In 2008 the Russian coal mines of the world's largest steel producer ArcelorMittal, namely the Kemerovo-based Berezovskaya mine, Pervomayskaya mine and Anzherskoye mine, saw a decrease in their coal output of 14 percent year on year to 2.698 million mt, thus falling short of their production target by ten percent due to the low demand in the coking coal market.
Meanwhile, during the year in question ArcelorMittal's Severnaya coal preparation plant processed 2.20 million mt of coking coal, producing 1.319 million mt of coal concentrate.
In 2008 the coal and coal concentrate deliveries of ArcelorMittal's Kemerovo-based coal assets decreased by 30 percent to 1.793 million mt, as in the fourth quarter of the year coal concentrate demand from steelmakers dropped sharply.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, in April 2008 ArcelorMittal completed the acquisition of Kemerovo's coal assets from Severstal-Resurs, a raw materials division of the Russian steel producer Severstal, for a total of $720 million.