Eramet produces first lithium from Centenario plant in Argentina
Eramet becomes the first European company to produce lithium carbonate at an industrial scale.
Norilsk’s net profit decrease of roughly 40% in 2012 will also hurt Russia’s largest aluminum producer, Rusal, which depends on Norilsk dividends to service its debts, wrote Charles Clover of the Financial Times on Sunday.
Rusal reported in December of last year that it expected up to $9 billion in Norilsk dividends over a three-year period, a projection that has begun to look increasingly unlikely.
Norilsk profits were hit hard by nearly $1 billion in 2012 write-offs including impairment losses on property and equipment in Botswana and Australia and on its 50% joint venture project Nkomati in South Africa.
Sources: Financial Times; Fox Business; Dow Jones Newswires
