ArcelorMittal to build Iraq steel mill

BRUSSELS | The world's largest steel maker ArcelorMittal SA says it plans to build a steel mill in Sulaimaniyah in northern Iraq with Turkey's Dayen.

It says the mini-mill will be run on an electric furnace to turn locally sourced scrap metal into some 250,000 metric tons per year of steel rebars, which are used by builders to reinforce concrete. Output could eventually double.

In a Tuesday statement, the companies said they are investing between $100 million and $130 million in the plant. Construction is due to start in the second quarter of this year. The plant will start work early in the fourth quarter of 2011.