12 October, 2007The new company will be the world's largest zinc group employing 4,500 workers.
AUSTRALIA/BELGIUM: Zinifex of Australia and Umicore of Belgium have created the world's largest producer of zinc by combining their smelting and alloying operations. Nyrstar, the name of the joint venture, will employ 4.500 workers.
The company will be incorporated in Belgium with its operational headquarters in London. Nyrstar will surpass Korea Zinc and Xstrata as the biggest zinc company with an annual production of 1.2 million tons of zinc as well as 250,000 tons of lead.
Umicore, which used to be called Union Minière, was built more than 100 years ago on the copper resources of the former Belgian Congo, and has in recent years changed its strategy towards precious and specialty metals (e.g. take-over of the German OMG, a world leader in car catalysts). Umicore employs 14,000 workers in 35 countries and has a strong trade union presence (more than 80% of the staff and almost all of the blue-collar workers are unionised), and a well-established social dialogue with a longstanding European Works Council.
In September the International Metalworkers' Federation, together with the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) signed the first International Framework Agreement for a Belgium multinational company.