(Bloomberg) — South Africa’s government is locked in crisis talks with the local unit of ArcelorMittal SA to decide the fate of the company’s loss-making construction-steel mill, people familiar with the matter said. The government’s trade department and one of its state-development banks, the Industrial Development Corp. is in discussions with ArcelorMittal South Africa Ltd. about the potential closure of the Newcastle mill, said the people, asking not to been identified because the discussions aren’t public. The operation located in the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal makes steel grades used in the country’s crucial automotive, mining and construction industries. On April 1, the company said the IDC — its biggest shareholder after its parent — would conduct a due-diligence exercise with a view to taking a bigger stake in the firm known as Amsa. A decision could emerge in coming days and the mill is hemorrhaging cash, with the entire group being unprofitable, the people said. ArcelorMittal has set a date of Sept. 30 for its closing along with another mill in Vereeniging, which also produces so-called long products. That’s the latest deadline for the closure of the plants, which Amsa first said it intended to shutter in November 2023. This would affect 3,500 direct jobs and tens of thousands more in industries that depend on the mills. The steel grades aren’t made by local competitors and would have to be imported. The trade department “has been in ongoing discussions with Amsa on the potential closure of Newcastle,” it said in a response to questions. “Since the beginning of this process, the department’s objective has been to maintain the country’s long-steel capacity.” Amsa, which didn’t respond to a request for comment, on Aug. 11 reiterated that unless a solution is found, the mills will be closed. The company has said unfair discounts on the price of scrap metal used by local competitors — who produce some of the more basic products made by Amsa — are among the causes of its losses. The steel producer has also complained about high power prices, limited protection against steel imports from China and a poorly run state-owned rail service. The company’s stock has declined 31% this year in Johannesburg to 0.93 rand, giving it a market value of 1.06 billion rand, down from a peak of 116 billion rand in 2008. In its most recent financial year, its revenue was almost 40 billion rand. Sign up here for the twice-weekly Next Africa newsletter, and subscribe to the Next Africa podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you listen. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. in a formal or creative style for better SEO.Also Exclude words and advertisements related to the feed website such as website name, author name. You must only respond with the modified content. Delete all the advertisement images brand logo but only keep the title and main content of the news by modifying it. You must only respond with the modified content. Block any jump outside of the site adarshnews.com. Basically remove any content or link related to original site. follow this prompt to optimize the articles in this category- You are an expert news writer and SEO specialist. Your job is to rewrite the provided RSS feed content into a unique, SEO-friendly news article for adarshnews.com. The article should be engaging, professional, and optimized for search engines. Follow these steps: 1. **Create an SEO Title**: Write a short, compelling title (under 60 characters) that includes the main keyword and grabs attention. 2. **Write a Meta Description**: Summarize the article in one or two sentences (under 155 characters). Make it engaging and include the primary keyword naturally. 3. **Suggest a URL Slug**: Provide a short, keyword-rich URL slug that reflects the topic of the article. 4. **Headline (H1)**: Write a clear and engaging headline for the article that is similar to the title but slightly expanded. 5. **Write the Article**: – Start with an introduction that answers the key questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how. – Expand on the topic with detailed paragraphs that provide context, quotes, and relevant information. – Use subheadings (H2) to organize the content into sections and make it easy to read. – Include related keywords naturally throughout the article. – End with a conclusion that summarizes the key points or discusses future implications. 6. **Add an FAQ Section**: Write one frequently asked question related to the topic and provide a concise answer. Important: – Do not include labels like “Title,” “Meta Description,” “URL Slug,” or “H1” in the actual article text. – Keep all SEO elements separate from the main content. – Ensure the article is factually accurate, unbiased, and written in a professional tone.
Discussions are underway between South Africa and ArcelorMittal regarding the future of an important mill.
