February 16, 2023: Trafigura said on February 15 that German lead production plant Stolberg will be back in operation in the coming weeks, now that the commodity trading group has finalized its acquisition of the facility.
The announcement came more than seven months after Trafigura said it had entered into a binding agreement to acquire Ecobat Resources Stolberg, which owns the Stolberg multi-metals processing plant.
Stolberg will be known as Nyrstar Stolberg — operated and managed by Trafigura’s minerals and metals producer Nyrstar.
Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Stolberg has been out of action since declaring force majeure in 2021 after devasting floods in Europe.
Guido Janssen, co-CEO of Nyrstar, said on February 15 the plant’s restart would increase local availability of relevant materials for the fast-evolving European green transition.
Nyrstar told Batteries International last July there would be a “continuous assessment” of the potential for future investment in Stolberg once the acquisition had been finalized, but declined to be drawn on the plant’s future.
Ecobat Resources Stolberg was founded in 1848 and has one of the largest and most modern primary lead smelters in the world, according to Ecobat.
Ecobat CEO Marcus Randolph said his company would continue to focus on its core business of battery recycling in the circular energy economy.
Image: Ecobat Resources