Glencore Plans to Restart Lion Ferrochrome Smelter in February

December 3, 2025:

Swiss mining company Glencore announced on Tuesday that it plans to restart its Lion ferrochrome smelter in South Africa in February next year. The plant has an annual capacity of 720,000 mt.

After the restart, the Lion smelter will become the only operating ferrochrome smelting facility in South Africa for Glencore and its local partner Merafe. Merafe confirmed on Tuesday that its Boshoek and Wonderkop ferrochrome smelters will be placed under care and maintenance starting January 1.

Earlier this year, the joint venture had suspended operations at all three of its ferrochrome smelters, primarily due to weak demand from the European steel industry, increased competition from low-cost Chinese ferrochrome, and high electricity costs in South Africa.

Merafe pointed out that although South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has introduced an electricity price adjustment plan aimed at alleviating the pressure on industrial users, these reform measures have not yet been finalized. The electricity cost issue is crucial for the sustainable operation of the joint venture's ferrochrome business.

After South African power utility Eskom announced its shutdown plan, it proposed a new electricity pricing scheme to Merafe. However, Merafe stated that this scheme failed to provide a viable solution for the long-term sustainable operation of the Boshoek and Wonderkop smelters.

Merafe has issued redundancy notices to 1,200 to 1,400 employees. If a solution is not reached with the South African government by December 9, these redundancy notices will take effect.

Dirk Hermann, head of the South African trade union Solidarity, warned last week that due to a lack of substantial progress in mediation with the government, South African smelters and related heavy industries could face the risk of losing up to 300,000 direct and indirect jobs from December this year to early 2026.

Additionally, Samancor Chrome, another major South African ferrochrome producer, has informed the union that its business scaling-down and shutdown procedures next year could threaten approximately 2,500 jobs.