Arcelor Mittal has signed Agreements with the State of Senegal in West Africa to develop iron ore mining in the Faleme region of South East Senegal.

Total estimated reserves are approximately 750m tonnes, located in four locations in the Faleme region and comprising both hematite and magnetite deposits.

The project, which is expected to entail an investment of approximately $ 2.2 billion, is an integrated mining project. It will encompass development of the mine, the building of a new port near Dakar, and development of approximately 750 km of rail infrastructure to link the mine with the port. It will be developed in phases to achieve an annual production capacity of between 15 million 25 million tonnes per year at peak operations. The company says it will also consider selective investments in the downstream steel facilities.

"We are delighted at having signed the binding agreements with the State of Senegal in Dakar yesterday and are now looking forward to moving forward with this important project,” commented Mr. Lakshmi N. Mittal, President and CEO of Arcelor Mittal. “Once completed, the Faleme project will prove to be an important and competitive source of iron ore supplies for our European plants

Arcelor Mittal also pledged its support to the community and the people of Senegal as part of its commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility in the countries in which it operates.

"This project is an important step in our strategy of creating West Africa as a mining hub for iron ore supplies to our steel plants around the world. We are confident Senegal will prove to be a strategic location to extend our existing footprint in the promising West African markets."

The agreements will become effective upon fulfillment of certain conditions precedent by the State of Senegal. The mine is expected to commence production in 2011.

Arcelor Mittal is the world's number one steel company, with 330,000 employees in more than 60 countries. The companies leads a number of major global markets, such as automotive, construction, household appliances and packaging, with leading R&D and technology, as well as sizeable captive supplies of raw materials and outstanding distribution networks. An industrial presence in 27 European, Asian, African and American countries exposes the company to all the key steel markets, from emerging to mature, positions it will be looking to develop in the high-growth Chinese and Indian markets.