Glencore’s chrome joint venture in South Africa with Merafe declares force majeure

Glencore’s chrome joint venture in South Africa with Merafe Resources has declared force majeure on qualifying contracts after a nationwide lockdown forced operations to shut, a Merafe executive said.

“All our operations are shut and are on care and maintenance. We have declared force majeure on qualifying contracts” Merafe financial director Ditabe Chocho told Reuters.

Glencore declined to comment.

On Tuesday, Glencore delayed a decision on whether to pay a $2.6 billion dividend, saying it needed time to assess the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on its business and global commodity prices.

South Africa, which has called a three-week lockdown to slow the spread of coronavirus, is the world’s biggest producer of chrome ore, an essential ingredient in stainless steel. Last year the country supplied 83% of China’s imports.

The Swiss-based Glencore owns 79.5% of the Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture, which has a total capacity of 2.3 million tonnes of ferrochrome per annum.

Other South African chrome operators including Samancor Chrome and Tharisa have also declared forced majeure on contracts.

(By Zandi Shabalala and Helen Reid; Editing by Louise Heavens)