The President of Mauritania received Lakshmi Mittal in an audience on September 29.
The Mauritanian government today addressed rumors about the possible sale of the National Industrial and Mining Society (SNIM) and stated that there are no plans to divest the state's stake in it.
The Minister of Petroleum and Mines, Mohamed El Moctar Ould Mohamed El Hacen, added that "no decision can be made (regarding the potential sale) without consultation in Parliament."
The leader of the Mauritanian opposition, Ahmed Ould Daddah, had expressed yesterday, the 9th, his "concern" about the possibility of a sale of the State's 78,35 percent stake in the mining company.
The minister added today that a strategic study has begun at SNIM to determine "how it is evolving in relation to the global environment and situation."
On September 29, the President of Mauritania, Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, received Lakshimi Mittal, president of the Indian multinational steel company Mittal, in an audience, according to some Mauritanian media, to negotiate the purchase of SNIM, for which he may have offered around 700 million dollars.
SNIM is considered the most important company in the country and has a production of between 10 and 11 million tons of iron.
The Mauritanian company's export market is mainly in France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Spain, Algeria, China and Great Britain.
Regarding the possibilities of SNIM, the Mauritanian minister commented today that his country's government believes that "it is necessary to act quickly while the situation is favorable in order to preserve the company, increase its production, develop its mining activities and produce induced effects on growth."
The minister insisted that "the SNIM will remain Mauritanian."
Among the company's projects currently underway is the one signed with the Australian company Sphere, to produce pellets for the Middle Eastern market, as well as the agreement with the Saudi company SABIC and the Qatari company Qasco in the same field.
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