Mytilineos Energy & Metals announced the signing of a deal with Imerys, a French firm, to acquire 100 per cent of the shares of Imerys Bauxites Greece Single Member Societe Anonyme for € 10 million euros. The deal pertains to all bauxite mining operations in the Fokida region, which will henceforth fall under the purview of Mytilineos' metallurgical division.
Mytilineos Chairman and CEO Evangelos Mytilineos said, "The agreement with Imerys, the world's leading supplier of mineral-based speciality solutions, for the acquisition of Imerys Bauxites, marks a new major chapter for Mytilineos' M Metals."
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This deal significantly reinforces M Metals since the bauxite production capacity of the mining operation currently accessible to Mytilineos via Delphi-Distomo, whose annual output totals 570,000 tonnes of ore, is enhanced. Mytilineos will purchase, but Imerys Bauxite will combine with the 100 per cent subsidiary Delphi-Distomon in a second stage, with a total output of more than 1.2 million tonnes while entirely using internal synergies.
This move completes M Metals' vertical integration. At the same time, 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 the company's long-term supply of its primary raw material at a time when most refineries in Europe are experiencing critical operational issues.
Aluminium of Greece, a pillar of Greek industry, has an annual production capacity of 1.2 million tonnes of bauxite (which will be significantly increased after the acquisition and investment in the mines), 865,000 tonnes of various qualities of alumina, 190,000 tonnes of value-added primary aluminium products, and 50,000 tonnes of recycled aluminium billets. The Aluminium of Greece factory is still among the lowest-cost aluminium manufacturers in the world since it is solidly in the top quartile of the global cost curve.
Furthermore, it manages to minimise 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 prime-quality Greek bauxites, through investments and pioneering European programmes, as well as proper management of bauxite residues.
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