Shareholders of Australia’s South32 have approved the sale of the company’s aluminium value chain assets to US-based Alcoa Corporation for up to US$5.6 billion (€4.8 billion), excluding Mozambique’s Mozal smelter, which has been under care and maintenance since March.
According to the company’s latest quarterly report, released on Monday and accessed by Lusa today, shareholders approved the deal this month. Announced in July, the transaction is worth up to US$5.6 billion (€4.8 billion).
“On 15 October, South32 shareholders approved the sale of our aluminium value chain assets to Alcoa,” the document states.
The Australian mining and metals group, which operates across several continents and employs around 6,900 people, recorded a profit of US$1.087 billion (€935 million) in the 2026 financial year.
In the quarterly report released on Monday, the company says the transaction with Alcoa “remains on track for completion in the June 2027 half year, subject to relevant regulatory approvals”.
It considers that the deal will change its business profile, stating that the transaction will “reposition South32 as a leading upstream base metals focused company with high-margin assets and transformational growth”.
Mozal, Mozambique’s largest industrial facility and one of Africa’s largest aluminium smelters, is 63.7% owned by the Australian group. The report does not include Mozal among the assets covered by the sale to Alcoa, as South32 had already indicated in July, stating only that the Mozambican smelter has remained under care and maintenance since March 2026.
READ: Mozambique | South32 excludes Mozambican smelter Mozal from 4,800 ME deal
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The remaining stake in Mozal is held by South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), with 32.48%, and other minority shareholders, including the Mozambican state.
Mozal’s operations were suspended after several months of negotiations failed to produce an agreement on electricity supply to the smelter located on the outskirts of Maputo.
South32 described the proposed electricity tariff as “totally unsustainable”, citing the inability to secure power at costs compatible with operations as the main reason for halting production.
According to the company, electricity accounts for around one-third of Mozal’s cost structure. The smelter had advocated a tariff close to US$51 per megawatt-hour, compared with the proposed US$100.
In July, South32 estimated the extraordinary costs associated with Mozal’s shutdown at US$122 million (€104 million), including US$33 million (€28 million) in compensation and contract termination costs, and accounting losses of US$89 million (€76 million) relating to raw materials, consumables and inventories.
The company then revealed that smelter production fell by 30% in the 2026 financial year, which ended on 30 June, to 248,000 tonnes of aluminium, compared with 355,000 tonnes in the previous financial year. Sales fell by 22%, from 351,000 to 275,000 tonnes.
Between April and June, the first full quarter after operations were suspended, the facility recorded no production, selling only around 46,000 tonnes from its remaining inventories.
The smelter requires around 950 megawatts to operate continuously. Electricity is supplied by Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB) through the network of South Africa’s Eskom, whose contract ended in March.
South32 also cited the effects of drought on the Cahora Bassa reservoir as one of the factors limiting energy availability.
READ: Mozambique: South Africa’s IDC weighs acquisition of South32’s 63.7% stake in Mozal Aluminium
Meanwhile, South Africa’s IDC launched a tender in June to appoint independent consultants to assess a possible acquisition of South32’s remaining stake and the feasibility of resuming operations.
According to documentation previously released by Lusa, the South African state-owned institution intends to examine the risks, costs and energy solutions required to ensure the smelter’s long-term sustainability.
READ: Just In: Mozambique government says negotiations under way over Mozal aluminium smelter — Watch
Source: Lusa