The presence of iron ore in the regions around Kryvyi Rih has been confirmed since at least 1781 and was rumored to have existed long before[1] by generations of inhabitants.

In 1881, industrial extraction of iron ore began, alongside other developments such as the construction of the Kryvyi Rih railway.

[3] In 1931, the chairman of the Supreme Economic Council of the USSR, Grigori (Sergo) Ordzhonikidze, signed a decree ordering the construction of the facility; that same year, the foundation stone of the metallurgical plant was laid.

Kryvyi Rih coking plant[8] (Криворізький коксохімічний завод (ККХЗ)) was included in the group in 1997,[7] forming "Novokrivorozhsky mining and processing combine and Kryvyi Rih coking plant" (Новокриворізький гірничо-збагачувальний комбінат і Криворізький коксохімічний завод «Криворіжсталь»), or Kryvoriszhstal.

[7] This consortium included Rinat Akhmetov's SCM and Interpipe Group,[11] controlled by then-President Kuchma's son-in-law Viktor Pinchuk.

[10] On the initiative of newly elected President Viktor Yushchenko, the privatization deal was dismissed by a court in June 2005, and the company sold again in a fair auction.

[14] The bidding process was broadcast live on Ukrainian television,[10] with Arcelor, Mittal Steel Company and Vadim Novinsky's Smart Holdings bidding - Mittal Steel Company was the highest bidder and acquired a 93.02 percent stake in Kryvorizhstal on 24 October 2005, for ₴ 24.2 billion, or US$4.81 billion.

[10] Mittal Steel was expected to finance the acquisition from its own cash reserves and from a $3 billion loan arranged with UK based Citigroup.

[citation needed] In 2006, the company was renamed Mittal Steel Kryvyi Rih[15] (Ukrainian : ВАТ «Міттал Стіл Кривий Ріг»), and later in 2007, after the takeover of Arcelor by Mittal steel to form ArcelorMittal, the company was renamed ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih.