ZINIFEX LIMITED

'Zinifex' is an Australian company which operates two zinc and lead mines, three zinc refineries and a lead smelter.

Contents

History

Operations

References

History

Zinifex is the refloated company of the failed zinc miner Pasminco. Pasminco was declared bankrupt after it made unfavourable hedge positions that made the company insolvent. As part of the insolvency process the company was refloated with new management as Zinifex. Since floating on the ASX it has been extremely successful mainly due to the company keeping no hedges in place, and benefiting from the massive rise in the zinc price. The share price has risen from $1.80 in April 2004 to over $18 in December 2006.^[1]

Operations

Zinifex Limited is engaged in minerals exploration, production and smelting to produce zinc and lead concentrates, and zinc, lead and silver metals together with various alloys and byproducts, and the marketing of these products. The segments of the Company include Century Mine in north western Queensland, a large open cut zinc, copper and lead mine, operating on a mining lease that it has secured for at least the life of the mine; Rosebery Mine, a medium-sized underground zinc, lead, silver, gold and copper mine located on the west coast of Tasmania in Australia; Hobart Smelter, an electrolytic zinc smelter; Port Pirie Smelter, a primary lead smelting facility; Australian Refined Alloys, an acid battery and lead recycling business owned 50% by Zinifex; Budel Smelter, an electrolytic smelter, and Clarksville Smelter, a modern smelter to access a large portion of the United States zinc market.

Zinifex operates in Australia, Europe and the United States of America.
In December 2006, Zinifex announced an intent to form a joint venture with Umicore, contributing its smelting and alloying assets with the intent of eventually floating the new company (Nyrstar). This would leave Zinifex as purely a mining company.^[2][3]
In early 2007, a number of incidents affected Zinifex: The Port Pirie smelter had a steam explosion in February^[4] and an explosion when moisture contacted molten copper in March.^[5] It also had a loading barge used to export ore from the Century Mine damaged in a cyclone.^[6]

References

1. Zinifex Limited - Historical prices
2. Zinifex and Umicore seek to create the world's leading producer of zinc metal
3. Zinifex, Umicore to combine zinc assets
4. Zinifex explosion forces lead smelter shutdown
5. Work resumes at Zinifex smelter
6. Zinifex sees no cost from damaged ship