Thursday, April 26, 2012

(MnG, REUTERS) Anglo gets rid of the weight on its shoulders

Anglo gets rid of the weight on its shoulders
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Apr 24 2012 11:27

Mining house Anglo American has sold the South African arm of steelmaker Scaw Metals for $440-million to an investment consortium in a long-awaited deal, bringing proceeds from its drive to divest non-core assets to $3.7-billion over two years.

The sale of Scaw South Africa, an integrated steelmaker which produces specialised components for mining, rail and other industrial sectors, was the last major element of a push to refocus Anglo on its core mining business.

Tuesday's sale, to a group led by South Africa's government-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and including a consortium of black economic empowerment (BEE) investors, virtually completes that 2009 divestment plan.

Anglo's last significant outstanding deal is the exit from its Tarmac construction materials business through the joint venture between Tarmac UK and cement maker Lafarge, agreed in 2011 but currently on ice pending a decision from British regulators which could come as early as next week.

Stifling competition

Britain's Competition Commission said in February that the joint venture between Anglo and Lafarge would damage competition in the market for construction materials but the companies have said the regulator's worries can be "remedied".

Anglo had sold Scaw Metals' international business to Onesteel in December 2010 for $932-million.

The sale of Scaw South Africa, to the consortium which includes existing Scaw investors Izingwe Holdings, Shanduka Resources and the Southern Palace group of companies, brings the total proceeds from the Scaw Metals Group sale to $1.4-billion.

Analysts welcomed the deal as a positive one, with Liberum placing the total Scaw proceeds as equivalent to 6.6 times the 2010 core earnings, the last year of Scaw's full contribution.

Anglo shares were up 0.5% at 2 307 pence, in line with the broader UK mining sector.

Other non-core assets sold over the past two years include Anglo's zinc portfolio, sold to India-focused miner Vedanta, Tarmac's European business and undeveloped Australian coal assets. -- Reuters

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Saturday, May 29, 2010

Gupta calls for a self-sufficient manufacturing industry

Gupta calls for a self-sufficient manufacturing industry
By Kabanda Chulu in Kitwe
Sat 29 May 2010, 04:00 CAT

SCAW Limited managing director Rameshwar Gupta has said there is need to make the Zambian manufacturing industry self-sufficient through innovation in order to sustain the current economic growth.

In an interview at the 53rd Copperbelt Mining, Agricultural and Commercial Show (CMACS), Gupta said Scaw Limited, which won four prizes at last year’s event, had recently commissioned two new plants for manufacturing of high chrome mill balls and deformed bars.

“As a major steel company in the country we want to build Zambia by making the local manufacturing industry self-sufficient through innovation in order to sustain the current economic growth and currently we are producing high chrome mill balls which are used for crushing copper ore at Mopani and Konkola Copper Mines and Kansanshi Mines Plc,” Gupta said.

“In order to support the mines in Zambia in reducing the cost of copper production, Scaw Limited is selling high chrome balls at 20 per cent cheaper the price of imported ones and our mill balls are manufactured under strict quality control procedures which include optical metal analysis for achieving the desired chemical composition, hardness and micro structure.”

He said Scaw Limited had recently installed a state-of-the-art induction furnace in order to expand its capacity to produce 24,000 metric tonnes of high chrome balls per annum.

“We have developed chilled cast low chrome grinding balls and these mill balls are most suitable for smaller mills being installed by small copper processing plants in Zambia and the DR Congo and these balls are produced under strict quality control procedures and have proven their superiority during tests conducted at KCM and Mopani mines,” said Gupta.

Scaw Limited is one of the largest manufacturer of grinding media, iron and steel castings in the region and the Foundry which is located in Kitwe has an installed capacity of 36,000 tonnes of grinding media and 5,000 tonnes of steel and iron castings per annum.

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