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MINING INDABA 2012: Xstrata takes out two Rustenburg ferro-chrome furnaces

February 09, 2012 - 09:16 GMT Location: Cape Town

KEYWORDS: Xstrata Alloys , Rustenburg , charge chrome , Mining Indaba , Metal Bulletin , Janie Davies

Xstrata Alloys has shut down two of the six charge chrome furnaces at its Rustenburg plant in South Africa, Metal Bulletin has learned.

The company will return the conserved electricity back to state power group Eskom, which has approached most major suppliers asking them to cut production to save power. Xstrata has been asked by Eskom to shut down additional furnaces and is considering doing so, Metal Bulletin understands. “Two furnaces were taken out in order to help stabilise the grid. These furnaces are now undergoing maintenance, which has been brought forward,” a spokesman for Xstrata Alloys told Metal Bulletin. “We have flexibility in terms of which...

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