Mittal Steel South Africa

ArcelorMittal South Africa is part of the steel company Arcelor-Mittal. The company was originally Iscor Ltd., a South African parastatal steel company. It was founded in 1928 and was first listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in 1989.

Hendrik van der Bijl, one of the most influential South Africans of the twentieth century, was the driving force behind the establishment of the South African Iron and Steel Industrial Corp. (Iscor).

Iscor, with its first works in Pretoria built by the German Demag, was established as a state company in terms of the Iron and Steel Industry Act, No. 11 of 1928. The objectives of establishing the company were to produce iron and a range of steel products, and to create employment opportunities.

Production at the Pretoria plant started in 1934. On 4 April 1934 the first steel was tapped from the open-hearth furnace at the Pretoria Works. Wartime needs for steel and the local manufacture of numerous necessities brought about a sharp increase in demand. Iscor had to expand, and the Pretoria works had reached their limit of growth.

In 1941 Dr. van der Bijl and his fellow directors decided that expansion in a new area had become necessary. The idea of a new steelworks in Vereeniging was revived. For the immediate war needs it was decided to begin by building a plate rolling mill planned in such a way that it could later form part of a large integrated steelworks.

The situation of the terrain along the Vaal River west of Vereeniging made it ideal for development. There was sufficient slope for drainage towards the river and the area was downstream from the Rand Water Board's pumping station intake. The heavy industries could be suitably sited on relatively high ground in a position where the prevailing winds would minimise the dangers of pollution. Dr. van der Bijl convinced the directors of Iscor that the area beside the Vaal River was the obvious site for Iscor's new steelworks.

After the discovery of iron ore at Thabazimbi, the African Metals Corp. (Amcor) was established near Vereeniging in 1937. The erection of the Plate Mill was completed in 1943 and went into production the same year. Iscor started trading in 1947.

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