Sale of Sydney lead joint venture

Australia – A jointly-owned lead recycling facility in Sydney, Australia, has been acquired by Renewed Metal Technologies (RMT) for approximately Euro 60 million (A$ 80 million).

Secondary lead producer Australian Refined Alloys (ARA), owned on a 50/50 basis by the world’s largest producer of refined zinc Nyrstar NV and recycler Sims Metal Management (SMM), operates two facilities – the one in Sydney and another at Laverton North in Melbourne. Following the sale, Nyrstar and SMM will retain the latter facility which will continue to be operated as a joint venture; production in Melbourne amounted to around 17 200 tonnes in 2010. Total lead production at the Sydney facility last year was approximately 20 700 tonnes.

RMT is a privately-held company that specialises in the recovery of renewable resources, owning and operating a secondary lead producing facility in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia. Assuming a sale price of Euro 60 million, which is subject to a customary working capital adjustment at completion, Nyrstar anticipates achieving a profit of approximately Euro 15 million on the sale of its share in the Sydney facility.