London-listed mining company Glencore is planning job cuts at its ferrochrome and vanadium plants in South Africa amid rising economic pressures.
Merafe Resources, the Johannesburg-based minority co-owner of the ferrochrome joint venture with Glencore, blamed the impending job cuts on electricity supply shortages and an overall “lack of sustainable industry solutions” to economic challenges.
Glencore has been mining in South Africa for nearly four decades, operating multiple coal and ferroalloys plants across three provinces. The country is home to 80% of the world’s known reserves of chrome ore, a mineral used in making stainless steel. Glencore’s move follows plans by steel maker ArcelorMittal to cut as many as 4,000 jobs in South Africa.
