Trafigura buys Germany's Ecobat Stolberg lead plant (updated)

Nyrstar NV

06/07/2022 13:22

(Add detail, expected production restart)
    HAMBURG, July 6 (Reuters) - Trafigura has bought German lead
plant Ecobat Resources Stolberg (ERS), also known as Berzelius
Stolberg, the global commodities group said on Wednesday.
    The Ecobat plant was among several German industrial units
damaged by massive flooding in the country's west and south last
year and suffered months of lost production, declaring force
majeure on its contracts.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2OX0RV  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2UJ0BG 
    “The plant has been under repair since a major flood event
occurred in July 2021,” Trafigura said. “The restoration
programme is scheduled to be completed in the third quarter of
2022.”
    The Stolberg plant will be operated and managed by
Trafigura's Nyrstar  NYR.BR , Trafigura said without providing
financial details of the transaction.
    The Stolberg smelter largely supplies European battery
producers with lead. It produces about 155,000 tonnes of lead
annually and more than 100 different specifications of lead
alloys plus 130,000 tonnes of sulphuric acid, the statement
said.
    “Combining the Stolberg plant with Nyrstar, which operates
three European zinc smelters within a 300 km radius of the
Stolberg plant, offers a unique opportunity to leverage several
of Nyrstar’s by-products as feed material for the Stolberg
multi-metal business," Nyrstar CEO Daniel Vanin said in the
statement.
     The business will offer "locally produced strategic
materials to Europe’s critical growth markets with a reduced
carbon footprint and increased efficiency”, he added.
    The transaction is expected to complete in the third
quarter.
    “The sale of ERS is consistent with our strategy to
concentrate on our core business of battery recycling and
represents a significant step in the rationalisation of our
portfolio,” said Ecobat CEO Marcus Randolph.

 (Reporting by Michael Hogan, Pratima Desai and Julia Payne
Editing by David Goodman)
 ((michael.j.hogan@thomsonreuters.com; +49 172 671 36 54;
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