ArcelorMittal's wild promises
The steel group had no qualms about promising the Senegalese state all kinds of marvels in return for the right to exploit the Falémé iron ore deposits and we know what happened after that… [...]
What happened in Senegal will go down in the mining annals as ArcelorMittal's most humiliating defeat in Africa, as the attached joint report from West Africa Newsletter and Africa Mining Intelligence demonstrates. In 2007, the giant steel group was euphoric after being selected to carry out the Falémé iron ore mining project in south east Senegal. Two years later, the project had foundered as a result of a poor evaluation of the Falémé reserves, a drop in iron ore prices and financial problems within the Indo-British group. ArcelorMittal was taken to court, lost its concession and was obliged to pay compensation to the Senegalese state.
The negotiations which followed, however, were carried out in total secrecy. Even the Senegalese parliament was kept in the dark about their content. Questions were raised by the opposition, which accused Macky Sall and the steel group of making secret arrangements between themselves. In the end, ArcelorMittal forked out $150 million to settle the affair but, according to American consultants Gustavson Associates, this sum was derisory compared to the $5 billion it said the steel group should have paid. Even today, the Senegalese presidency refuses to respond to demands for explanations from civil society bodies.
The steel group had no qualms about promising the Senegalese state all kinds of marvels in return for the right to exploit the Falémé iron ore deposits and we know what happened after that… [...]
Several figures close to Abdoulaye Wade have teamed up to try to get French courts to cancel an agreement between Dakar and ArcelorMittal. [...]
Dakar is due to shortly adopt new mining legislation crafted to avoid a new “ArcelorMittal” affair. [...]
The Senegalese government was criticised for a lack of transparency in its handling of the ArcelorMittal case. Now, vital pages are missing from the out-of-court settlement it recently published on its website. [...]
The legal dispute between the Senegalese government and steel company ArcelorMittal should be over following a settlement in May, but there are still unresolved grey areas. [...]
While Senegal won an arbitration case that pitted it against [...]
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Building rail lines is at the very heart of mining projects in Africa and is frequently used as a way [...]
Development at the Faleme iron ore project is to fall behind by several years once again. Snatched from under the [...]