ArcelorMittal and Indiabulls to Form JV for Coal and Iron Ore

ArcelorMittal and Indiabulls will form a joint venture for coal and iron ore mining. Indiabulls Real Estate has power plants while ArcelorMittal is the world’s largest steelmaker. It currently produces 8% of global steel supply.

The move will help ArcelorMittal gain a foothold in Indian steel which is the world’s second largest steel market after China. It has also announced steel projects in the Indian state of Jharkhand in 2005 and in the state of Orissa in 2006 but both have been delayed due to iron ore linkages and land acquisition.

The CEO of Indiabulls, Gagan Banga said that the mining joint venture was essentially to meet the coal requirements for the Indiabulls power projects. He said that the joint venture may consider iron ore mining as well, but would not get into steel production.

With state owned SAIL having discovered iron ore deposits in the Indian state of Rajasthan there is speculation that the ArcelorMittal and Indiabulls joint venture will also be located in the desert state.

Both companies are currently not stating where the joint venture operations are likely to be located.