Afarak Group Oyj of Finland reports that it has bought Serbian magnesia products company Magnohrom for €1 million ($1.2 million). Afarak said it has acquired Magnohrom’s operations and mining rights for magnesite mines with confirmed reserves of over 4 Mt of ore.

Roskill view: “Integrated production of up to 72,000 t/y magnesite, 40,000 t/y dead burned magnesia (DBM) and 42,000 t/y refractory bricks by the Serbian state-owned Magnohrom company ceased in 2014, when DBM output was 7,000 t.  The company was declared insolvent, with liabilities of $43.2 million.  In March 2018, Serbia’s Bankruptcy Supervision Agency held an auction for Magnohrom’s assets, with the starting price set at $2.9 million.  Nelt Group acquired the electro-thermal products plant (still in operation) for $1, and Malbex purchased the resin-bonded brick facility.

Roskill’s Magnesium Compounds: Global Industry, Markets & Outlook report will be published soon.