Several smelters have closed their doors in recent years in response to unsustainably high power prices in South Africa.

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Samancor Chrome is pressing ahead with plans to cut jobs, even after South Africa’s government and state power utility agreed to lower electricity prices for its smelters, according to the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).

An estimated 2 400 jobs could be eliminated across Samancor’s smelting operations and corporate offices, the labour group said in a statement issued at its Johannesburg headquarters. “The NUM views this decision as a betrayal of the good-faith negotiations aimed at protecting jobs.”

Samancor didn’t immediately answer a call seeking comment.

South Africa on 27 February offered Samancor and Glencore’s ferrochrome-smelting venture cheaper electricity in a bid to save jobs. The industry, government and state utility Eskom have held talks over the issue for months.

While Eskom and the government proposed supplying the smelters with electricity priced at 62c per kilowatt-hour, a tariff requested earlier by the industry, there were few details about how the plan would work.

Glencore said it would extend its current termination date for jobs from 28 February to 31 March, but that terms and conditions for cheaper power from Eskom “must be commercially reasonable and viable, ensuring the long-term operational stability of the smelters.”

Only 11 of South Africa’s 66 smelters remain operational, underscoring how rapidly rising electricity tariffs have impacted metals processing.

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