CSA, a steel mill joint-venture of Brazilian mining giant Companhia Vale do Rio Doce's (RIO) and Germany's ThyssenKrupp, is on schedule for completion in December, the Estado News Agency reported Thursday.

The information came from CSA's vice-president for contracts, Rodrigo Tostes, who said the first slab steel would be produced in December, despite the current economic crisis. By that time Tostes expects current global economic turbulence "to start being diluted."

CSA, also known as Companhia Siderurgica do Atlantico, will produce five million metric tons a year of the slabs, with 40% destined for the U.S. and 60% to Europe.

Full production is likely to be reached within nine months of startup, said Tostes.

In August last year, CSA postponed the production date startup from March to December 2009.

ThyssenKrupp has 90% of CSA stocks and Vale has the other 10%. The steel mill is budgeted at 4.5 billion euros.

-By John Kolodziejski, Dow Jones Newswires; 55-21-2586-6086; John.Kolodziejski@dowjones.com