The Board of Directors of ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaking company, has approved the resumption of investments to double the capacity of the ArcelorMittal Monlevade plant, a long carbon steel production unit located in João Monlevade (Minas Gerais State, Brazil). The decision further illustrates the central role of Brazil in the Company's investment strategy and its outlook that the country will experience sustainable growth in the long carbon steel sector in the coming years.
With the expansion, the plant will double its production capacity of crude steel from 1.2 million to 2.4 million tons a year. The expansion will require investments in the order of US$ 1.2 billion for the construction of a new sinter plant (2.3 million tons), a new blast furnace (1.12 million tons) to double the current hot metal production capacity, and a third rolling mill (1.15 million tons) to double the production of wire-rod to 2.3 million tons a year. The plant will also double its steel shop production capacity, which will reach 2.4 million tons of billets a year after expansion.
Construction will re-start this month and is scheduled to be concluded 24 months from now. The startup is scheduled in 2012. Initiated in 2008, the expansion was suspended due to the international financial crisis in the last quarter of that year and only civil constructions were performed to prepare for the expansion.
At its peak, the construction will employ up to 6 thousand people. ArcelorMittal Monlevade expansion will add approximate R$ 200 million a year in tax collection as of 2014, when the plant will be fullly operational.
About ArcelorMittal Monlevade/ArcelorMittal Brasil
ArcelorMittal Monlevade is the only integrated plant of ArcelorMittal Long Carbon Steel, a company which is part of Long Carbon Americas (LCA). It acts mainly in the steel market producing wire-rod to be manufactured to reinforce tires (steel cord), helical springs and fasteners for the automotive industries among others.
The unit is located in the city of João Monlevade in the "Steel Valley" of Minas Gerais, 110 km from Belo Horizonte. The region has a wide concentration of steelmaking industries and good railway and road networks which connect it to the main markets and outflow production points in the country.
In its production process the plant uses iron ore extracted from the Andrade Mine, 11 km from Monlevade, which also belongs to ArcelorMittal; it has a sinter plant, a blast furnace, steel refining, continuous casting and a rolling mill. Production is directed at the domestic market, international customers and ArcelorMittal Long Carbon Steel drawing plants. Currently ArcelorMittal Monlevade has around 1, 300 direct employees.
ArcelorMittal Brasil is one of the main steelmaking companies of Latin America, highlighted in the sectors of long and flat carbon steel. The company is responsible for approximately 10% of the total steel production of ArcelorMittal group, the world's largest steelmaking company, with 280 thousand employees in more than 60 countries.
