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ArcelorMittal has found a buyer for its idled Georgetown Steelworks facility in South Carolina. European steel company Liberty House Group will purchase the operation, which houses a 600,000-ton-per-year electric arc furnace and a 750,000-ton rod mill.

“We have achieved our goal of identifying a purchaser with extensive steel experience and a commitment to returning this site to its steelmaking capability. We hope the community will welcome this opportunity that will preserve the facility and equipment and create good jobs with good wages,” says John Brett, president and CEO of ArcelorMittal USA.

The facility, which opened in 1968, was idled in August 2015. Once the deal is completed, the mill will give Liberty its first foothold in North America. “This is a key first step for us in the USA. We’re keen to apply the same low-carbon Greensteel vision here as we are doing in the UK. Acquiring the plant at Georgetown, with its ability to recycle scrap steel in an arc furnace, gives us a strong platform from which to launch our strategy in the USA. We’re confident that, with the right support from the community and authorities, we can make Georgetown and other U.S. steel plants competitive, profitable and sustainable," says Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of the Liberty House Group.

Liberty House has also been in discussions with the United Steelworkers and is confident the union will support and assist in the process of recruiting a workforce to re-open the plant and rebuild the business.