Monday, February 16, 2009

Hernic May Keep Ferrochrome Furnaces Closed

Mitsubishi Corporation's South African ferrochrome producer, Hernic Ferrochrome Limited, which shut the last of its four furnaces in January 2009, is to keep the plants closed in the second quarter if the ferrochrome price drops further.

Mr Jasper Pieters, operations director at Hernic, said that while the company has yet to cut jobs, it may be forced to do so. Hernic, which can produce about 380,000 tonnes of ferrochrome a year, has 550 permanent employees and 2,000 contract workers.

Mr Pieters added that "The longer this goes on, the more difficult it gets. We are not going to produce if we are going to drain our cash flow."

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