Alum Tulcea sells bauxite mines in Sierra Leone
The shareholders of Romanian alumina producer Alum Tulcea, which is 99% controlled by aluminium smelter Alro, have decided to sell its bauxite mines in Sierra Leone.
The bauxite mine in Sierra Leone has a resource base of approximately 31 million tonnes of bauxite and produced 910,344 tonnes in 2022 (compared to 1,396,678 tonnes in 2021). The mine supplies the necessary raw materials for Alum.
Value
The offer came from a local investor who expressed interest in acquiring Global Aluminium Limited, which is the local subsidiary of Alum. The company revalued the mines at the end of 2022, including an expense for impairment of financial assets amounting to RON 129 million (EUR 26 million). At that time, an independent evaluator, CMF Consulting, estimated the fair value of the investment in Global Aluminium Ltd., less selling costs, at RON 67 million. The book value of the investment vehicle was RON 196 million at the end of 2021.
The alumina refinery in Tulcea acquired Global Aluminium Limited in 2011 from the group’s holding company, Vimetco NV, for EUR 30 million. Global Aluminium specializes in bauxite extraction operations in Sierra Leone. Vimetco, the owner of Alro and indirectly of Alum, is a globally integrated producer of primary and processed aluminium. It is one of the largest vertically integrated aluminium producers in Europe based on capacity. Vimetco is owned by Russian billionaire Vitaly Matsitsky.
