{"id":45750,"date":"2023-11-02T19:08:28","date_gmt":"2023-11-02T18:08:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/?p=45750"},"modified":"2023-11-02T19:16:34","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T18:16:34","slug":"kazakhstan-stops-investment-agreement-with-arcelormittal-after-deadly-explosion-in-kostenko-mine-takes-46-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/kazakhstan\/kazakhstan-stops-investment-agreement-with-arcelormittal-after-deadly-explosion-in-kostenko-mine-takes-46-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"Kazakhstan stops investment agreement with ArcelorMittal after deadly explosion in Kostenko mine takes 46 lives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>On the evening of Saturday October 28<sup>th<\/sup>, a fire broke out in the Kostenko mine at a depth of 700 metres, followed by an explosion of a methane-air mixture. 201 of 252 miners on shift were able to exit on their own, 24 of whom had injuries and needed medical help. The rescue operation continued till Tuesday, October 31<sup>st<\/sup>, when the last body was discovered. All 46 of the missing miners have been found dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Notorious employer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Kostenko mine, along with 7 other coal mines in Kazakhstan, belongs to ArcelorMittal Temirtau, a company notorious for its security negligence. Apart from mines it also has Central Asia\u2019s largest metallurgical plant, a mining and processing plant, four iron ore enterprises, two heat and power plants, a pipe plant and several auxiliary enterprises in its portfolio, that <a href=\"https:\/\/inbusiness.kz\/ru\/author_news\/kak-prodavalas-stal-24-goda-nazad-mittal-prakticheski-darom-poluchil-karmet\">were obtained<\/a> with huge preferences during the privatisation campaign of the mid-1990s. Many of them had issues with safety and fatal accidents in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The current mine explosion is the deadliest in recent history for Kazakhstan, but it is not the first. Since 2006, <a href=\"https:\/\/tengrinews.kz\/kazakhstan_news\/krupneyshie-avarii-arselormittal-temirtau-poslednie-15-let-515044\/\">more than 150 people<\/a> have lost their lives working for companies belonging to AMT JSC. In 2022 alone there have been <a href=\"https:\/\/newtimes.kz\/obshchestvo\/159051-v-2022-godu-pochti-kazhdyj-mesyac-na-arselormittaltemirtau-gibli-lyudi-obzor-proisshestvij\">six deadly occurrences<\/a> in various companies and mines belonging to ArcelorMittal Temirtau \u2013 which resulted in 13 deaths. The most recent tragedy occurred in August 2023, when 5 workers died at the Kazakhstanskaya mine when conveyor belt caught fire. The governmental commission <a href=\"https:\/\/www.interfax.ru\/world\/921251\">determined<\/a> a \u201c<em>100% fault of the employer.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"hp-newsletter col-span-3 lg:col-span-1 flex flex-col bg-primary-100 border-t-8 border-secondary-500 rounded-lg justify-center items-center lg:items-stretch px-6 py-6 gap-4 box-border\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"flex\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"enveloppe\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"far fa-envelope text-5xl text-secondary-300\"><\/i>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"formulaire_nl\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"font-bold text-xl block\">The whole of Central Asia in your inbox\n<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSubscribe to our free weekly newsletter\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<form class=\"flex w-3\/4 lg:w-full\" action=\"https:\/\/us4.list-manage.com\/subscribe?u=6a15a2256d412b041fdec39e8&amp;id=d479236523\" method=\"post\" id=\"mc-embedded-subscribe-form\" name=\"mc-embedded-subscribe-form\" class=\"validate\" target=\"_blank\" novalidate=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"flex-grow py-2 px-3 border border-primary-300 rounded-l\" type=\"email\" placeholder=\"Email\" name=\"EMAIL\" id=\"mce-EMAIL\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"bg-secondary-500 py-2 px-3 text-white rounded-r-md border border-secondary-500\" type=\"submit\" value=\"\" name=\"subscribe\">Register<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/form>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#\" class=\"underline text-secondary-700\">Click here for the latest issue\n<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><!-- newsletter -->\n\t\t\n\n\n\n<p>In the company\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcelormittal.kz\/press-tsentr\/news\/informatsionnoe-soobshchenie-29-10\/\">latest statement<\/a> from October 29, 2023, following the last explosion in the Kostenko mine, ArcelorMittal Temirtau mentions that \u201c<em>the company has made significant efforts, which have been further strengthened since 2020, to improve safety performance at ArcelorMittal Temirtau&#8217;s operations.