South African Company Declares Force Majeure After Fire

A South African company specializing in manganese alloys has declared force majeure after an August 22 fire at its plant near Mpumalanga, business media report.

According to Fastmarket.com, the fire at Transalloys severely impacted the raw material handling system feeding the five submerged arc furnaces operating at the production plant used to produce silomanganese used in steelmaking and other foundry activities.

“SiMn is used, inter alia, as a grain refiner and for de-oxidation in the steel manufacturing process,” the company website states.

The furnaces comprise of two 48 MVA semi-closed furnaces and three 18 MVA open furnaces. Raw materials are fed from a common raw material handling system into three sets of day bins, from where the individual furnace recipes are batched and conveyed into the furnace bins.

Force majeure is a common clause in contracts that free both parties from liability when circumstances beyond their control prevents them from fulfilling their obligation.

Mpumalanga is about 90 kilometers east of Pretoria.