ArcelorMittal South Africa declares force majeure

ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) declared force majeure yesterday because civil unrest impacted logistics to and from its sites, as well as customer operations.

There has been widespread vandalism of vehicles, after civil unrest broke out in response to the jailing of former South African president Jacob Zuma on 7 July. The trucks of transport companies have been petrol bombed and stoned, while industrial warehouses have also been attacked. The KwaZulu-Natal rail corridor to and from Newcastle has also been affected, impacting transport of material into and out of AMSA, by both road and rail. KwaZulu-Natal province is Zuma's home state.

Some of the mill's customers have also closed to ensure the safety of personnel and their sites.

"Consequently, ArcelorMittal South Africa's ability to fulfil its contractual/delivery obligations has been affected by factors beyond the reasonable control of the company, which constitutes a force majeure event and, as such, ArcelorMittal South Africa has given notice of force majeure to its customers," the company told Argus.

AMSA has crude steel production of around 7mn t/yr across its four iron-making sites, equating to finished goods production of 4.8 mnt/yr. Over 60pc of its production is consumed domestically within South Africa.

The company has declared force majeure several times in the last few years. It did so in August 2020 after a blast furnace breakdown at its Newcastle site in KwaZulu-Natal, and again in April after the country's Covid-19 lockdown impacted operations.

By Colin Richardson