Nyrstar CFO Says Zinc Producer Had Talks With Investor Trafigura
Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) — Nyrstar NV, the world’s largest refined-zinc producer, said it held talks with its biggest shareholder, commodity trader Trafigura Beheer BV.
Nyrstar Chief Financial Officer Heinz Eigner, speaking on a conference call after the release of the Brussels-based company’s third-quarter production statement, declined to elaborate on the nature of the discussions. Trafigura, the world’s second-largest metals trader, owns 10.2 percent of Nyrstar, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Trafigura is increasing investments in physical metals and mining assets as profit margins from trading are squeezed by competition. Based in Amsterdam, with major trading operations in Geneva, Trafigura wants to secure long-term supplies of copper, zinc, lead and iron ore for its trading business.
“We bought the stake in Nyrstar as an investment based on a robust view of the zinc market,” Trafigura’s Geneva-based spokesman Andrew Gowers said by phone. Gowers declined to comment on the talks with Nyrstar.
Nyrstar chose Noble Group Ltd., Asia’s largest commodity trader, to market part of its European output 12 months ago. The agreement replaced a deal with Glencore Plc, the largest metals trader, which continues to sell Nyrstar’s zinc and lead produced outside the European Union.
Nyrstar owns mines in Mexico, Peru, Honduras, Chile and Canada, according to its website. It has metals processing facilities in Europe, the U.S. and Australia.
Trafigura Mines
Trafigura owns the Aguas Tenidas mine in southwest Spain, which produces copper, zinc and lead. This month it moved to oust the chairman and board of EMED Mining Public Ltd, in which it owns an 18 percent stake. Trafigura wants to combine EMED’s Rio Tinto copper mine with its nearby Aguas Tenidas operation.
Trafigura also operates the Catalina Huanca mine in Peru and is active in or has stakes in mining operations in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Latin America, according to its website.
Impala Terminals, Trafigura’s warehousing unit, said yesterday it would create a joint-venture warehousing, logistics and terminals business in China with a unit of Citic Securities. Impala sued a Citic subsidiary and other banks and trading firms in June following a scandal involving metals stored at the port of Qingdao where officials are investigating if the same batches of metal were used to back multiple loans.
In February, Trafigura paid $150 million for a 30 percent stake in a Chinese copper smelter controlled by Jinchuan Group Co., a person with knowledge of the matter said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Andy Hoffman in Geneva at ahoffman31@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net Dylan Griffiths, Randall Hackley
