Diversified mining company South32 has placed the manganese alloys Metalloys smelter in Meyerton, Gauteng, on temporary care and maintenance.
The Sydney- and Johannesburg-listed company stated in its June 2020 quarterly report on Monday that it had taken this decision after consideration of the future economic viability of Metalloys.
The temporary closure came against the background of manganese alloy saleable production decreasing by 23%, or 16 000 t, to 53 000 t in financial year 2020 (FY20).
South32, headed by CEO Graham Kerr, also progressed the review of its Australian manganese alloy smelter, Temco, and the company expects to book related pretax, noncash impairment charges of $109-million in its FY20 financial results. One-off, pretax restructuring costs, including redundancies, at Metalloys of $7-million are also anticipated.