JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Australia-listed company Gulf Manganese has bought two ferromanganese smelting furnaces from South Africa-based Transalloys for its smelting hub in Kupang, Indonesia.
Gulf will buy the two furnaces and related equipment for $1-million cash, while supplying Transalloys with up to 30 000 t/y of high-grade ore for three years.
The smelters will be shipped from their current location in South Africa in October, and are expected to arrive in Kupang in November.
Gulf MD Hamish Bohannan commented on Monday that the acquisition was a key milestone for Gulf and represented a significant step forward in its evolution as a leading manganese alloy producer.
Speaking to Mining Weekly Online, Transalloys procurement head Annatjie Greyling said that the sale was spurred by the fact that the furnaces had not been in use for almost a decade.
“These furnaces are focused on mid-carbon manganese production, while Transalloys has shifted its focus on producing high-carbon manganese,” she added.
Specialist engineering firm XRAM Technologies has been engaged to undertake all design and construction requirements associated with the refurbishment and relocation of the furnaces to the Kupang smelting hub, in Indonesia, which is expected to incur minimal costs.