MINEX Forum

Tag: Eramet

  • Eramet Cuts 2025 Capital Spending and Seeks Lender Waiver Amid Falling Sales and Rising Debt

    Eramet Cuts 2025 Capital Spending and Seeks Lender Waiver Amid Falling Sales and Rising Debt

    French mining and metals group Eramet has lowered its capital expenditure forecast for 2025 and announced plans to unveil additional measures in December aimed at stabilizing its finances in the face of weak metal prices, operational challenges, and mounting debt.

    In a third-quarter sales statement released Thursday, the company said it now expects to spend €400 million–€425 million ($466 million–$496 million) this year, down from the previous range of €400 million–€450 million. The revision comes as part of a broader performance review launched in June by new CEO Paulo Castellari, focused on preserving liquidity and strengthening the balance sheet.

    Eramet also disclosed that it has requested a waiver from lenders to mitigate the risk of breaching its gearing covenant as of December 31, 2025. The group said more details about its cost-cutting and liquidity-improving actions will be presented in early December.

    Third-quarter sales dropped 10% year-on-year to €720 million, pressured by softer metal prices and logistics issues at its manganese operations in Gabon. Due to rail capacity constraints in the country, Eramet cut its 2025 target for transported manganese ore volumes to 6.1–6.3 million metric tons, down from 6.5–7.0 million tons previously — the second downward revision this year.

    The company maintained its 2025 production outlook for its Weda Bay nickel joint venture in Indonesia at 36–39 million wet metric tons, and for its new lithium project in Argentina, where it expects to produce 4,000–7,000 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent in 2025. Both figures were reduced earlier in July.

    Eramet, a key player in Europe’s critical minerals supply chain, has been under pressure from falling prices for nickel and manganese — metals vital to the green transition — as well as operational bottlenecks across its global portfolio. Castellari’s restructuring strategy is seen as pivotal to restoring confidence among investors and lenders as the group navigates an increasingly volatile commodities market.

  • Eramet rues timid European banks, sees lithium plant costing $1.5 billion

    Eramet rues timid European banks, sees lithium plant costing $1.5 billion

    Eramet aims to start producing lithium in Argentina in the second quarter of next year under the first phase of its joint venture with steel giant Tsingshan, part of Eramet’s shift towards minerals needed for electric vehicle batteries.
    If the partners proceed with a second stage of the project, for which a decision is due by the end of this year, total investment is expected to reach about $1.5 billion, Eramet CEO Christel Bories told Reuters.

    This is lower than a $1.7 billion projection given by Tsingshan. It would double the estimated $735 million cost of the project’s first phase.

    Eramet will share costs with Tsingshan. It will also raise $400 million in a deal with miner Glencore to market lithium from the project’s first stage.

    Bories said Chinese investors are typically keen on mining projects internationally, but European banks are held back by onerous ESG requirements.

    “The worst is Europe. Banks ask thousands of pages of questions on ESG and due diligence,” she said in an interview before the LME Week gathering of the global metals industry.

    “We have no problem providing the evidence … but at the end of the day the whole process can take 18 months.”

    The European Union, which unveiled its Critical Raw Materials Act in March to try to secure supplies of critical raw materials for electric vehicles including lithium, cobalt and nickel, has urged European financiers to provide more funding to mineral suppliers.

    Eramet has previously criticised Europe for being slow to develop supply chains for critical minerals, saying that encouraged it to turn to Tsingshan first as a partner for a nickel mine in Indonesia and then to co-develop its lithium deposit in Argentina.

    The partners plan to reach output of 24,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent annually under the first phase of their Argentine project, with the potential second stage seeking to raise production to 75,000 tons.

    Eramet is also studying a plan with German chemical group BASF to produce battery-grade nickel and cobalt from ore extracted at Eramet’s Indonesian mine.

    The French group has pushed back a deadline for a decision to next year, with Bories saying it needed more time to find the right approach to meet Western standards.

  • Battery recycling: Eramet and Suez choose Dunkirk for their future factory

    Battery recycling: Eramet and Suez choose Dunkirk for their future factory

    Eramet, the esteemed European mining and metallurgical leader, in collaboration with SUEZ, a renowned exponent of circular solutions in water and waste management, have recently unveiled their decision to establish their future industrial complex for recycling lithium-ion electric vehicle batteries in the city of Dunkirk. This momentous project aims to create a closed-loop system for the recycling of strategic metals employed in batteries, thereby ensuring a sustainable supply of these essential metals for Europe’s transitioning energy landscape.

    The project encompasses the development of an upstream dismantling plant and a downstream metal extraction facility. The final investment decision for the upstream plant is anticipated by the end of 2023, with a targeted commencement in 2025. Similarly, the downstream plant is projected to receive final investment approval by the end of 2024, with a planned start-up in 2027.

    Eramet and SUEZ have meticulously chosen the Grand Port Maritime de Dunkerque as the ideal location for their joint venture, known as ReLieVe. This selection marks a significant milestone in the evolution of their pioneering battery recycling initiative, which was initially initiated by the two partners back in 2019.

