Did you know that Princess Elisabeth station is the first polar research station designed to create zero carbon emissions? To do so, it utilises a highly energy-efficient design and by running entirely on renewable wind and solar energies.

ArcelorMittal has contributed to its construction by providing the envelope of the Antarctic base which comprises almost 25 tonnes of austenitic stainless steel. This was specially selected because it is suited for extreme weather conditions: very low temperatures, extreme changes in temperature and violent winds.

To educate and to inform

“It was just incredible to watch the sun set upon the station’s surface. The sun’s rays burned the bottom of the station as they shone in from below and were reflected back by the stainless steel panels. I had never seen the Antarctic winter yet, but I must say that the finished station was absolutely magnificent under this light,” recalls Alain Hubert, President of International Polar Foundation (IPF).

Princess Elisabeth station will be soon operational for research expeditions to educate and inform on research in the Polar Regions, on climate change and on sustainable development.

Collaboration: Corinne le Caignec, Building and Construction Support

The Arteriograph is a specialist piece of equipment that assists in the detection of brain death and vascular and neurological emergencies. Already a benchmark in the treatment of traumatic injuries and vascular and neurological emergencies in Espiríto Santo, the equipment will help towards placing the hospital as a specialist institution for the collection and removal of organs and tissues.

The donation was made possible thanks to a partnership between ArcelorMittal Tubarão, the Association of the Friends of the São Lucas hospital and the city government authorities. The US$300,000 donation will be made to the Association, who will assure its delivery to the hospital.

Collaboration: Sidemberg Silva Rodrigues, ArcelorMittal Tubarão

It is the second step of the 3 continuous casting machines relining programme. Contrary to the CC23 and to the next CC21 rebuilt in “vertical bend”, the continuous casting 22 stayed “bend”, with technologies like “watering by atomisation” and “divided rolls” for specialised products like High Silicon, High Carbon or High Strength steels.

The building site required 200,000 working hours for the team, composed by in-house workers and subcontractors. A Safety challenge was awarded to subcontractors for good behaviour each week. The Safety results for the building site are excellent, with zero accidents.

Collaboration: Christine Cordier, ArcelorMittal Dunkerque

Mr Mittal is, according to the Head of the Spanish Diplomatic Service, one of the most outstanding businessmen in the context of economic globalisation. “This is a great honour not only for me personally, but also for the Company and in particular our 13,000 employees here in Spain,” Mr Mittal stated.

During the award ceremony, the Minister recalled the importance of the presence of ArcelorMittal in Spain where ArcelorMittal España operates 15 sites and 34 distribution centres. Over the last 4 years, ArcelorMittal has invested close to 1 billion Euros in its Spanish sites.

Mr Mittal mentioned that one of the major challenges of being a steel producer in Europe is keeping the industrial capacity while complying with stringent environmental regulations. He urged the government to ensure that the correct balance was found between reducing emissions and enabling industry to continue to play an important role in the European economy.

Collaboration: Óscar Fleites

On this occasion the ambassador also visited a part of the subsidiary company ArcelorMittal Ostrava, Tubular Products. According to Mr Chmelík, ArcelorMittal Ostrava’s investment director, he was especially interested in the restructuring of the steel industry in the Czech Republic, ArcelorMittal’s production, investments, environmental projects and in the production of pipes and tubes which he saw for the first time.

ArcelorMittal Ostrava is the largest steel company in the Czech Republic and one of the ten biggest tax-payers in the Czech Republic.

Collaboration: Vladimir Raszka

Hunan Valin, one of ArcelorMittal’s steel making JV’s, is located in Changsha in the south of China. Changsha and our joint-venture have been totally covered by snow. The unforeseen weather has brought electricity to a halt, but not the energy of our local ArcelorMittal people.

Instead of transforming the future of steel, they showed that ‘transforming tomorrow’ can also take place in a world of snow. Nassos and Ashok joined hands with the plant management and the Chinese Red Cross and participated in a snow shoveling activity in the Changsha railway station.

Collaboration: Lynn Robbroeckx

As the sole corporate partner to support the Great Lakes initiative, ArcelorMittal is very pleased to invest in a programme that reiterates one of the company’s own brand values of Sustainability. Representing 20% of the world’s fresh surface water, the Great Lakes basin is a critical resource to ArcelorMittal’s business, its employees and customers in the Great Lakes region throughout North America.

ArcelorMittal funds will specifically support wetland protection and restoration across the Great Lakes region, with a focus on ArcelorMittal’s North American communities in the USA and Canada. The programme is funded by a 2.1 million dollars donation from ArcelorMittal’s USA Foundation.

Health and Safety is a permanent mainstay of all actions taken at the ArcelorMittal group. Demonstrating and encouraging responsible, exemplary behaviour in matters of Health and Safety at all times comprises a way of working that stresses Leadership and maintains internal cohesion in line with the group’s priority goal of achieving a zero accident rate.

To that end, all members of the Etxebarri plant assume their responsibilities as drivers and motivators for the observance of Safety rules and standards, encouraging people to improve their performance in regard to Health and Safety.

ArcelorMittal will acquire a 97.59% stake in the Berezovskaya Mine, a 99.35% stake in the Pervomayskaya Mine, the exploration and mining rights to the Zhernovskaya-3 coal deposit and the Severnaya Coal Preparation Plant as well as three companies that provide the mines with associated services. ArcelorMittal has also agreed to purchase 100% of the Anzherskoye mine. All the transactions are subject to regulatory approval.

Annual production from the three operating mines is 3.14 million tons RoM in 2007. Commenting, Mr. Lakshmi N. Mittal, President and CEO, ArcelorMittal, said that they were pleased to be acquiring these mines which would provide an important and competitive source of coking coal supplies for their steel production, raising their self-sufficiency. He added that this acquisition also helped ArcelorMittal establish a presence in Russia, a fast growing market for steel production.

ArcelorMittal announced on February 1, 2008 that it has agreed to a solution proposed by the federal and regional governments of Belgium regarding the CO2 quota allocation issue and will consequently prepare for the relaunch of the Seraing (Liège, Belgium) blast furnace n°6.

The federal and regional governments of Belgium submitted a solution to ArcelorMittal to allow for the restart of the Seraing blast furnace. This solution involves an intervention from the part of the Regional and the Federal governments as well as from the part of the companies. ArcelorMittal has agreed to this and is currently planning the relaunch of the Liège blast furnace with a view to start producing hot steel starting end of February.

Michel Wurth, member of ArcelorMittal’s Group Management Board, in charge of Flat Carbon Europe, Automotive, Plates and R&D, expressed his satisfaction following this proposal. He thanked the authorities who had thus made possible the immediate relaunch of the blast furnace and added that this would definitely strengthen the competitiveness and job situation in Liège and the Walloon Region.