Kumba CEO ‘Working on Opportunities’ in West Africa Iron Ore

Kumba Iron Ore Ltd. (KIO), the fourth- largest supplier of seaborne iron ore, is “working on a number of opportunities” in West Africa to add new sources of revenue to its main mine.

Kumba would reconsider involvement in the Faleme project in Senegal, which it exited in 2007 after the government awarded it to ArcelorMittal (MT), should the asset become available, Chief Executive Officer Chris Griffith said in an interview today in Centurion, north of Johannesburg.

Senegal last year started arbitration proceedings at the International Chamber of Commerce against ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, claiming slow progress in developing Faleme. Kumba, which produced 94 percent of its ore at Sishen in South Africa last year, targets as much as 20 million metric tons of annual output from West Africa by 2020.

Kumba is looking for iron ore in West Africa in a joint venture with its majority shareholder Anglo American Plc. (AAL)

The iron-ore market is expected to be stronger in the second half of the year than the first, with iron-ore prices remaining steady in the quarter ending June, Griffith said.

Kumba declined 3.5 percent to 528 rand at the 5 p.m. close in Johannesburg.