Kazakhstan urges ArcelorMittal to improve safety

ASTANA, April 3 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's authorities urged ArcelorMittal (ISPA.AS) on Thursday to improve safety standards at its Kazakh facilities or risk having its activities terminated.

An explosion one of its Kazakh mines killed 30 miners in January. A blast at another mine killed 43 workers in 2006. Two earlier blasts, in 2002 and 2004, left more than 30 people dead.

"Our checks have shown that at eight mines belonging to its (local) coal department, 70 percent of equipment is below industrial safety standards," Saparbek Nurpeisov, a General Prosecutor's Office spokesman, told reporters.

He said ArcelorMittal Temirtau, Kazakhstan's sole steel mill, was still using equipment dating back to 1948 but added that the company's management was aware of the problems and was working to eliminate them.

"Work is being done but we think it is not enough," he said.

ArcelorMittal Temirtau, which exports most of its output to Russia, Iran and China, could not be reached for comment.

Kazakhstan has alarmed some foreign investors operating in the resource-rich nation over past years by toughening up its legislation and seeking to strengthen the state's role in key sectors.

Mining accidents are commonplace in the former Soviet Union, where safety practices tend to be below those observed at Western mines. Explosions in coal mines are most often the result of a build-up of methane gas. (Reporting by Raushan Nurshayeva; Writing by Maria Golovnina; Editing by Paul Bolding)