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Try the Free AI Search EngineLiberia Iron Ore Boost Signals Stronger Steel Supply Chain in Africa
The African steel market is poised for growth following ArcelorMittal’s expansion in Liberia, as highlighted in news articles such as “ArcelorMittal inaugurates new iron ore concentrator in Liberia” and “ArcelorMittal opens a new concentrator in Liberia with a capacity of 20 million tons“. These developments coincide with stable but fluctuating activity levels at key steel plants in Egypt and South Africa, although a direct relationship between these plant activities and the Liberia developments cannot be explicitly established from the available data.
Across Africa, the mean steel plant activity has fluctuated, peaking at 43% in February 2025 and ending the observed period at 40%.
Suez Steel Solb Misr Attaka plant, an integrated DRI-EAF plant in Egypt with a crude steel capacity of 2.1 million tonnes, has shown relatively stable activity. The activity has remained at 24-26% without significant change, and no direct connection to the news articles regarding ArcelorMittal’s expansion can be established.
Ezz Flat Steel Ain Sokhna plant, also in Egypt, has a crude steel capacity of 2.3 million tonnes, relying on DRI-EAF technology to produce semi-finished and finished rolled products. Its activity gradually decreased from 51% in December 2024 to 40% in June 2025. No direct link between this trend and the news from Liberia can be established.
ArcelorMittal Vanderbijlpark Steel Works, a major integrated BF-BOF steel plant in South Africa with a 4.5 million tonnes crude steel capacity, showed an activity decrease from 49% in December 2024 to 41% by April 2025, recovering to 45% in June 2025. While “ArcelorMittal inaugurates new iron ore concentrator in Liberia” suggests increased iron ore availability, no direct correlation can be established between this news and the observed fluctuations at the Vanderbijlpark plant.
The inauguration of ArcelorMittal’s new iron ore concentrator in Liberia, as reported in “President of Liberia and Lakshmi Mittal celebrate new concentrator” and other articles, signifies a potential boost in the supply of high-quality iron ore. Considering this news, steel buyers should explore opportunities to secure long-term contracts for iron ore with ArcelorMittal Liberia, particularly focusing on DRI-quality concentrate as the company plans further expansion to 30 million tons. Analysts should closely monitor the impact of increased iron ore supply on regional steel prices and production costs, especially in relation to plants that source iron ore from ArcelorMittal.