Mytilineos Energy & Metals announced the signing of an agreement with the French company Imerys for the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Imerys Bauxites Greece Single Member Societe Anonyme for 10 million euros. The agreement concerns all bauxite mining activities in the Fokida area, which will now be part of Mytilineos’ metallurgy branch.
With this agreement, M Metals is significantly strengthened, as the bauxite production capacity of the mining activity already available to Mytilineos through Delphi-Distomo, whose annual production amounts to 570,000 tons of the ore, is increased. The acquisition is carried out by Mytilineos, but in a second stage, Imerys Bauxite will merge with the 100% subsidiary Delphi-Distomon, with a total production of more than 1.2 million tons while fully exploiting internal synergies.
This move completes M Metals’ vertical integration, while the historic Aluminium of Greece plant, the only fully vertically integrated bauxite, alumina and primary cast aluminium production unit in the European Union, with privately owned port facilities, ensures its long-term supply with its basic raw material, at a time when most refineries in Europe are facing vital operational problems.
As a pillar of Greek industry, Aluminium of Greece has an annual production capacity of 1.2 million tons of bauxite (which will be substantially increased further after the acquisition and the investments in the mines), 865,000 tons of various qualities of alumina, 190,000 tons of value-added primary aluminium products and 50,000 tons of recycled aluminium billets. In addition, through investments and pioneering European programs, and with the proper management of bauxite residues, it manages to minimize the environmental footprint of its industrial activity and creates additional value through the production of rare earths, such as scandium and of course gallium, materials found in the prime-quality Greek bauxites.
The Aluminium of Greece plant remains among the aluminium producers with the lowest cost worldwide, as it is firmly in the first quartile of the global cost curve.
Mytilineos Chairman and CEO Evangelos Mytilineos stated that “the agreement with Imerys, the world’s leading supplier of mineral-based specialty solutions, for the acquisition of Imerys Bauxites, marks a new major chapter for Mytilineos’ M Metals.”
Source: ekathimerini
