The Kazakh government has in recent months denounced the “systemic nature” of the accidents involving the group, which have cost the lives of “more than a hundred people” in nearly twenty years.
Kazakhstan announced on Saturday October 28 a preliminary agreement with ArcelorMittal to regain control of the local subsidiary of the global steel giant. “The government (…) finalizes the transaction” in this sense, declared the Prime Minister, a few hours after a new accident which left at least 32 dead in the Kostenko mine, in Karaganda, in the center of the country.
The bodies of the deceased miners have been found, ArcelorMittal said on Saturday, without giving the causes of the accident. The group added that “the search for 14 minors continues”out of a total of 252 workers present at the time of the tragedy. Earlier, the regional administration had reported a fire that occurred overnight in this mine.
The worst mining accident since 2006
Immediately after the tragedy was announced, the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, ordered “end the cooperation” with ArcelorMittal. The leader, who went to the scene of the tragedy at midday, described the group as “worst company in history” from his country. The subsidiary of ArcelorMittal, one of the world leaders in steel and mining, is regularly accused by the authorities of not respecting safety and environmental standards.
ArcelorMittal operates around fifteen factories and mines in central Kazakhstan, an extremely polluted industrial zone. The Kazakh government has in recent months denounced the “systemic character” accidents involving the group, which cost the lives of “more than 100 people” in almost twenty years.
This is the worst mining accident in Kazakhstan since 2006, when 41 miners lost their lives at an ArcelorMittal site. This is also the second fatal accident in two months on a group site, after the death of five miners in mid-August in the same region.