Transalloys Threatens Closure Over Tariffs

Transalloys, the last manganese smelter in South Africa, is facing potential closure and the retrenchment of approximately 600 employees if the upcoming National Budget does not provide meaningful electricity tariff relief. CEO Konstantin Sadovnik has warned that escalating tariffs have made ore beneficiation in South Africa uncompetitive, despite the country holding 80% of the world's known manganese resources. While ferrochrome smelters like Glencore and Samancor have received some tariff reductions from the South Africa===National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), silicomanganese smelting, which is 30% more energy-intensive, has not. Transalloys is advocating for a 62c per kilowatt-hour tariff, similar to globally competitive rates, to prevent the loss of a R5 billion strategic asset and the estimated 7,000 livelihoods at risk. The company has been engaging with Eskom and the South African government since October last year to find a solution, emphasizing that electricity pricing reform is an investment in preserving productive capacity and strengthening the national balance sheet.