The Czech chemical producer Draslovka Holding will buy a company for the production of sodium cyanide in South Africa from Sasol South Africa Limited for 2.23 billion crowns. This is Draslovka’s first major investment on the African continent, which is part of its international expansion plans.
The company plans to invest another $ 50 million (about one billion crowns) in modernizing the plant, expanding it and ensuring that it meets our best global environmental standards. “This will allow us to expand our offer with products that are currently imported to South Africa from other countries,” said Brůžek.
“This acquisition will enable Draslovka not only to better serve South Africa’s mining and related industries, but also to strengthen South Africa’s exports in the longer term and provide better access to Draslovka’s leading agricultural materials,” said Pavel Brůžek, CEO of Draslovka.
Draslovka Holding as is a private holding company based in the Czech Republic, which is engaged in the production of special chemicals and its own production technologies. It is owned by four Czech families. Draslovka has more than 100 years of experience in the production of hydrogen cyanide and HCN chemistry and specializes in the production of fully synthetic and highly purified liquid HCN, which undergoes further processing for use in various related products from the mining industry to agriculture. Draslovka strives to become the world’s leading player in the production of cyanides for use in synthesis, mining, and industrial and agricultural applications.
The group annually produces and sells over 30,000 tons of cyanide-based substances and approximately 44,000 tons of other chemicals. Cyanide chemistry products provide about three-quarters of Draslovka’s annual turnover. In recent years, the company’s turnover has been around $ 80 million (approximately CZK 1.8 billion). The parent company Draslovka Holding alone earned CZK 42.7 million in the last quarter of 2018 together with the entire year 2019.
Draslovka has been operating in South Africa for almost a decade through its Draslovka Services South Africa unit, formerly operated under the Agri-Soil brand, based in Stellenbosch and operating in all South African provinces.
Cyanides are substances composed of carbon and nitrogen (CN), which are abundant in nature. These CN-based substances are widely used in mining, agriculture, the automotive industry, electroplating, and surface treatment, as pharmaceutical intermediates used in the manufacture of many daily necessities.