MOSCOW, September 12 (RAPSI) - Steel and mining giant ArcelorMittal released a statement Wednesday acknowledging that it had lost to Senegal in arbitration proceedings centering on a 2007 iron ore mining and infrastructure agreement gone bad.

According to the statement, Senegal and ArcelorMittal Holdings AG entered into an agreement in 2007 relating to an “integrated iron ore mining and related infrastructure project.”

Due to some combination of events including – according to the statement – findings “showing the asset to be less attractive/of a lower quality than originally envisaged,” the project did not reach implementation.

The parties attempted to settle the dispute via a conciliation procedure in 2011, but failed to achieve an agreeable outcome. Then in May 2011, Senegal launched arbitration proceedings in the Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce.

According to the statement released by ArcelorMittal Wednesday, “[t]he arbitral Tribunal has now issued its first award and decided that Senegal is entitled to terminate the 2007 agreements.”

Next, the tribunal has indicated that it will hold a new phase of arbitration to determine ArcelorMittal’s liability and Senegal’s damages award. According to the statement, “ArcelorMittal will vigorously defend against any claims made for damages in the second phase of the arbitration.”

ArcelorMittal refers to itself as the world’s leading steel and mining company, boasting an annual production capacity of 119 million tons.