mines for coal and ore.
Aberdeen-based John Lawrie Metals, a metal recycling company, was acquired by Luxembourg-based steel behemoth ArcelorMittal in 2022. The building of the ArcelorMittal Orbit, which is located in London’s Olympic Park, was funded by the corporation.
Roman Sklyar, Kazakhstan’s first deputy prime minister, informed reporters last month that the country was in talks with possible buyers of the mill. He noted that following a string of fatal accidents, ArcelorMittal had failed to upgrade equipment, meet its investment responsibilities, and guarantee worker safety. For these reasons, the cabinet was not happy, he added.
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