AFTER several years of negotiations, Isizinda Aluminium (Isizinda) received the transfer of ownership of the Bayside casthouse from South32 (formerly BHP Billiton).
The official handover took place at the Bayside plant in Richards Bay yesterday (Wednesday).
Isizinda, a majority owned Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment consortium, comprises a partnership between Bingelela Capital, which is the majority shareholder of 60%, and leading aluminium semi-fabricator Hulamin Limited as a minority shareholder at 40%.
‘Today brings finality and closure for previous employees. I would like to see us as colleagues, charter this new project towards the development of this region.
‘The sale of the casthouse will facilitate a larger downstream aluminium industry in the country,’ said President of Aluminium SA Noel Pillay.
The ownership agreement included the sale of the Bayside VAP casthouse, a R10-billion liquid metal supply contract, 17 hectares of land, equipment and the adjacent buildings associated with the casthouse.
Chief Executive Officer of Isizinda, Sizwe Khumalo stated the company will work closely with all stakeholders in order to grow the aluminium hub.
‘We as Isizinda, together with South32 saved 80 direct jobs during this transition.
‘In the interest of the economy, losing one job has a cascading effect, therefore we will embark on plans to create a significant number of job opportunities
‘We are about creating, revitalizing and restarting – we want to create new value-added products.
‘Through our network we will facilitate centralized access to liquid aluminium and the necessary infrastructure, which will allow our partners to produce competitive products for both the local and export markets. This while reducing the carbon footprint and mitigating the current challenges to climate change,’ he said.
Isizinda has an employment capacity of 80 people, and will produce and supply 96 000 tons per annum of aluminium slab to Hulamin.
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