DAKAR – World number one steelmaker ArcelorMittal has restarted work on two West African iron-ore projects after suspending them last year, the firm said on Thursday.

The firm is developing iron-ore mines at Mount Nimba in Liberia and Faleme in Senegal, work which stopped in 2009 when prices of the steelmaking raw material fell as a result of lower demand amid the global recession.

The $1,5-billion Liberian project, suspended last May, is now due to start production in mid-2011.

No production timetable has yet been put in place for Faleme, a $2,2-billion project that was due to begin output in 2011, but work is under way on analysing infrastructure requirements.

"In line with our global strategy we slowed or delayed development of these projects due to the economic crisis last year and now a cautious market recovery is under way they've resumed," a company spokesman said in response to emailed questions.

Earlier this year, ArcelorMittal said it and BHP Billiton had started talks about the possibility of combining their iron ore assets in Liberia and neighbouring Guinea. Those talks are ongoing, the firm said on Thursday.

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