At least twenty-five people died on Saturday October 28 in a new accident in a mine of the global steel giant ArcelorMittal in Kazakhstan, according to a report published by the group, which is still provisional. News of the fire and the number of victims sparked the anger of the Central Asian country’s president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who ordered his government to “end cooperation” with the group.
Mr. Tokayev quickly announced the creation of a commission of inquiry. The government subsequently declared in a press release that “work [was] underway” for the local subsidiary ArcelorMittal Temirtau to be nationalized. “ArcelorMittal can confirm that the two parties have […] recently signed a preliminary agreement for a transaction which will transfer ownership to the Republic of Kazakhstan”, reacted the group in a press release, which specifies “committed to finalizing this transaction in as soon as possible “.
Worst mining accident in Kazakhstan since 2006
The accident took place in the Kostenko mine, located not far from the town of Karaganda in the center of the country. The regional administration reported a fire on the night of Friday to Saturday, with 40 rescuers on site, while the country’s Minister of Emergency Situations, Syrym Charipkhanov, announced he would go to the scene of the tragedy. . The causes of the accident were not specified. “At present, 25 of our employees have been confirmed dead and 21 others remain missing. 206 people were safely evacuated. There are no words to express the devastation the company feels following this accident,” ArcelorMittal said in a statement.
ArcelorMittal operates around fifteen factories and mines in this extremely polluted industrial zone of this immense former Soviet republic rich in natural resources. The Kazakh government has in recent months denounced the “systemic nature” of the accidents involving the group, which have cost the lives of “more than a hundred people since 2006”.
This is the worst mining accident in Kazakhstan since 2006, when 41 miners lost their lives on an ArcelorMittal site and the second fatal accident in two months on a site of the group, after the death of five miners in mid-August in the same region.
