ArcelorMittal selling some Canadian assets

Steelmaking giant ArcelorMittal, suffering from a sharp fall of demand for steel in Europe, said on Wednesday that it had sold 15 percent of its iron ore mines in Canada for $1.1 billion to rival companies Posco of South Korea and China Steel Corporation of Taiwan.

The transaction, for the cash equivalent of 828,000 euros, will be settled in the first and second quarters of 2013, Arcelor Mittal said in a statement.

The assets concerned are about 100 kilometres wide and 1,100 kilometres long (62 by 687 miles) and lie astride the border between Quebec and Labrador provinces.

This region is the focus of several big investments by leading mining companies such as Rio Tinto and Cliffs Natural Resources.

Under the terms of the deal, Posco and CSC will receive part of the output from the resource in line with their stakes.

The consortium which will acquire the assets being sold by ArcelorMittal includes also some financial investors who were not identified.