Mozal

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Mozal
legal form Holding company
founding 1998
Seat MozambiqueMozambiqueMaputo , Mozambique
Number of employees 1,200 (2006)
sales EUR 2 billion (2006)
Branch metallurgy
Website www.mozal.com

The aluminum smelter Mozal or MOZAL is an industrial plant for the smelting of aluminum in Mozambique . The plant, which was built between 1998 and 2000, produces 1.3 percent of the world's aluminum demand and is of great importance for South African foreign trade.

Location and logistics

The company premises with an area of ​​approximately 2,500 hectares are located in the Beluluane Industrial Park , 17 kilometers from the capital Maputo . The processed concentrate from the bauxite of the Worsley mines in Western Australia , also from the Worsley aluminum oxide refinery for production in Matola, is supplied via South Africa . a. exported mainly to Asia and Europe via the port area in Matola .

history

The company's planning began in London in May 1998 , after the global light metal supply from the older aluminum smelting plants ( Bayside and Hillside ) in the South African port of Richards Bay had proven to be expandable.

The project envisaged the construction and operation of an aluminum smelter with a production volume of 250,000 tons and an expansion option to a total of 506,000 tons. BHP Billiton and Mitsubishi have technical and economic responsibility for the project. The Development Bank of Southern Africa and the state-owned South African energy supplier Eskom initiated the expansion of the transport and energy infrastructure for the project. Energy is provided by the IDC- supported Mozambique Transmission Company Sarl. (MOTRACO) about Swaziland . MOTRACO is a joint venture of three state energy suppliers, those from Mozambique ( EDM ), South Africa (Eskom) and Eswatini ( Eswatini Electricity Company ).

For South Africa this foreign investment represents a political showcase project within the framework of the promotion of regional integration in southern Africa and it is intended to serve the economic stabilization of Mozambique. In addition, the Mozambican state is a minority shareholder in the company.

The smelter started production in December 2000. In 2003 the 1 millionth ton of aluminum was completed. On August 20, 2003, Mozal II started production, whereby the production volume could be doubled to over 500,000 tons of aluminum per year. With this capacity, Mozal is one of the largest aluminum producers in the world. In October 2007, the three millionth tonne of aluminum was produced by Mozal.

With the expansion in 2003, the shareholders were still BHP Billiton (47%, operator), Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan (25%), the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (24%) and the government of Mozambique (4%).

The German investment and development company is involved in the financing with two loans totaling around EUR 30 million. Overall financing partners involved are:

In 2006 the company had around 1,200 permanent employees.

Controversy

In 2010, the company came under fire for months of not switching on filters to trap highly toxic hydrogen fluoride , fluorocarbons , dust and sulfuric acid , as the smoke treatment centers were in need of renovation. The Environment Minister of Mozambique justified her decision to approve the bypassing of the filter systems despite a petition submitted by 14,000 residents , with the risk that the system and the chimney could collapse. Then the gas would spread near the ground, said the environment minister.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Leon Gilbert Pretorius: The political economy of South African foreign direct investment in Mozambique: a case study of Mozal and its implications for development in Mozambique and Southern Africa . Dissertation at the University of Western Cape, Cape Town 2005, p. 130 (PDF document p. 144). online at www.etd.uwc.ac.za (English)
  2. ^ Leon Gilbert Pretorius: The political economy of South African foreign direct investment in Mozambique: a case study of Mozal and its implications for development in Mozambique and Southern Africa . Dissertation at the University of Western Cape, Cape Town 2005, pp. 133-136 (PDF document pp. 147-150). online at www.etd.uwc.ac.za (English)
  3. ^ Leon Gilbert Pretorius: The political economy of South African foreign direct investment in Mozambique: a case study of Mozal and its implications for development in Mozambique and Southern Africa . Dissertation at the University of Western Cape, Cape Town 2005. online at www.etd.uwc.ac.za (English)
  4. ^ BHP Billiton: Mozal Smelter Expansion Officially Opened . Message dated October 9, 2003 on www.bhpbilliton.com, viewed May 28, 2016
  5. ^ Leon Gilbert Pretorius: The political economy of South African foreign direct investment in Mozambique . P. 139 (PDF document p. 153)
  6. ↑ schattenblick.de with further sources and articles of the Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique as well as the website of Afrika.info  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.afrika.info  
  7. ↑ Mozambique smelter ignores pollution limits , afrol news, November 20, 2010, accessed November 21, 2011

Coordinates: 25 ° 54 ′ 53.2 "  S , 32 ° 24 ′ 29.4"  E