Eramet produces first lithium from Centenario plant in Argentina
Eramet becomes the first European company to produce lithium carbonate at an industrial scale.
Ten executives have quit PT Bumi Resources, Indonesia’s top coal exporter, as the firm gets ready to disconnect itself from the Bakrie Group and London-listed parent Bumi Plc (LON: BUMI).
In a statement the company said its chairman, Sami Tan, has left the board of commissioners of Bumi Resources along with nine other executives linked either to him or his company Borneo Lumbung Energy & Metal.
Bumi, established in 2010 by banking empire scion Nathaniel Rothschild and the Bakrie family, is moving forward with the separation plan after Rothschild failed in his attempt to take control of Bumi last month.
The Bakries have proposed trading their 23.8% of Bumi Plc for a 29.2% stake in Bumi Resources, which would leave PT Berau Coal Energy in the London-based firm’s hands.
Coal mogul Tan has been quoted in different media outlets saying he is in talks with Bakrie family about gaining compensation in exchange for supporting the group’s exit from Bumi.
He became involved with the embattled firm in January last year, after acquiring a 47.6% stake for $1 billion from the Indonesian family.
According to FT.com (subscription required), the value of Tan’s investment has quickly tumbled in the last two years due to falling coal prices, and concerns about Bumi’s corporate governance and the outbreak of internecine investor warfare.
(Image by The National Library of Scotland)
