Kumba Iron Ore (KIO) last week conceded ground when it acquiesced to an interim iron ore pricing agreement with ArcelorMittal South Africa (Amsa). The agreement, which came after an emergency meeting between the two companies’ ceos and top level government ministers, will see KIO cut the proposed cost of iron ore to Amsa’s inland plants. Once the deal had been sealed, the steelmaker said it will continue to operate its Saldanha steel mill after it threatened to close it the week before. For now, it seems, Amsa’s brinkmanship has paid off. But this is only the latest chapter in the long and complicated story of the relationship between the two companies. It is a tale that begins with the sale of state-owned miner and steelmaker Iscor to Mittal Steel, a process which began in 2001. The unbundling of Iscor’s steelmaking and mining assets eventually saw KIO, a subsidiary of Anglo...