OM Group To Divest Cobalt Assets

OM Group has signed a definitive agreement to sell its cobalt refinery in Kokkola, Finland, to a joint venture led by Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold for up to $435 million. OM says the sale, expected to close by the end of April, is part of a strategy to exit legacy commodity businesses. Cobalt is used to make a variety of chemicals, pigments, and battery materials. Freeport-McMoRan will own a 54% stake in the cobalt operation. Canada’s Lundin Mining and La Générale des Carrières et des Mines, the Congolese state mining company, will own the balance. Lundin and La Générale both have cobalt mining assets.