ArcelorMittal acquires Concept Group

World's largest integrated metals and mining company ArcelorMittal announced it has signed a pact to acquire the US-based Concept Group.

World's largest integrated metals and mining company ArcelorMittal on Monday announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire the US-based Concept Group.

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Commenting on the acquisition, Aditya Mittal, Chief Financial Officer and Member of ArcelorMittal's Group Management Board said: "With raw material costs continuing to soar, increasing our upstream self sufficiency in our primary raw materials is a critical component of our growth strategy."

Located in southern West Virginia, adjacent to the Mid Vol Coal Group and recently acquired by ArcelorMittal in the Central Appalachian Coal Basin, Concept produced 0.8 million tons of metallurgical coking coal in 2007, a statement from the global steel producer headed by LN Mittal said.

It added that Concept has control over recoverable saleable reserves and resources in excess of 57 million tons.

Mittal said that Concepts "proximity on adjacent coal properties to our recently acquired Mid Vol operations means we can draw on the strength of both companies in increasing the combined production capacity."

The CFO said that Mid Vols expertise lies in surface mining techniques, while that of Concept rests with underground mining methods.

"However, both operations have the potential for combining both practices. We look forward to integrating the Concept operations into the ArcelorMittal group," he added.