Germany Chancellor plans lithium deal with Serbia after Rio ruling
Olaf Scholz plans to visit Serbia this week to secure supplies of lithium that are critical for the nation’s energy transition and auto industry.
Glencore has agreed to take over insolvent German lead producer Weser-Metall via a new company named Nordenham Metall GmbH, the commodities group and local government said in a joint statement.
Nordenham will take over all personnel, the environment ministry in the state of Lower Saxony said.
Glencore will invest a double-digit million euro sum, about 25 million euros ($30 million), to modernise the plant’s commercial and environmental protection performance, the ministry said.
Agreement has also been reached about liabilities for landfills containing past waste deposits from the plant to protect the environment, the ministry said. This would ensure that the cost of maintaining those deposits “will not fall on the public purse”.
A Glencore spokesman said no additional information would be provided.
Talks about selling the Weser-Metall plant to Glencore started in July 2020.
Weser-Metall in Nordenham produces about 105,000 tonnes of lead annually with just over 300 personnel and is one of Europe’s main lead producers.
It filed for insolvency in May 2020 after the pandemic cut demand. It was previously part of French metals producer Recylex .
($1 = 0.8282 euros)
(By Michael Hogan; Editing by Jason Neely)
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