IN BRIEF (Page 17)

ArcelorMittal plan

ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steelmaker, may buy more mines in 2010 to increase its supply of iron ore as prices for the raw material used to make the metal are expected to rebound.

Acquisitions "will be part of the mix next year," said Bill Scotting, ArcelorMittal's head of strategy. Expanding mines and developing projects will also be part of its drive to be more self-sufficient, he said. The Luxembourg-based company supplies about half its iron ore needs and plans to raise the share to 75 percent to 85 percent by 2014, he said. Lakshmi Mittal, ArcelorMittal's chief executive officer and 41 percent shareholder, has added mining assets in Brazil and Russia since Mittal Steel Co bought Arcelor SA in 2006 in the steel industry's biggest takeover.