Canada fines ArcelorMittal most ever, $100M for Quebec water pollution  

The Canadian mining unit of steelmaker ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) has been fined $100 million (US$72.5 million), the most ever by Ottawa, for polluting waterways in Quebec. 

The Court of Quebec ruled this month $1 million each for 100 infractions of the federal Fisheries Act from May 2014 to May 2022, Environment and Climate Change Canada said in a news release. The company, whose parent is based in Luxembourg, pleaded guilty. 

The ArcelorMittal unit, the largest Canadian supplier of iron ore to the global steel market, released zinc and nickel effluents that are toxic to fish from its Mont-Wright complex and Fire Lake mine in the Fermont region about 750 km northeast of Montreal. Most of the incidents occurred before 2018. 

“I am confident that the measures we have taken will prevent such situations from recurring,” ArcelorMittal Mining Canada CEO Mapi Mobwano said in a statement. “We are committed to improving the environmental performance of our operations.” 

Action plan

In addition to the fine, the court ordered the company to reimburse the cost of the investigation, nearly $250,000. And ArcelorMittal must produce a detailed action plan by February specifying effluent management steps for the Mont-Wright and Fire Lake mining complexes, and measures for mine drainage at Mont-Wright.  

The entire fine save $100 is being directed to the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund to support projects that have a positive impact on the country’s natural environments. 

Shares in ArcelorMittal are the strongest in 15 years, closing at US$69.55 apiece on Thursday in New York. The company has a market capitalization of US$53.1 billion ($73.2 million). 

Probe

The investigations, which began in 2018, found the pollution occurred because of poor planning and mitigation, and the lack of robust effluent treatment systems. The affected waterways included Petite rivière Manicouagan and Lac Irène, and tributaries of Lac Saint-Ange.

The Lac Saint-Ange sub-watershed is a significant tributary of the rivière Moisie, which is a proposed provincial aquatic reserve. 

“ArcelorMittal has invested over $400 million in extensive permanent water control and treatment infrastructure designed to address operational and environmental water management challenges both on and around its sites,” the company said.   

“The communities near our operating sites are extremely important to us, and we will continue to ensure that we are making the right decisions to protect the environment.”