South32 suspends potline at Mozal aluminium smelter after two deaths and one injury in an accident

According to a recent report, South32 has temporarily stopped its potline at Mozal aluminium smelter in Mozambique after an accident on Monday, November 7, caused two deaths and one injury of a contractor.

The news came after South32 reported: “Reduction operations in Potroom A at Mozal have been suspended and an investigation into the incident is underway.” It added, “Learnings will be shared across South32 to understand how we can prevent a similar incident occurring again in the future.”

The contractor is undergoing treatment for his injuries, said South32 without giving any further details on the nature of the accident.

In addition to the tragic loss of life, the accident has caused an interruption to aluminium production, which is unacceptable to South32 as its aluminium sales in the first quarter fell 18 per cent on quarter to 162,000 tonnes owing to a logistical setback in South Africa.

However, South32 updated in October, “We continue to closely monitor the situation and will seek to mitigate the potential impact on our aluminium sales during the December 2022 quarter."

The expected production of aluminium at Mozal smelter remains unchanged from 370,000 tonnes for the fiscal year 2023, compared to the output of 278,000 tonnes in FY2022 ended June 30. The estimated increase in the current year is owing to the installation of new AP3XLE technology at Mozal and increased ownership of South32 to 63.7 per cent after the acquisition of an additional 16.6 per cent stake in May.