By Reuters
ArcelorMittal South Africa will cease long steel production by April this year after discussions with the government failed to avert the plant’s closure, the company said on Friday.
The planned closure of the loss-making long steel operations, blamed on weak domestic demand and competition from local scrap metal recylcing mini-mills and imports from China, is set to impact 3,500 direct and indirect jobs.
ArcelorMittal South Africa’s long steel operations produce fencing material, rail, rods and bars used in the construction, mining and manufacturing sectors.
The South African unit of world number two steelmaker ArcelorMittal SA said it would start shutting down its blast furnaces in the first week of March. The last steel will be produced in late March or early April, it added.
The final wind-down into care and maintenance will be fully implemented in the second quarter of 2025.
On February 6 the company unveiled a
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