Mittal says fire damages Indiana steel plant

NEW YORK, May 2 (Reuters) A fire halted production at an Indiana steel plant run by Mittal Steel Co. NV last Friday, causing significant damage that could shut output for a month, the company said today.

No one was seriously hurt when a ladle descended unexpectedly late Friday and dumped more than 200 tons of molten iron to the shop floor, the steelmaker said. Insurance is expected to cover damage and the company is trying to minimize the impact on customer supplies.

A preliminary assessment showed that some of the plant's steel production will be down for about 30 days, which translates into about 300,000 tons of steelmaking.

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