The process of transferring
Kazakh assets of ArcelorMittal Temirtau mining company to Kazakhstan has
reached the final stage. All details of the transaction will be announced by late
November, once all legal procedures are completed, according to the country’s
government. It is worth reminding that the discussions regarding a final
resolution to that issue started following the August mining disaster at the
Kazakhstanskaya mine. The accident at the Kostenko mine where 46 miners died
accelerated the process. Meanwhile, the Kazakh Government has found a domestic
investor who intends to invest nearly $3 billion in the next three years, as
recently announced by the country’s First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar.
Moreover, the initial investments will amount to over $1 billion. The funds
should be immediately directed to address the issues of industrial safety and modernization
of equipment. The Chairman of the UNECE Group of Experts on Coal Mine Methane and
Just Transition Raymond Pilcher told us about how to prevent a recurrence of mining
incidents and international experience in that field.
“Australia operates in mine, huge
amounts of coal with very few accidents. And when there is a dangerous accident
that takes place, there is an investigation obviously by the mine safety
enforcement authorities, but there is actually contribution by the mining
company itself. Thus, the mining companies see the social contract that they
have with the workers and the community as really important. Unless that
contract is realized in tangible ways, you will never break the cycle. That
always aligns with higher productivity meaning that you’re really taking things
apart and putting them back together in a way that allows people to work safely,
and then eventually meeting your production goals not because you’re skipping
important aspects of safety but because you’re doing such a good job with
safety, and having smooth operations,” said Pilcher.
