Despite a blockade at its mining unit in Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán for more than 50 days at the unit in Mexico, Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal's $150 million investment project to increase the production capacity of its Las Truchas mining complex, remained unchanged to start in the second half of 2025, according to company information seen by SteelOrbis.
The investment project to increase the annual production capacity of iron pellets by 1.0 million metric tons (mt) to go from 1.3 million mt to 2.3 million mt, is already two years late.
The original project was scheduled to come into operation in the second half of 2023. However, for various reasons it has been deferred for two years. It highlights that ArcelorMittal did not delay the mining project any further, such as the restart of production of the Lázaro Cárdenas blast furnace.
At the end of the union blockade, ArcelorMittal Mexico reported that it would restart production in two weeks. However, a week later, the CEO of the Mexican unit, Víctor Cairo, said in an interview that restarting the blast furnace would take two more months.
At the beginning of 2023, ArcelorMittal México reported that due to delays in the delivery of equipment, progress of works and permits with the Mexican authorities, the project would take another year.
ArcelorMittal México is the largest steel company in the country with a production of 3.9 million metric tons (mt) of raw steel and a production of 4.5 million mt of iron ore in 2023. In addition, it produces rod, wire rod, wire, slab, billet, bars and tubes.