<\/em>\u201d But this seems a rather bleak attempt to restore the company image by blaming the \u201ccomplex geology\u201d of the mines that complicates their operation while the voices have been raised repeatedly about the emergency conditions over the last few years. Workers in the Karaganda region, where the mines are located, <a href=\"https:\/\/rus.azattyq.org\/a\/kazakhstan-arcelormittal-fire-at-mine-dozens-dead\/32657579.html\">continuously tried<\/a> to improve labour conditions and mentioned the company\u2019s focus on profit with disregard to the miners safety in their appeals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But mines are not the only dangerous enterprise. Emergency conditions at the factories are widely known, though the company itself never issued any statements mentioning it. In 2018, <a href=\"https:\/\/inbusiness.kz\/ru\/news\/v-arselormittal-temirtau-opyat-obvalilas-krysha\">there were<\/a> three cases of collapse of roofs and floor slabs at factories, a collapse of the walls of a closed coal storage facility, and a <a href=\"https:\/\/inbusiness.kz\/ru\/news\/eto-uzhe-ne-zvonok-mittalu-eto-nabat\">massive explosion at the gas pipeline<\/a> \u2013 all owned by the ArcelorMittal Temirtau and its subsidiaries. In 2019 there was another accident with a deformation and collapsed roof at the metallurgic plant. In 2021, two floor slabs with a total area of 72 square metres collapsed in the forge and press shop of Kurylysmet LLP, a subsidiary of AMT. There were no casualties or injuries, but the conditions and company\u2019s attitude towards workers\u2019 safety have not improved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ArcelorMittal was <a href=\"https:\/\/orda.kz\/zhertvy-arselormittal-temirtau-kto-otvetit-za-mertvyh-i-zaplatit-ostavshimsja-v-zhivyh-376357\/\">continuously fined and disciplined<\/a> for negligence, failure to comply with safety regulations, failure to submit the mandatory tax declaration, and polluting the environment. In November 2022, after another catastrophe that took lives of 5 workers, the president of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, <a href=\"https:\/\/newtimes.kz\/vlast\/159246-prezident-zayavil-o-sistemnom-haraktere-tragedij-na-predpriyatii-arselormittal-temirtau\">mentioned<\/a> that the company has systemic problems, and \u201c<em>despite repeated warnings and instructions from state authorities, the situation is not getting better.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A search for an inland investor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At the meeting with family members of the miners on October 28 the president of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, <a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/aqorda_resmi\/13007\">said<\/a> that the government will withdraw from co-operation with ArcelorMittal Temirtau: \u201c<em>I have instructed to stop the investment co-operation with ArcelorMittal Temirtau. This company has turned out to be the worst in our history in terms of cooperation with the government and enterprise.<\/em>\u201d ArcelorMittal Temirtau issued <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcelormittal.kz\/en\/press-tsentr\/news\/company-statement\/\">a statement<\/a> on October 28 to confirm that the company \u201c<em>recently signed a preliminary agreement for a transaction that will transfer ownership to the Republic of Kazakhstan.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The government also <a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/KZgovernment\/8191\">stated<\/a> that \u201c<em>subsequent transfer of AMT JSC to other foreign investors is not considered.\u201d<\/em> However, in a long-term, the state is not planning to invest into the development of the company. \u201c<em>We have no plans for the state to be the owner and invest budget money. We [\u2026] must attract a private investor, and they must invest at least 3 billion dollars in the next three years. Without such investments, the enterprise will not be able to develop normally,<\/em>\u201d prime minister Alikhan Smailov <a href=\"https:\/\/vlast.kz\/novosti\/57399-novyj-investor-dolzen-vlozit-v-predpriatie-arselormittal-temirtau-3-mlrd-soobsil-premer-ministr.html\">said<\/a> at the briefing in Majilis. 1.3 billion dollars will have to be invested immediately to ensure \u201c<em>resolvement of industrial and labour safety issues, modernisation of all equipment and expansion of production.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For now, the company will stay a state property. The president appointed Vadim Basin, Deputy head of Karaganda Region, as head the coal department of ArcelorMittal Temirtau.<\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>For more news and analysis from Central Asia, follow us on <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/Novastan_Eng\">Twitter<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Novastan.org\/\">Facebook<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/telegram.me\/novastan\">Telegram<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/fondation-novastan\/\">Linkedin<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/novastanorg\/\">Instagram<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On the evening of Saturday October 28th, a fire broke out in the Kostenko mine at a depth of 700 metres, followed by an explosion of a methane-air mixture. 201 of 252 miners on shift were able to exit on their own, 24 of whom had injuries and needed medical help. The rescue operation continued till Tuesday, October 31st, when the last body was discovered. All 46 of the missing miners have been found dead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1579,"featured_media":45751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4666,4,4665,4668],"tags":[2830],"coauthors":[4517],"class_list":["post-45750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economics","category-kazakhstan","category-politics","category-society","tag-arcelormittal"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1579"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45750"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45754,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45750\/revisions\/45754"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45750"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=45750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}