LONDON — Kazakhstan has officially announced the nationalization of ArcelorMittal Temirtau, which operates the country’s largest steel plants and several coal and ore mines. This decision comes in the wake of a coal mine fire that resulted in the deaths of at least 32 workers, with another 14 still missing, according to emergency services.
At the time of the blaze, there were 252 people working at the Kostenko coal mine in the Karaganda region. ArcelorMittal Temirtau, the site’s operating company, stated that the fire was likely caused by a pocket of methane gas.
This tragic incident is the most recent in a series of workplace deaths at sites operated by ArcelorMittal Temirtau. In August, four miners were killed in a fire at the same mine, and in November 2022, five people died from a methane leak at another site.
Due to growing discontent from officials, the company has confirmed that it is finalizing a deal with the Kazakh government to be nationalized. Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov stated that the government has reached a preliminary agreement with the company’s shareholders and is now in the process of formalizing the nationalization.
Speculation about the company’s future has been circulating since September, when Kazakhstan’s first deputy prime minister, Roman Sklyar, revealed that the government had initiated talks with potential investors to buy out ArcelorMittal. The government was increasingly dissatisfied with the company’s failure to meet investment obligations and repeated worker safety violations.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has announced October 29 as a national day of mourning in Kazakhstan. The office of the country’s Prosecutor General has also initiated an investigation into potential safety violations at the coal mine.
ArcelorMittal Temirtau has halted work at all of its coal mining sites in Kazakhstan and expressed its condolences for the lives lost. The company is now focused on providing comprehensive care and rehabilitation to affected employees, as well as cooperating closely with government authorities.
ArcelorMittal Temirtau is the local representative for Luxembourg-based multinational ArcelorMittal, the second-largest steel producer in the world. Aside from concerns about worker safety, the company has also faced scrutiny for environmental violations. In 2018, the Kazakh city of Temirtau, where ArcelorMittal’s steel plant is located, made headlines when it was covered in black snow, which the company attributed to a lack of wind. In November 2021, videos emerged of the town covered in fine, magnetic dust.
President Tokayev has stated that over 100 workers have lost their lives at ArcelorMittal sites in Kazakhstan since 2006.
