ArcelorMittal, the world's largest integrated metals and mining company, has announced the signing of an agreement for the acquisition of US-based Concept Group (Concept).
Concept, located in southern West Virginia, adjacent to ArcelorMittal's recently acquired Mid Vol Coal Group in the Central Appalachian Coal Basin, has control over recoverable saleable coal reserves and resources in excess of 57 million mt. The output of the company for 2007 is estimated at 0.8 million mt of metallurgical coking coal.
The acquisition is in line with ArcelorMittal's growth strategy to increase its upstream self-sufficiency in primary raw materials.
Commenting on the acquisition, ArcelorMittal CFO and board member Aditya Mittal stated, "Concept's proximity on adjacent coal properties to our recently acquired Mid Vol operations means we can draw on the strength of both companies in increasing the combined production capacity. While Mid Vol's expertise is in surface mining techniques, Concept's expertise rests with underground mining methods; however, both operations have the potential for combining both practices. We look forward to integrating the Concept operations into the ArcelorMittal group".
The financial details have not been disclosed.