Glencore to Shutter Two South Africa Smelters on Power Costs

Glencore Plc’s ferrochrome unit in South Africa will shutter two plants and cut jobs because of soaring electricity prices, the latest blow to the country’s declining smelting industry.

The Swiss commodity trader’s joint venture with Merafe Resources Ltd. has issued retrenchment notices and voluntary severance packages to employees, it said in a statement. The company plans to mothball the Boshoek and Wonderkop smelters — where operations were suspended earlier this year — at the start of 2026.