Transalloys shutdown ’threatens South Africa’s manganese industry’

At least 600 jobs and another 7,000 livelihoods are at risk after South Africa’s last remaining manganese smelter stopped operations.

Operations suspended

Transalloys says it had no choice but to shut down its furnaces [in Mpumalanga] after years of financial losses and high electricity costs.

Chief Executive Konstantin Sadovnik has called on the government and Eskom to intervene before the current suspension becomes permanent.

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He warned that unless a sustainable solution is agreed to and implemented by the end of the month, the company’s unlikely to survive winter.

“Transalloys has now reached the point where continuing to operate would simply accelerate our own collapse. We have exhausted every option available to us operationally while engaging Eskom, the government and the regulators, and there are still significant points of difference between them and us. We have now had to stop our production entirely.

“South Africa will lose its last manganese smelter, thousands of livelihoods and decades of industrial capability. Once those furnaces go cold permanently, which is a near-term reality, there is no turning back.”

Cosatu demands intervention

Meanwhile, trade union federation Cosatu says the government needs to find an urgent solution to prevent the closure.

Spokesperson Matthew Parks says the country can’t afford to lose so many jobs.

“It would mark a massive setback for South Africa’s efforts to re-industrialise the economy, expand local beneficiation, and nurture value chains. It is critical that Trans Alloys, Eskom, and the Departments of Electricity, Energy, Trade, Industry and Competition meet and pull out all stops to find solutions to this long-simmering crisis.

“Closure of this smelter cannot be an option.”

Source: https://www.ecr.co.za/news/news/transalloys-shutdown-threatens-sa-manganese-industry/