South32 looking at “various options” with Mozal stake

SOUTH32 said on Monday it was considering its options with respect to its 63.7% stake in the Mozal aluminium smelter in Mozambique amid speculation South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation was weighing a buy-out of the facility.“With Mozal Aluminium currently on care and maintenance, we are evaluating various options regarding the smelter and our interest in it,” a South32 spokesperson said in an email to Miningmx.Mozal was shut in March after South32 failed to agree a new power supply agreement with Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB) and Eskom. Mozal’s closure resulted in the loss of 5,000 direct jobs lost in Mozambique. Up to 4,000 jobs will be affected including contractors to Mozal which accounts for 3% of the country’s GDP.Last week, Business Day reported the IDC was seeking advisers about the possibilty of somehow applying its pre-emptive rights in the business in terms of its 31.4% stake, or introducing new partners. The third option was selling its stake.Citing IDC’s head of corporate affairs Tshepo Ramodibe, News24 said the corporation was indeed assessing a range of options. He declined to comment further.Outgoing South32 CEO Graham Kerr has said in the past it would be very difficult to restart the aluminium smelter was it was finally closed, which is why the group had placed it on care and maintenance. “We wouldn’t be looking to go into full closure mode until the HCB power contract and future was understood,” he told Miningmx in February.“Once they do come back online, they’ve got a lot of power and not a lot of offtakers. So this could become viable going forward,” he said. “The challenge, I would say, is that restarting a smelter after a number of years is very difficult. It’s not like a mine. So that’ll be a challenge.” The post South32 looking at “various options” with Mozal stake appeared first on Miningmx.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com