SA weighs eleventh hour plan to save ferrochrome smelters

SOUTH Africa’s ferroalloy industry has tabled an electricity pricing proposal requiring no government or Eskom subsidies, said News24 on Thursday.Ferrochrome producers including Glencore and Samancor Chrome have submitted plans allowing embattled smelters to continue operating whilst a longer-term sustainable pricing arrangement is finalised. The proposal involves lower power prices through a mechanism that does not rely on Eskom or government subsidies.Electricity and energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa and Eskom are evaluating the submission, which emerged as a last-ditch effort after government failed to provide adequate intervention, said News24.South African smelters have lost competitiveness following electricity tariff increases exceeding 900 per cent since 2007, pushing power costs to 60% of production expenses, said the publication. The crisis has left 12 terawatt hours of production capacity idle whilst another seven terawatt hours have disappeared since 2020, eliminating an estimated 350,000 jobs and significant Eskom revenues.Cabinet approved an intervention plan in June 2025 identifying discounted electricity tariffs as key to stabilising the ferrochrome sector. However, Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture said on 1 December that Eskom’s solution remains inadequate, with only its Lion facility expected to continue operating. Retrenchment notices would become binding on 8 December without a sustainable resolution.The Ferro Alloys Producers Association declined to provide further details whilst awaiting approval from Ramokgopa and Eskom, expected within days, said News24. Implementation requires agreement between the minister and utility on an appropriate pricing framework.The proposal aims to bridge operations whilst smelters explore longer-term remedies, including renewable energy procurement to reduce Eskom dependence and mitigate exposure to carbon-border levies such as the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.Industry representatives dismissed proposed chrome ore export taxes as ineffective, insisting globally competitive electricity prices remain the only meaningful intervention to restart mothballed furnaces.The post SA weighs eleventh hour plan to save ferrochrome smelters appeared first on Miningmx.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com