Reuters reported that the world's biggest steelmaker ArcelorMittal has delayed the launch of a planned USD 1.5 billion iron ore mine in Liberia as a result of falling demand.

Mr Arthur Massaquoi a company spokesman on a conference call with journalists traveling with a United Nations Security Council delegation to the West African country said that "If we cannot sell the iron ore it becomes difficult for us to continue on the pace that we thought we would be on by now.”

Mr Massaquoi said that "As a consequence of the global crisis after reviewing all of our operations we thought it would be necessary at this moment to slow down our operations.”

Mr Massaquoi said that "We earlier envisaged July of this year, then later on we thought it would not be feasible and we thought it will be next year.”

ArcelorMittal is a key investor in the poor former British colony whose President Ms Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has made attracting foreign investment into its natural resources a centre piece of her efforts to rebuild the country after a 1989-2003 civil war.

(Sourced from Thomson Reuters)