Between 1979 and 1985, the company faced one of the worst crises experienced by the iron and steel market, obliging it to participate in rationalisation of the iron industry on the Northern Shore of Québec, closing facilities in Lac-Jeannine, the town of Gagnon and the Fire Lake mine. Starting on January 1, 1985, Québec Cartier managed the pellet plant it acquired in 1996.  US Steel remained Québec Cartier’s only customer for close to 30 years. Sold to a consortium (Dofasco, Caemi and Mitsui) in 1989, the mining company entered the global market and from then on faced increasingly tough competition.  In the early Noughties, another major crisis swept through the iron and steel market. In 2003, Investissement Québec agreed to become a temporary shareholder of the company, which guaranteed continued operation of Mont-Wright.

The history of ArcelorMittal Mining Canada G.P. and ArcelorMittal Infrastructure Canada G.P. started on January 26, 1957, when the United States Steel Corporation (US Steel) founded Québec Cartier Mining Company to guarantee the supply of iron ore concentrate.  The multinational’s initial project cost 325 million $ with the help of some 9,000 workers from all over the world. It constructed the Lac-Jeannine mining site and town of Gagnon, a hydroelectric power station on the Hart-Jaune River, a railroad, port and developed the town of Port-Cartier. The first load of iron ore concentrate took to the sea in June 1961.

ArcelorMittal Mining Canada G.P. (AMEM) and ArcelorMittal Infrastructure Canada G.P. (AMIC) are two complementary companies operating in Québec’s North Shore region (Canada).  AMEM produces concentrate and iron oxide pellets for the steel market. AMIC provides it with the rail and port infrastructures to haul and ship its products to four continents.  They are both part of the mining sector of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel company and one of the 5 largest producers of iron ore worldwide.