    To ensure the efficacy of the refining process on a pre-industrial scale, a pilot plant is currently poised to commence operations in Trappes, situated at Eramet’s research center. This facility will serve as a testing ground to continuously validate and optimize the refining procedures.

    The ambitious project encompasses the construction of two distinct facilities. Firstly, an “upstream” blackmass dismantling and production plant is slated to commence operations in 2025, with a capacity to process 50,000 tons of battery modules annually, equivalent to approximately 200,000 electric vehicle batteries. Secondly, a “downstream” hydrometallurgy plant will be established to extract and refine the strategic metals present in the blackmass, such as nickel, cobalt, and lithium, enabling their reintroduction into the production of new batteries.

    Within this collaborative endeavor, Eramet and SUEZ will synergistically combine their respective areas of expertise. SUEZ will leverage their proficiency in the collection, sorting, preparation, dismantling, and recycling of materials from used batteries, while Eramet will contribute their pioneering hydrometallurgical technology to recycle the strategic metals present in the blackmass. The progress achieved during the development process indicates that the project is poised to meet or surpass the requirements outlined in future European regulations. This includes a reduced use of natural resources and a diminished carbon footprint, aligning with the sustainability goals of the circular economy.

    The strategic choice of Dunkirk as the project’s location is a result of its advantageous position within the emerging “battery valley” in the Hauts de France region. With several battery production plants, or gigafactories, slated to open in the region in the coming years, Dunkirk provides an ideal hub for the recycling plant.

    To support the pre-industrialization studies, construction of the plants, and operating costs for the initial ten years of operation, Eramet has secured a grant totaling €80 million from the European Union and BPI.

    Christel Bories, the Chair and CEO of Eramet, expressed her enthusiasm for the ReLieVe project, emphasizing their commitment to establishing a battery recycling sector in France. As a responsible player in the mining industry, Eramet aims to develop this invaluable resource and give it a second life, while significantly minimizing its environmental impact.

    Sabrina Soussan, the Chairman and CEO of SUEZ, emphasized the growing significance of battery recycling in the circular economy, particularly with the rapid expansion of the electric vehicle market. As a leader in waste management, SUEZ is dedicated to providing innovative and resilient solutions that reduce the consumption of virgin raw materials and ensure a stable supply of secondary raw materials.

    European regulations stipulate that by 2027, 90% of cobalt, copper, and nickel, and 50% of lithium must be recycled, with targets of 95% for cobalt, copper, and nickel, and 80% for lithium by 2031. Eramet and SUEZ are committed to meeting and exceeding these regulatory requirements, solidifying their dedication to sustainability and resource conservation.

  • Eramet in talks with European carmakers

    Eramet in talks with European carmakers

    [vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][distance desktop_type=”30″][lvs][distance desktop_type=”30″][vc_btn title=”Source – mining.com” color=”sky” i_type=”material” i_icon_material=”vc-material vc-material-perm_device_information” add_icon=”true” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mining.com%2Fweb%2Feramet-in-talks-with-european-carmakers-over-argentina-lithium-plan-ceo%2F%3Futm_source%3DDaily_Digest%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3DMNG-DIGESTS%26utm_content%3Deramet-in-talks-with-european-carmakers-over-argentina-lithium-plan–ceo|target:_blank”][distance desktop_type=”30″][vc_column_text]French mining group Eramet is in talks with several European carmakers over commercial agreements that would help the company finance its lithium production project in Argentina, chief executive officer Christel Bories said.

    The race for lithium, a key raw material used to make batteries for electric vehicles, is speeding up as rising tensions between the United States and China push Europe’s automakers to secure their own supply chain.

    “We’re talking with a lot of OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers, or carmakers) today,” Bories told Reuters on Saturday at a business conference in the southeastern city of Aix-en-Provence, adding that these included French ones.

    “We’re currently discussing potential commercial agreements,” she said, with reference to the group’s lithium project in Argentina, adding these involve joint marketing and so-called offtake accords, or commitments to buy a certain volume of the upcoming production.

    Eramet is due to start lithium production next year in Argentina in partnership with Chinese steel group Tsingshan, and has said it is interested in studying other potential sites in a lithium-rich zone of South America that also includes Chile.

    “We’re positioning ourselves (in Chile), we have discussions with state-owned companies,” Bories said, with the aim to gain potential lithium concessions “in the coming months.”

    Two thirds of the world’s lithium reserves are located in South America, Bories said.

    Demand for electric vehicles (EVs) has increased as climate-conscious consumers snap up cars with electric powertrains, amid soaring fuel prices.

    Bories confirmed commodities group Glencore was among parties to have expressed interest in helping finance Eramet’s lithium production in Argentina.

    She declined to elaborate further or give the names of the European carmakers involved in the talks.

    (By Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)[/vc_column_text][distance desktop_type=”30″][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section]