More than 600 jobs and an estimated 7,000 livelihoods are under threat after South Africa's last remaining manganese smelter suspended operations, with the company warning that a permanent shutdown could become unavoidable unless an urgent agreement is reached with the government and Eskom.
Transalloys, which operates its smelter in Mpumalanga, says it was forced to halt production after years of mounting financial losses and soaring electricity costs made continued operations unsustainable.
Chief Executive Officer Konstantin Sadovnik said the company had exhausted all available options while engaging with Eskom, government departments and regulators, but key issues remain unresolved.
"Transalloys has now reached the point where continuing to operate would simply accelerate our own collapse," Sadovnik said.
"We have exhausted every option available to us operationally while engaging Eskom, the government and the regulators, and there are still significant points of difference between them and us. We have now had to stop our production entirely."
Sadovnik warned that unless a sustainable solution is agreed to and implemented before the end of the month, the suspension could become permanent.
He said the closure would have far-reaching consequences for South Africa's industrial sector.
"South Africa will lose its last manganese smelter, thousands of livelihoods and decades of industrial capability. Once those furnaces go cold permanently, which is a near-term reality, there is no turning back," he said.
Trade union federation Cosatu has also called for urgent intervention, urging the government, Eskom and other stakeholders to work together to prevent the closure.
Cosatu spokesperson Matthew Parks said losing the smelter would be a major setback for the country's industrialisation ambitions.
"It would mark a massive setback for South Africa's efforts to re-industrialise the economy, expand local beneficiation and strengthen value chains," Parks said.
He called on Transalloys, Eskom and the Departments of Electricity and Energy, as well as Trade, Industry and Competition, to urgently find a solution to the long-running dispute.
"Closure of this smelter cannot be an option," Parks added.
The company is continuing discussions with Eskom and government in the hope of securing an agreement that would allow operations to resume before the temporary shutdown becomes permanent.